3。TuftedDuck，withalargetop—knotoffinedownyfeathers，supportedonafleshymass，withtheskullperforatedbeneath。Thetop—knotinaduckwhichIimportedfromHollandwastwoandahalfinchesindiameter。
4。Labrador（orCanadian，orBuenosAyres，orEastIndian）;plumageentirelyblack;beakbroader，relativelytoitslength，thaninthewildduck;eggsslightlytintedwithblack。Thissub—breedperhapsoughttoberankedasabreed;itincludestwosub—varieties，oneaslargeasthecommondomesticduck，whichIhavekeptalive，andtheothersmallerandoftencapableofflight。（8/1。’PoultryChronicle’1854volume2page91
andvolume1page330。）Ipresumeitisthislattersub—varietywhichhasbeendescribedinFrance（8/2。Dr。Turral’Bull。Soc。d’Acclimat。’tome7
1860page541。）asflyingwell，beingratherwild，andwhencookedhavingtheflavourofthewildduck;neverthelessthissub—varietyispolygamous，likeotherdomesticatedducksandunlikethewildduck。TheseblackLabradorducksbreedtrue;butacaseisgivenbyDr。TurraloftheFrenchsub—varietyproducingyoungwithsomewhitefeathersontheheadandneck，andwithanochre—colouredpatchonthebreast。
BREED2。HOOK—BILLEDDUCK。
Thisbirdpresentsanextraordinaryappearancefromthedownwardcurvatureofthebeak。Theheadisoftentufted。Thecommoncolouriswhite，butsomearecolouredlikewildducks。Itisanancientbreed，havingbeennoticedin1676。（8/3。Willughby’s’Ornithology’byRaypage381。ThisbreedisalsofiguredbyAlbinin1734inhis’Nat。Hist。ofBirds’volume2page86。）Itshowsitsprolongeddomesticationbyalmostincessantlylayingeggs，likethefowlswhicharecalledeverlastinglayers。（8/4。F。Cuvierin’AnnalesduMuseum’tome9page128saysthatmoultingandincubationalonestopstheseduckslaying。Mr。B。P。Brentmakesasimilarremarkinthe’PoultryChronicle’1855volume3page512。）
BREED3。CALLDUCK。
Remarkablefromitssmallsize，andfromtheextraordinaryloquacityofthefemale。Beakshort。Thesebirdsareeitherwhite，orcolouredlikethewildduck。
BREED4。PENGUINDUCK。
Thisisthemostremarkableofallthebreeds，andseemstohaveoriginatedintheMalayanarchipelago。Itwalkswithitsbodyextremelyerect，andwithitsthinneckstretchedstraightupwards。Beakrathershort。Tailupturned，includingonly18feathers。Femurandmetatarsuselongated。]
Almostallnaturalistsadmitthattheseveralbreedsaredescendedfromthecommonwildduck（Anasboschas）;mostfanciers，ontheotherhand，takeasusualaverydifferentview。（8/5。Rev。E。S。Dixon’OrnamentalandDomesticPoultry’1848page117。Mr。B。P。Brentin’PoultryChronicle’volume31855
page512。）Unlesswedenythatdomestication，prolongedduringcenturies，canaffectevensuchunimportantcharactersascolour，size，andinaslightdegreeproportionaldimensionsandmentaldisposition，thereisnoreasonwhatevertodoubtthatthedomesticduckisdescendedfromthecommonwildspecies，fortheonediffersfromtheotherinnoimportantcharacter。Wehavesomehistoricalevidencewithrespecttotheperiodandprogressofthedomesticationoftheduck。Itwasunknown（8/6。Crawfurdonthe’RelationofDomesticatedAnimalstoCivilisation’readbeforetheBrit。Assoc。atOxford1860。）totheancientEgyptians，totheJewsoftheOldTestament，andtotheGreeksoftheHomericperiod。AbouteighteencenturiesagoColumella（8/7。DureaudeLaMallein’AnnalesdesSciencesNat。’tome17page164;andtome21page55。Rev。E。S。Dixon’OrnamentalPoultry’page118。TameduckswerenotknowninAristotle’stime，asremarkedbyVolzinhis’BeitragezurKulturgeschichte’1852s。78。）andVarrospeakofthenecessityofkeepingducksinnettedenclosureslikeotherwildfowl，sothatatthisperiodtherewasdangeroftheirflyingaway。Moreover，theplanrecommendedbyColumellatothosewhowishtoincreasetheirstockofducks，namely，tocollecttheeggsofthewildbirdandtoplacethemunderahen，shows，asMr。Dixonremarks，\"thattheduckhadnotatthistimebecomeanaturalisedandprolificinmateoftheRomanpoultry—yard。\"TheoriginofthedomesticduckfromthewildspeciesisrecognisedinnearlyeverylanguageofEurope，asAldrovandilongagoremarked，bythesamenamebeingappliedtoboth。ThewildduckhasawiderangefromtheHimalayastoNorthAmerica。Itcrossesreadilywiththedomesticbird，andthecrossedoffspringareperfectlyfertile。
BothinNorthAmericaandEuropethewildduckhasbeenfoundeasytotameandbreed。InSwedenthisexperimentwascarefullytriedbyTiburtius;hesucceededinrearingwildducksforthreegenerations，but，thoughtheyweretreatedlikecommonducks，theydidnotvaryeveninasinglefeather。
Theyoungbirdssufferedfrombeingallowedtoswimaboutincoldwater（8/8。Iquotethisaccountfrom’DieEnten—undSchwanenzucht’Ulm1828s。
143。SeeAudubon’OrnithologicalBiography’volume3page168onthetamingofducksontheMississippi。ForthesamefactinEnglandseeMr。WatertoninLoudon’s’Mag。ofNat。Hist。’volume81835page542;andMr。St。John’WildSportsandNat。Hist。oftheHighlands’1846page129。），asisknowntobethecase，thoughthefactisastrangeone，withtheyoungofthecommondomesticduck。Anaccurateandwell—knownobserverinEngland（8/9。
