its mother or its grandmother.

In this way races arise, which under favorable conditions may be as
hereditary as species. In following these indications, watching
opportunities, and breeding only from those individuals which vary most in
a desirable direction, man leads the course of variation as he leads a
streamlet--apparently at will, but never against the force of
gravitation--to a long distance from its source, and makes it more
subservient to his use or fancy. He unconsciously strengthens those
variations which he prizes when he plants the seed of a favorite fruit,
preserves a favorite domestic animal, drowns the uglier kittens of a
litter, and allows only the handsomest or the best mousers to propagate.
Still more, by methodical selection, in recent times almost marvelous
results have been produced in new breeds of cattle, sheep, and poultry, and
new varieties of fruit of greater and greater size or excellence.

It is said that all domestic varieties, if left to run wild, would revert
to their aboriginal stocks. Probably they would wherever various races of
one species were left to commingle. At least the abnormal or exaggerated
characteristics induced by high feeding, or high cultivation and prolonged
close breeding, would promptly disappear; and the surviving stock would
soon blend into a homogeneous result (in a way presently explained), which
would naturally be taken for the original form; but we could seldom know if
it were so. It is by no means certain that the result would be the same if
the races ran wild each in a separate region. Dr. Hooker doubts if there is
a true reversion in the case of plants. Mr. Darwin's observations rather
favor it in the animal kingdom. With mingled races reversion seems well
made out in the case of pigeons. The common opinion upon this subject
therefore probably has some foundation, But even if we regard varieties as
oscillations around a primitive centre or type, still it appears from the