| → Consequently, 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869 |
| A tendency to 1872 |
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| → be 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869 |
| also, be much 1872 |
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Chapter
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1859 1861 |
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Chapter
— .
1860 |
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Chapter
. 1866 1869 |
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Chapter
. 1872 |
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much less frequently
than with mongrels. Looking to the cases which I have collected of cross-bred animals closely resembling one parent, the resemblances seem chiefly confined to characters almost monstrous in their nature, and which have suddenly
as albinism, melanism, deficiency of tail or horns, or additional fingers and toes; and do not relate to characters which have been slowly acquired
selection.
→Consequently,
sudden reversions to the perfect character of either parent
→be
likely to occur with mongrels, which are descended from varieties often suddenly produced and semi-monstrous in character, than with hybrids, which are descended from species slowly and naturally produced. On the
I entirely agree with Dr. Prosper Lucas, who, after arranging an enormous body of facts with respect to animals, comes to the conclusion, that the laws of resemblance of the child to its parents are the same, whether the two parents differ
or
from each other,
in the union of individuals of the same variety, or of different varieties, or of distinct species. |
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the question of fertility and sterility, in all other respects there seems to be a general and close similarity in the offspring of crossed species, and of crossed varieties. If we look at species as having been specially created, and at varieties as having been produced by secondary laws, this similarity would be an astonishing fact. But it harmonises perfectly with the view that there is no essential distinction between species and varieties. |
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→
Chapter
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| First crosses between
sufficiently distinct to be ranked as species, and their hybrids, are very generally, but not universally, sterile.
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