Mr。E。Hewittin’JournalofHorticulture’1862page773;and1863page39。）hasdescribedindetailhisoftenrepeatedandsuccessfulexperimentsindomesticatingthewildduck。Youngbirdsareeasilyrearedfromeggshatchedunderabantam;buttosucceeditisindispensablenottoplacetheeggsofboththewildandtameduckunderthesamehen，forinthiscase\"theyoungwildducksdieoff，leavingtheirmorehardybrethreninundisturbedpossessionoftheirfoster—mother’scare。Thedifferenceofhabitattheonsetinthenewly—hatchedducklingsalmostentailssucharesulttoacertainty。\"Thewildducklingswerefromthefirstquitetametowardsthosewhotookcareofthemaslongastheyworethesameclothes，andlikewisetothedogsandcatsofthehouse。Theywouldevensnapwiththeirbeaksatthedogs，anddrivethemawayfromanyspotwhichtheycoveted。Buttheyweremuchalarmedatstrangemenanddogs。DifferentlyfromwhatoccurredinSweden，Mr。Hewittfoundthathisyoungbirdsalwayschangedanddeterioratedincharacterinthecourseoftwoorthreegenerations;notwithstandingthatgreatcarewastakentopreventtheircrossingwithtameducks。Afterthethirdgenerationhisbirdslosttheelegantcarriageofthewildspecies，andbegantoacquirethegaitofthecommonduck。Theyincreasedinsizeineachgeneration，andtheirlegsbecamelessfine。Thewhitecollarroundtheneckofthemallardbecamebroaderandlessregular，andsomeofthelongerprimarywing—feathersbecamemoreorlesswhite。Whenthisoccurred，Mr。Hewittdestroyednearlythewholeofhisstockandprocuredfresheggsfromwildnests;sothatheneverbredthesamefamilyformorethanfiveorsixgenerations。Hisbirdscontinuedtopairtogether，andneverbecamepolygamouslikethecommondomesticduck。Ihavegiventhesedetails，becausenoothercase，asfarasIknow，hasbeensocarefullyrecordedbyacompetentobserveroftheprogressofchangeinwildbirdsrearedforseveralgenerationsinadomesticcondition。
Fromtheseconsiderationstherecanhardlybeadoubtthatthewildduckistheparentofthecommondomestickind;norneedwelooktootherspeciesfortheparentageofthemoredistinctbreeds，namely，Penguin，Call，Hook—
billed，Tufted，andLabradorducks。Iwillnotrepeattheargumentsusedinthepreviouschaptersontheimprobabilityofmanhavinginancienttimesdomesticatedseveralspeciessincebecomeunknownorextinct，thoughducksarenotreadilyexterminatedinthewildstate;——onsomeofthesupposedparent—specieshavinghadabnormalcharactersincomparisonwithalltheotherspeciesofthegenus，aswithHook—billedandPenguinducks;——onallthebreeds，asfarasisknownbeingfertiletogether（8/10。Ihavemetwithseveralstatementsonthefertilityoftheseveralbreedswhencrossed。Mr。YarrellassuredmethatCallandcommonducksareperfectlyfertiletogether。IcrossedHook—billedandcommonducks，andaPenguinandLabrador，andthecrossedDuckswerequitefertile，thoughtheywerenotbredinterse，sothattheexperimentwasnotfullytried。Somehalf—bredPenguinsandLabradorswereagaincrossedwithPenguins，andsubsequentlybredbymeinterse，andtheywereextremelyfertile。）;——onallthebreedshavingthesamegeneraldisposition，instinct，etc。Butonefactbearingonthisquestionmaybenoticed:inthegreatduckfamily，onespeciesalone，namely，themaleofA。boschas，hasitsfourmiddletail—featherscurledupwardly;nowineveryoneoftheabove—nameddomesticbreedsthesecurledfeathersexist，andonthesuppositionthattheyaredescendedfromdistinctspecies，wemustassumethatmanformerlyhituponspeciesallofwhichhadthisnowuniquecharacter。Moreover，sub—varietiesofeachbreedarecolouredalmostexactlylikethewildduck，asIhaveseenwiththelargestandsmallestbreeds，namelyRouensandCallducks，and，asMr。
Brentstates（8/11。’PoultryChronicle’1855volume3page512。），isthecasewithHook—billedducks。Thisgentleman，asheinformsme，crossedawhiteAylesburydrakeandablackLabradorduck，andsomeoftheducklingsastheygrewupassumedtheplumageofthewildduck。
WithrespecttoPenguins，Ihavenotseenmanyspecimens，andnonewerecolouredpreciselylikethewildduck;butSirJamesBrookesentmethreeskinsfromLombokandBali，intheMalayanarchipelago;thetwofemaleswerepalerandmorerufousthanthewildduck，andthedrakedifferedinhavingthewholeunderanduppersurface（exceptingtheneck，tail—coverts，tail，andwings）silver—grey，finelypencilledwithdarklines，closelylikecertainpartsoftheplumageofthewildmallard。ButIfoundthisdraketobeidenticalineveryfeatherwithavarietyofthecommonbreedprocuredfromafarm—yardinKent，andIhaveoccasionallyelsewhereseensimilarspecimens。TheoccurrenceofaduckbredundersopeculiaraclimateasthatoftheMalayanarchipelago，wherethewildspeciesdoesnotexist，withexactlythesameplumageasmayoccasionallybeseeninourfarm—yards，isafactworthnotice。NeverthelesstheclimateoftheMalayanarchipelagoapparentlytendstocausetheducktovarymuch，forZollinger（8/12。’JournaloftheIndianArchipelago’volume5page334。），speakingofthePenguinbreed，saysthatinLombok\"thereisanunusualandverywonderfulvarietyofducks。\"OnePenguindrakewhichIkeptalivedifferedfromthoseofwhichtheskinsweresentmefromLombok，inhavingitsbreastandbackpartiallycolouredwithchestnut—brown，thusmorecloselyresemblingtheMallard。
