Page - 37 - in The Origin of Species

DOMESTIC PIGEONS 37 hound, the bull-dog, pug-dog, or Blenheim spaniel, etc.—so unlike all wild Canidae—ever existed in a state of nature? It has often been loosely said that all our races of dogs have been produced by the crossing of a few aboriginal spe- cies ; but by crossing we can only get forms in some degree intermediate between their parents ; and if we account for our several domestic races by this process, we must admit the former existence of the most extreme forms, as the Italian greyhound, bloodhound, bull-dog, etc., in the wild state, IMoreover, the possibility of making distinct races by crossing has been greatly exaggerated. ^lany cases are on record, showing that a race may be modified by occasional crosses, if aided by the careful selection of the individuals which present the desired character ; but to obtain a race intermediate between two quite distinct races, would be very difficult. Sir J, Sebright expressly experimented with this object and failed. The offspring from the first cross be- tween two pure breeds is tolerably and sometimes (as I have found with pigeons) quite uniform in character, and every- thing seems simple enough ; but when these mongrels are crossed one with another for several generations, hardly two of them are alike, and then the difficulty of the task becomes manifest. BREEDS OF THE DOMESTIC PIGEON, THEIR DIFFERENCES AND ORIGIN Believing that it is always best to study some special group, I have, after deliberation, taken up domestic pigeons. I have kept every breed which I could purchase or obtain, and have been most kindly favoured with skins from several quarters of the world, more especially by the Hon. W. Elliot from India, and by the Hon. C. Murray from Persia. Many treatises in different languages have been published on pig- eons, and some of them are very important, as being of con- siderable antiquity. I have associated with several eminent fanciers, and have been permitted to join two of the London Pigeon Clubs. The diversity of the breeds is something as- tonishing. Compare the English carrier and the short-faced tumbler, and see the wonderful difference in their beaks.