Fromtheseseveralfacts，moreespeciallyfromthedrakesofallthebreedshavingcurledtail—feathers，andfromcertainsub—varietiesineachbreedoccasionallyresemblingingeneralplumagethewildduck，wemayconcludewithconfidencethatallthebreedsaredescendedfromA。boschas。
[Iwillnownoticesomeofthepeculiaritiescharacteristicoftheseveralbreeds。Theeggsvaryincolour;somecommonduckslayingpale—greenishandothersquitewhiteeggs。TheeggswhicharefirstlaidduringeachseasonbytheblackLabradorduck，aretintedblack，asifrubbedwithink。Agoodobserverassuredmethatoneyearhisducksofthisbreedlaidalmostperfectlywhiteeggs。Anothercuriouscaseshowswhatsingularvariationssometimesoccurandareinherited;Mr。Hansell（8/13。’TheZoologist’
volumes7，81849—1850page2353。）relatesthathehadacommonduckwhichalwayslaideggswiththeyolkofadark—browncolourlikemeltedglue;andtheyoungducks，hatchedfromtheseeggs，laidthesamekindofeggs，sothatthebreedhadtobedestroyed。
（FIGURE39。SKULLS，viewedlaterally，reducedtotwo—thirdsofthenaturalsize。A。WildDuck。B。Hook—billedDuck。）
TheHook—billedduckishighlyremarkable（seefigure39，ofskull）;anditspeculiarbeakhasbeeninheritedatleastsincetheyear1676。ThisstructureisevidentlyanalogouswiththatdescribedintheBagadottencarrierpigeon。Mr。Brent（8/14。’PoultryChronicle’1855volume3page512。）saysthat，whenHook—billedducksarecrossedwithcommonducks，\"manyyoungonesareproducedwiththeuppermandibleshorterthanthelower，whichnotunfrequentlycausesthedeathofthebird。\"Withducksatuftoffeathersontheheadisbynomeansarareoccurrence;namely，intheTrue—tuftedbreed，theHook—billed，thecommonfarm—yardkind，andinaduckhavingnootherpeculiaritywhichwassenttomefromtheMalayanarchipelago。Thetuftisonlysofarinterestingasitaffectstheskull，whichisthusrenderedslightlymoreglobular，andisperforatedbynumerousapertures。Callducksareremarkablefromtheirextraordinaryloquacity:thedrakeonlyhisseslikecommondrakes;nevertheless，whenpairedwiththecommonduck，hetransmitstohisfemaleoffspringastrongquackingtendency。Thisloquacityseemsatfirstasurprisingcharactertohavebeenacquiredunderdomestication。Butthevoicevariesinthedifferentbreeds;Mr。Brent（8/15。’PoultryChronicle’volume31855page312。WithrespecttoRouensseedittovolume11854page167。）saysthatHook—billedducksareveryloquacious，andthatRouensuttera\"dull，loud，andmonotonouscry，easilydistinguishablebyanexperiencedear。\"AstheloquacityoftheCallduckishighlyserviceable，thesebirdsbeingusedindecoys，thisqualitymayhavebeenincreasedbyselection。Forinstance，ColonelHawkersays，ifyoungwildduckscannotbegotforadecoy，\"bywayofmake—shift，SELECTtamebirdswhicharethemostclamorous，eveniftheircolourshouldnotbelikethatofwildones。\"（8/16。Col。Hawker’InstructionstoyoungSportsmen’quotedbyMr。Dixoninhis’OrnamentalPoultry’page125。）IthasbeenerroneouslyassertedthatCallduckshatchtheireggsinlesstimethancommonducks。（8/17。’CottageGardener’April9，1861。）
ThePenguinduckisthemostremarkableofallthebreeds;thethinneckandbodyarecarriederect;thewingsaresmall;thetailisupturned;andthethigh—bonesandmetatarsiareconsiderablylengthenedinproportionwiththesamebonesinthewildduck。Infivespecimensexaminedbymetherewereonlyeighteentail—feathersinsteadoftwentyasinthewildduck;butIhavealsofoundonlyeighteenandnineteentail—feathersintwoLabradorducks。Onthemiddletoe，inthreespecimens，thereweretwenty—
sevenortwenty—eightscutellae，whereasintwowildduckstherewerethirty—oneandthirty—two。ThePenguinwhencrossedtransmitswithmuchpoweritspeculiarformofbodyandgaittoitsoffspring;thiswasmanifestwithsomehybridsraisedintheZoologicalGardensbetweenoneofthesebirdsandtheEgyptiangoose（Anseraegyptiacus）（8/18。ThesehybridshavebeendescribedbyM。Selys—Longchampsinthe’Bulletins（tome12No10）Acad。Roy。deBruxelles。’），andlikewisewithsomemongrelswhichI
raisedbetweenthePenguinandLabradorduck。Iamnotmuchsurprisedthatsomewritersshouldmaintainthatthisbreedmustbedescendedfromanunknownanddistinctspecies;butfromthereasonsalreadyassigned，itseemstomefarmoreprobablethatitisthedescendant，muchmodifiedbydomesticationunderanunnaturalclimate，ofAnasboschas。
OSTEOLOGICALCHARACTERS。
Theskullsoftheseveralbreedsdifferfromeachotherandfromtheskullofthewildduckinverylittleexceptintheproportionallengthandcurvatureofthepremaxillaries。TheselatterbonesintheCallduckareshort，andalinedrawnfromtheirextremitiestothesummitoftheskullisnearlystraight，insteadofbeingconcaveasinthecommonduck;sothattheskullresemblesthatofasmallgoose。IntheHook—billedduck（figure39），thesesamebonesaswellasthelowerjawcurvedownwardsinamostremarkablemanner，asrepresented。IntheLabradorduckthepremaxillariesareratherbroaderthaninthewildduck;andintwoskullsofthisbreedtheverticalridgesoneachsideofthesupra—occipitalboneareveryprominent。InthePenguinthepremaxillariesarerelativelyshorterthaninthewildduck;andtheinferiorpointsoftheparamastoidsmoreprominent。
InaDutchtuftedduck，theskullundertheenormoustuftwasslightlymoreglobularandwasperforatedbytwolargeapertures;inthisskullthelachrymalboneswereproducedmuchfurtherbackwards，soastohaveadifferentshapeandnearlytotouchthepost。lat。processesofthefrontalbones，thusalmostcompletingthebonyorbitoftheeye。Asthequadrateandpterygoidbonesareofsuchcomplexshapeandstandinrelationwithsomanyotherbones，Icarefullycomparedtheminalltheprincipalbreeds;
butexceptinginsizetheypresentednodifference。
（FIGURE40。—CERVICALVERTEBRA，ofnaturalsize。A。EighthcervicalvertebraofWildDuckviewedonhaemalsurface。B。EighthcervicalvertebraofCallDuck，viewedasabove。C。TwelfthcervicalvertebraofWildDuckviewedlaterally。D。TwelfthcervicalvertebraofAylesburyDuck，viewedlaterally。）
VERTEBRAEANDRIBS。
InoneskeletonoftheLabradorduckthereweretheusualfifteencervicalvertebraeandtheusualninedorsalvertebraebearingribs;intheotherskeletontherewerefifteencervicalandtendorsalvertebraewithribs;
nor，asfarascouldbejudged，wasthisowingmerelytoaribhavingbeendevelopedonthefirstlumbarvertebra;forinbothskeletonsthelumbarvertebraeagreedperfectlyinnumber，shape，andsizewiththoseofthewildduck。IntwoskeletonsoftheCallducktherewerefifteencervicalandninedorsalvertebrae;inathirdskeletonsmallribswereattachedtotheso—calledfifteenthcervicalvertebra，makingtenpairsofribs;butthesetenribsdonotcorrespond，orarisefromthesamevertebra，withthetenintheabove—mentionedLabradorduck。IntheCallduck，whichhadsmallribsattachedtothefifteenthcervicalvertebra，thehaemalspinesofthethirteenthandfourteenth（cervical）andoftheseventeenth（dorsal）
vertebraecorrespondedwiththespinesonthefourteenth，fifteenth，andeighteenthvertebraeofthewildduck:sothateachofthesevertebraehadacquiredastructurepropertooneposteriortoitinposition。IntheeighthcervicalvertebraofthissameCallduck（figure40，B），thetwobranchesofthehaemalspinestandmuchclosertogetherthaninthewildduck（A），andthedescendinghaemalprocessesaremuchshortened。InthePenguinducktheneckfromitsthinnessanderectnessfalselyappears（asascertainedbymeasurement）tobemuchelongated，butthecervicalanddorsalvertebraepresentnodifference;theposteriordorsalvertebrae，however，aremorecompletelyanchylosedtothepelvisthaninthewildduck。TheAylesburyduckhasfifteencervicalandtendorsalvertebraefurnishedwithribs，butthesamenumberoflumbar，sacral，andcaudalvertebrae，asfarascouldbetraced，asinthewildduck。Thecervicalvertebraeinthissameduck（figure40，D）weremuchbroaderandthickerrelativelytotheirlengththaninthewild（C）;somuchso，thatIhavethoughtitworthwhiletogiveasketchofthetwelfthcervicalvertebrainthesetwobirds。Fromtheforegoingstatementsweseethatthefifteenthcervicalvertebraoccasionallybecomesmodifiedintoadorsalvertebra，andwhenthisoccursalltheadjoiningvertebraearemodified。Wealsoseethatanadditionaldorsalvertebrabearingaribisoccasionallydeveloped，thenumberofthecervicalandlumbarvertebraeapparentlyremainingthesameasusual。
IexaminedthebonyenlargementofthetracheainthemalesofthePenguin，Call，Hook—billed，Labrador，andAylesburybreeds;andinallitwasidenticalinshape。
ThePELVISisremarkablyuniform;butintheskeletonoftheHook—billedducktheanteriorpartismuchbowedinwards;intheAylesburyandsomeotherbreedstheischiadicforamenislesselongated。Inthesternum，furculum，coracoids，andscapulae，thedifferencesaresoslightandsovariableasnottobeworthnotice，exceptthatintwoskeletonsofthePenguinducktheterminalportionofthescapulawasmuchattenuated。
Inthebonesofthelegandwingnomodificationinshapecouldbeobserved。ButinthePenguinandHook—billedducks，theterminalphalangesofthewingarealittleshortened。Intheformer，thefemur，andmetatarsus（butnotthetibia）areconsiderablylengthened，relativelytothesamebonesinthewildduck，andtothewing—bonesinbothbirds。Thiselongationoftheleg—bonescouldbeseenwhilstthebirdwasalive，andisnodoubtconnectedwithitspeculiaruprightmannerofwalking。InalargeAylesburyduck，ontheotherhand，thetibiawastheonlyboneofthelegwhichrelativelytotheotherboneswasslightlylengthened。
ONTHEEFFECTSOFTHEINCREASEDANDDECREASEDUSEOFTHELIMBS。
Inallthebreedsthebonesofthewing（measuredseparatelyafterhavingbeencleaned）relativelytothoseoftheleghavebecomeslightlyshortened，incomparisonwiththesamebonesinthewildduck，asmaybeseeninTable8。I。
TABLE8。I。a。
COLUMN1。LengthofFemur，Tibia，andMetatarsustogether（inches）。
COLUMN2。LengthofHumerus，Radius，andMetacarpustogether（inches）。
COLUMN3。Oras（ratio）。
NameofBreed。1。2。3。
Wildmallard。7。149。28100:129
Aylesbury。8。6410。43100:120
Tufted（Dutch）。8。259。83100:119
Penguin。7。128。78100:123
Call。6。207。77100:125
TABLE8。I。b。
COLUMN1。LengthofFemur，Tibia，andMetatarsustogether（inches）。
COLUMN2。Lengthofallthebonesofthewing（inches）。
COLUMN3。Oras（ratio）。
NameofBreed。1。2。3。
Wildduck（anotherspecimen）。6。8510。07100:147
Commondomesticduck。8。1511。26100:138
Intable8。Iwesee，bycomparisonwiththewildduck，thatthereductioninthelengthofthebonesofthewing，relativelytothoseofthelegs，thoughslight，isuniversal。ThereductionisleastintheCallduck，whichhasthepowerandthehabitoffrequentlyflying。
Inweightthereisagreaterrelativedifferencebetweenthebonesofthelegandwing，asmaybeseeninTable8。II:
TABLE8。II。a。
COLUMN1。WeightofFemur，Tibia，andMetatarsus（grains）。
COLUMN2。WeightofHumerus，Radius，andMetacarpus（grains）。
COLUMN3。Oras（ratio）。
NameofBreed。1。2。3。
Wildmallard。5497100:179
Aylesbury。164204100:124
Hooked—bill。107160100:149
Tufted（Dutch）。111148100:133
Penguin。7590。5100:120
Labrador。141165100:117
Call。5793100:163
TABLE8。II。b。
COLUMN1。WeightofalltheBonesoftheLegandFoot（grains）。
COLUMN2。WeightofalltheBonesoftheWing（grains）。
COLUMN3。Oras（ratio）。
NameofBreed。1。2。3。
Wild（anotherspecimen）。66115100:173
Commondomesticduck。127158100:124
Inthesedomesticatedbirds，theconsiderablylessenedweightofthebonesofthewing（i。e。onanaverage，twenty—fivepercentoftheirproperproportionalweight），aswellastheirslightlylessenedlength，relativelytotheleg—bones，mightfollow，notfromanyactualdecreaseinthewing—
bones，butfromtheincreasedweightandlengthofthebonesofthelegs。
TABLE8。III。a。
COLUMN1。WeightofentireSkeleton（grains）。（N。B。OneMetatarsusandFootwasremovedfromeachskeleton，asithadbeenaccidentallylostintwocases。）
COLUMN2。WeightofFemur，Tibia，andMetatarsus（grains）。
COLUMN3。Oras（ratio）。
NameofBreed。1。2。3。
Wildmallard。839541000:64
Aylesbury。19251641000:85
Tufted（Dutch）。14041111000:79
Penguin。871751000:86
Call（fromMr。Fox）。717571000:79
TABLE8。III。b。
COLUMN1。WeightofentireSkeleton（grains）。（N。B。OneMetatarsusandFootwasremovedfromeachskeleton，asithadbeenaccidentallylostintwocases。）
COLUMN2。WeightofHumerus，RadiusandMetacarpus（grains）。
COLUMN3。Oras（ratio）。
NameofBreed。1。2。3。
Wildmallard。839971000:115
Aylesbury。19252041000:105
Tufted（Dutch）。14041481000:105
Penguin。871901000:103
Call（fromMr。Baker）。9141001000:109
Call（fromMr。Fox）。717921000:129
Table8。III。ashowsthattheleg—bonesrelativelytotheweightoftheentireskeletonhavereallyincreasedinweight;butTable8。III。bshowsthataccordingtothesamestandardthewing—boneshavealsoreallydecreasedinweight;sothattherelativedisproportionshownintheforegoingtablesbetweenthewingandleg—bones，incomparisonwiththoseofthewildduck，ispartlyduetotheincreaseinweightandlengthoftheleg—bones，andpartlytothedecreaseinweightandlengthofthewing—
bones。
WithrespecttoTables8。III。aandb，ImayfirststatethatItestedthembytakinganotherskeletonofawildduckandofacommondomesticduck，andbycomparingtheweightofALLthebonesofthelegwithALLthoseofthewings，andtheresultwasthesame。Inthefirstofthesetablesweseethattheleg—bonesineachcasehaveincreasedinactualweight。Itmighthavebeenexpectedthat，withtheincreasedordecreasedweightoftheentireskeleton，theleg—boneswouldhavebecomeproportionallyheavierorlighter;buttheirgreaterweightinallthebreedsrelativelytotheotherbonescanbeaccountedforonlybythesedomesticbirdshavingusedtheirlegsinwalkingandstandingmuchmorethanthewild，fortheyneverfly，andthemoreartificialbreedsrarelyswim。Inthesecondtablewesee，withtheexceptionofonecase，aplainreductionintheweightofthebonesofthewing，andthisnodoubthasresultedfromtheirlesseneduse。
Theoneexceptionalcase，namely，inoneoftheCallducks，isintruthnoexception，forthisbirdwasconstantlyinthehabitofflyingabout;andI
haveseenitdayafterdayrisefrommygrounds，andflyforalongtimeincirclesofmorethanamileindiameter。InthisCallduckthereisnotonlynodecrease，butanactualincreaseintheweightofthewing—bonesrelativelytothoseofthewild—duck;andthisprobablyisconsequentontheremarkablelightnessandthinnessofallthebonesoftheskeleton。
Lastly，Iweighedthefurculum，coracoids，andscapulaofawildduckandofacommondomesticduck，andIfoundthattheirweight，relativelytothatofthewholeskeleton，wasasonehundredintheformertoeighty—nineinthelatter;thisshowsthatthesebonesinthedomesticduckhavebeenreducedelevenpercentoftheirdueproportionalweight。Theprominenceofthecrestofthesternum，relativelytoitslength，isalsomuchreducedinallthedomesticbreeds。Thesechangeshaveevidentlybeencausedbythelesseneduseofthewings。]
Itiswellknownthatseveralbirds，belongingtodifferentOrders，andinhabitingoceanicislands，havetheirwingsgreatlyreducedinsizeandareincapableofflight。Isuggestedinmy’OriginofSpecies’that，asthesebirdsarenotpersecutedbyanyenemies，thereductionoftheirwingshadprobablybeencausedbygradualdisuse。Hence，duringtheearlierstagesoftheprocessofreduction，suchbirdswouldprobablyhaveresembledourdomesticatedducksinthestateoftheirorgansofflight。
Thisisthecasewiththewater—hen（Gallinulanesiotis）ofTristand’Acunha，which\"canflutteralittle，butobviouslyusesitslegs，andnotitswings，asamodeofescape。\"NowMr。Sclater（8/19。’Proc。Zoolog。
Soc。’1861page261。）findsinthisbirdthatthewings，sternum，andcoracoidsareallreducedinlength，andthecrestofthesternumindepth，incomparisonwiththesamebonesintheEuropeanwater—hen（G。chloropus）。
Ontheotherhand，thethigh—bonesandpelvisareincreasedinlength，theformerbyfourlines，relativelytothesamebonesinthecommonwater—hen。
Henceintheskeletonofthisnaturalspeciesnearlythesamechangeshaveoccurred，onlycarriedalittlefurther，aswithourdomesticducks，andinthislattercaseIpresumenoonewilldisputethattheyhaveresultedfromthelesseneduseofthewingsandtheincreaseduseofthelegs。
THEGOOSE。
Thisbirddeservessomenotice，ashardlyanyotherancientlydomesticatedbirdorquadrupedhasvariedsolittle。ThatgeesewereancientlydomesticatedweknowfromcertainversesinHomer;andfromthesebirdshavingbeenkept（388B。C。）intheCapitolatRomeassacredtoJuno，whichsacrednessimpliesgreatantiquity。（8/20。’Ceylon’bySirJ。E。Tennent1859volume1page485;alsoJ。Crawfurdonthe’RelationofDomest。
AnimalstoCivilisation’readbeforeBrit。Assoc。1860。Seealso’OrnamentalPoultry’byRev。E。S。Dixon1848page132。ThegoosefiguredontheEgyptianmonumentsseemstohavebeentheRedgooseofEgypt。）Thatthegoosehasvariedinsomedegree，wemayinferfromnaturalistsnotbeingunanimouswithrespecttoitswildparent—form;thoughthedifficultyischieflyduetotheexistenceofthreeorfourcloselyalliedwildEuropeanspecies。（8/21。Macgillivray’s’BritishBirds’volume4page593。）AlargemajorityofcapablejudgesareconvincedthatourgeesearedescendedfromthewildGrey—leggoose（Anserferus）;theyoungofwhichcaneasilybetamed。（8/22。Mr。A。Strickland，’AnnalsandMag。ofNat。Hist。’3rdseriesvolume31859page122，rearedsomeyoungwildgeese，andfoundtheminhabitsandinallcharactersidenticalwiththedomesticgoose。）Thisspecies，whencrossedwiththedomesticgoose，producedintheZoologicalGardens，asIwasassuredin1849，perfectlyfertileoffspring。（8/23。SeealsoHunter’Essays’editedbyOwenvolume2page322。）Yarrell（8/24。
Yarrell’s’BritishBirds’volume3page142。）hasobservedthatthelowerpartofthetracheaofthedomesticgooseissometimesflattened，andthataringofwhitefeatherssometimessurroundsthebaseofthebeak。Thesecharactersseematfirstsightgoodindicationsofacrossatsomeformerperiodwiththewhite—frontedgoose（A。albifrons）;butthewhiteringisvariableinthislatterspecies，andwemustnotoverlookthelawofanalogousvariation;thatis，ofonespeciesassumingsomeofthecharactersofalliedspecies。
Asthegoosehasprovedsolittleflexibleinitsorganisationunderlong—
continueddomestication，theamountofvariationwhichithasundergonemaybeworthgiving。Ithasincreasedinsizeandinproductiveness（8/25。L。
Lloyd’ScandinavianAdventures’1854volume2page413，saysthatthewildgooselaysfromfivetoeighteggs，whichisamuchfewernumberthanthatlaidbyourdomesticgoose。）;andvariesfromwhitetoaduskycolour。
Severalobservers（8/26。TheRev。L。Jenyns（Blomefield）seemsfirsttohavemadethisobservationinhis’BritishAnimals。’SeealsoYarrell，andDixoninhis’OrnamentalPoultry’（page139），and’Gardener’sChronicle’
1857page45。）havestatedthattheganderismorefrequentlywhitethanthegoose，andthatwhenolditalmostinvariablybecomeswhite;butthisisnotthecasewiththeparent—form，theA。ferus。Here，again，thelawofanalogousvariationmayhavecomeintoplay，asthealmostsnow—whitemaleoftheRockgoose（Berniclaantarctica）standingonthesea—shorebyhisduskypartnerisasightwellknowntothosewhohavetraversedthesoundsofTierradelFuegoandtheFalklandIslands。Somegeesehavetop—knots;
andtheskullbeneath，asbeforestated，isperforated。Asub—breedhaslatelybeenformedwiththefeathersreversedatthebackoftheheadandneck。（8/27。Mr。BartletexhibitedtheheadandneckofabirdthuscharacterisedbeforetheZoologicalSoc。February1860。）Thebeakvariesalittleinsize，andisofayellowertintthaninthewildspecies;butitscolourandthatofthelegsarebothslightlyvariable。（8/28。W。Thompson’NaturalHist。ofIreland’1851volume3page31。TheRev。E。S。Dixongavemesomeinformationonthevaryingcolourofthebeakandlegs。）Thislatterfactdeservesattention，becausethecolourofthelegsandbeakishighlyserviceableindiscriminatingtheseveralcloselyalliedwildforms。
（8/29。Mr。A。Stricklandin’AnnalsandMag。ofNat。Hist。’3rdseriesvolume31859page122。）AtourShowstwobreedsareexhibited;viz。，theEmbdenandToulouse;buttheydifferinnothingexceptcolour。（8/30。
’PoultryChronicle’volume11854page498;volume3page210。）RecentlyasmallerandsingularvarietyhasbeenimportedfromSebastopol（8/31。’TheCottageGardener’September4，1860page348。），withthescapularfeathers（asIhearfromMr。Tegetmeier，whosentmespecimens）greatlyelongated，curled，andevenspirallytwisted。Themarginsofthesefeathersarerenderedplumosebythedivergenceofthebarbsandbarbules，sothattheyresembleinsomedegreethoseonthebackoftheblackAustralianswan。
Thesefeathersarelikewiseremarkablefromthecentralshaft，whichisexcessivelythinandtransparent，beingsplitintofinefilaments，which，afterrunningforaspacefree，sometimescoalesceagain。Itisacuriousfactthatthesefilamentsareregularlyclothedoneachsidewithfinedownorbarbules，preciselylikethoseontheproperbarbsofthefeather。Thisstructureofthefeathersistransmittedtohalf—bredbirds。InGallussonneratiithebarbsandbarbulesblendtogether，andformthinhornyplatesofthesamenaturewiththeshaft:inthisvarietyofthegoose，theshaftdividesintofilamentswhichacquirebarbules，andthusresembletruebarbs。
Althoughthedomesticgoosecertainlydifferssomewhatfromanyknownwildspecies，yettheamountofvariationwhichithasundergone，ascomparedwiththatofmostdomesticatedanimals，issingularlysmall。Thisfactcanbepartiallyaccountedforbyselectionnothavingcomelargelyintoplay。
Birdsofallkindswhichpresentmanydistinctracesarevaluedaspetsorornaments;noonemakesapetofthegoose;thename，indeed，inmorelanguagesthanone，isatermofreproach。Thegooseisvaluedforitssizeandflavour，forthewhitenessofitsfeatherswhichaddstotheirvalue，andforitsprolificnessandtameness。Inallthesepointsthegoosediffersfromthewildparent—form;andthesearethepointswhichhavebeenselected。EveninancienttimestheRomangourmandsvaluedtheliveroftheWHITEgoose;andPierreBelon（8/32。’L’Hist。delaNaturedesOiseaux’parP。Belon1555page156。WithrespecttotheliversofwhitegeesebeingpreferredbytheRomansseeIsid。GeoffroySt。—Hilaire’Hist。Nat。Gen。’
tome3page58。）in1555speaksoftwovarieties，oneofwhichwaslarger，morefecund，andofabettercolourthantheother;andheexpresslystatesthatgoodmanagersattendedtothecolouroftheirgoslings，sothattheymightknowwhichtopreserveandselectforbreeding。
THEPEACOCK。
Thisisanotherbirdwhichhashardlyvariedunderdomestication，exceptinsometimesbeingwhiteorpiebald。Mr。Waterhousecarefullycompared，asheinformsme，skinsofthewildIndiananddomesticbird，andtheywereidenticalineveryrespect，exceptthattheplumageofthelatterwasperhapsratherthicker。WhetherourbirdsaredescendedfromthoseintroducedintoEuropeinthetimeofAlexander，orhavebeensubsequentlyimported，isdoubtful。Theydonotbreedveryfreelywithus，andareseldomkeptinlargenumbers，——circumstanceswhichwouldgreatlyinterferewiththegradualselectionandformationofnewbreeds。
Thereisonestrangefactwithrespecttothepeacock，namely，theoccasionalappearanceinEnglandofthe\"japanned\"or\"black—shouldered\"
kind。ThisformhaslatelybeennamedonthehighauthorityofMr。Sclaterasadistinctspecies，viz。Pavonigripennis，whichhebelieveswillhereafterbefoundwildinsomecountry，butnotinIndia，whereitiscertainlyunknown。Themalesofthesejapannedbirdsdifferconspicuouslyfromthecommonpeacockinthecolouroftheirsecondarywing—feathers，scapulars，wing—coverts，andthighs，andareIthinkmorebeautiful;theyarerathersmallerthanthecommonsort，andarealwaysbeatenbythemintheirbattles，asIhearfromtheHon。A。S。G。Canning。Thefemalesaremuchpalercolouredthanthoseofthecommonkind。Bothsexes，asMr。Canninginformsme，arewhitewhentheyleavetheegg，andtheydifferfromtheyoungofthewhitevarietyonlyinhavingapeculiarpinkishtingeontheirwings。Thesejapannedbirds，thoughappearingsuddenlyinflocksofthecommonkind，propagatetheirkindquitetruly。AlthoughtheydonotresemblethehybridswhichhavebeenraisedbetweenP。cristatusandmuticus，neverthelesstheyareinsomerespectsintermediateincharacterbetweenthesetwospecies;andthisfactfavours，asMr。Sclaterbelieves，theviewthattheyformadistinctandnaturalspecies。（8/33。Mr。Sclaterontheblack—shoulderedpeacockofLatham’Proc。Zoolog。Soc。’April24，1860。Mr。Swinhoeatonetimebelieved，’Ibis’July1868，thatthiskindofpeafowlwasfoundwildinCochinChina，buthehassinceinformedmethathefeelsverydoubtfulonthishead。）
Ontheotherhand，SirH。Heronstates（8/34。’Proc。Zoolog。Soc。’April14，1835。）thatthisbreedsuddenlyappearedwithinhismemoryinLordBrownlow’slargestockofpied，white，andcommonpeacocks。ThesamethingoccurredinSirJ。Trevelyan’sflockcomposedentirelyofthecommonkind，andinMr。Thornton’sstockofcommonandpiedpeacocks。Itisremarkablethatinthesetwolatterinstancestheblack—shoulderedkind，thoughasmallerandweakerbird，increased，\"totheextinctionofthepreviouslyexistingbreed。\"IhavealsoreceivedthroughMr。SclaterastatementfromMr。HudsonGurneythatherearedmanyyearsagoapairofblack—shoulderedpeacocksfromthecommonkind;andanotherornithologist，Prof。A。Newton，statesthat，fiveorsixyearsago，afemalebird，inallrespectssimilartothefemaleoftheblack—shoulderedkind，wasproducedfromastockofcommonpeacocksinhispossession，whichduringmorethantwentyyearshadnotbeencrossedwithbirdsofanyotherstrain。Mr。JennerWeirinformsmethatapeacockatBlackheathwhilstyoungwaswhite，butasitbecameoldergraduallyassumedthecharactersoftheblack—shoulderedvariety;bothitsparentswerecommonpeacocks。Lastly，Mr。CanninghasgivenacaseofafemaleofthissamevarietyappearinginIrelandinaflockoftheordinarykind。（8/35。’TheField’May6，1871。IammuchindebtedtoMr。Canningforinformationwithrespecttohisbirds。）Here，then，wehavesevenwellauthenticatedcasesinGreatBritainofjapannedbirds，havingsuddenlyappearedwithinrecenttimesinflocksofthecommonpeafowl。ThisvarietymustalsohaveformerlyappearedinEurope，forMr。Canninghasseenanoldpicture，andanotherisreferredtointhe’Field，’withthisvarietyrepresented。Thesefactsseemtometoindicatethatthejapannedpeacockisastronglymarkedvarietyor\"sport，\"whichtendsatalltimesandinmanyplacestoreappear。Thisviewissupportedbytheyoungbeingatfirstwhiteliketheyoungofthewhitebreed，whichisundoubtedlyavariation。
If，ontheotherhand，webelievethejapannedpeacocktobeadistinctspecies，wemustsupposethatinalltheabovecasesthecommonbreedhadatsomeformerperiodbeencrossedbyit，buthadlosteverytraceofthecross;yetthattheoffspringofthesebirdssuddenlyandcompletelyreacquiredthroughreversionthecharactersofP。nigripennis。Ihaveheardofnoothersuchcaseintheanimalorvegetablekingdom。Toperceivethefullimprobabilityofsuchanoccurrence，wemaysupposethatabreedofdogshadbeencrossedatsomeformerperiodwithawolf，buthadlosteverytraceofthewolf—likecharacter，yetthatthebreedgavebirthinseveninstancesinthesamecountry，withinnogreatlengthoftime，toawolfperfectineverycharacter;andwemustfurthersupposethatintwoofthecases，thenewlyproducedwolvesafterwardsspontaneouslyincreasedtosuchanextentastoleadtotheextinctionoftheparentbreedofdogs。SoremarkableabirdastheP。nigripennis，whenfirstimported，wouldhaverealisedalargeprice;itisthereforeimprobablethatitshouldhavebeensilentlyintroducedanditshistorysubsequentlylost。Onthewholetheevidenceseemstome，asitdidtoSirR。Heron，tobedecisiveinfavourofthejapannedorblack—shoulderedbreedbeingavariation，inducedbysomeunknowncause。Onthisview，thecaseisthemostremarkableoneeverrecordedoftheabruptappearanceofanewform，whichsocloselyresemblesatruespeciesthatithasdeceivedoneofthemostexperiencedoflivingornithologists。
THETURKEY。
ItseemsfairlywellestablishedbyMr。Gould（8/36。’Proc。Zoolog。Soc。’
April8，1856page61。Prof。Bairdbelieves（asquotedinTegetmeier’PoultryBook’1866page269）thatourturkeysaredescendedfromaWestIndianspeciesnowextinct。Butbesidestheimprobabilityofabirdhavinglongagobecomeextinctintheselargeandluxuriantislands，itappears（asweshallpresentlysee）thattheturkeydegeneratesinIndia，andthisfactindicatesthatitwasnotaboriginallyaninhabitantofthelowlandsofthetropics。），thattheturkey，inaccordancewiththehistoryofitsfirstintroduction，isdescendedfromawildMexicanform，whichhadbeendomesticatedbythenativesbeforethediscoveryofAmerica，andwhichisnowgenerallyrankedasalocalrace，andnotasadistinctspecies。
Howeverthismaybe，thecasedeservesnoticebecauseintheUnitedStateswildmaleturkeyssometimescourtthedomestichens，whicharedescendedfromtheMexicanform，\"andaregenerallyreceivedbythemwithgreatpleasure。\"（8/37。Audubon’OrnithologicalBiography’volume11831pages4—
13;and’Naturalist’sLibrary’volume14’Birds’page138。）Severalaccountshavelikewisebeenpublishedofyoungbirds，rearedintheUnitedStatesfromtheeggsofthewildspecies，crossingandcomminglingwiththecommonbreed。InEngland，also，thissamespecieshasbeenkeptinseveralparks;fromtwoofwhichtheRev。W。D。Foxprocuredbirds，andtheycrossedfreelywiththecommondomestickind，andduringmanyyearsafterwards，asheinformsme，theturkeysinhisneighbourhoodclearlyshowedtracesoftheircrossedparentage。Weherehaveaninstanceofadomesticracebeingmodifiedbyacrosswithadistinctwildraceorspecies。F。Michaux（8/38。
F。Michaux’TravelsinN。America’1802Englishtranslationpage217。）
suspectedin1802thatthecommondomesticturkeywasnotdescendedfromtheUnitedStatesspeciesalone，butlikewisefromasouthernform，andhewentsofarastobelievethatEnglishandFrenchturkeysdifferedfromhavingdifferentproportionsofthebloodofthetwoparent—forms。
Englishturkeysaresmallerthaneitherwildform。Theyhavenotvariedinanygreatdegree;buttherearesomebreedswhichcanbedistinguishedasNorfolks，Suffolks，Whites，andCopper—coloured（orCambridge），allofwhich，ifprecludedfromcrossingwithotherbreedspropagatetheirkindtruly。Ofthesekinds，themostdistinctisthesmall，hardy，dull—blackNorfolkturkey，ofwhichthechickensareblack，occasionallywithwhitepatchesaboutthehead。Theotherbreedsscarcelydifferexceptincolour，andtheirchickensaregenerallymottledalloverwithbrownish—grey。