Origin of Species Variorum

↑ 1 blocks not present in 1872; present in 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869

The keeping of a large number of individuals of a species in any country requires that the species should be placed under favourable conditions of life, so as to breed freely in that country.

→ OMIT 1872

of any species 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869

→ will be allowed to breed, 1872

the individuals, 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869

→ OMIT 1872

will generally be allowed to breed, 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869

→ element is 1872

point of all, is, 1859 1860

point of all is 1861 1866 1869

→ OMIT 1872

useful to man, or so much 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869

→ (with some aid by crossing 1872

there appeared (aided by some crossing with 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869

→ were raised which have appeared 1872

which have been raised 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869

→ half-century. 1872

thirty or forty years. 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869

→ With animals, 1872

In the case of animals with separate sexes, 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869

→ improved and kept 1861 1866 1869 1872

kept 1859 1860

→ for recently in certain parts of Spain and of the United States this animal has been surprisingly modified and improved by careful selection; in 1872

in 1859 1860

for recently in certain parts of Spain and of the United States this animal has been surprisingly modified and improved by careful selection: in 1861 1866 1869

→ breeds; 1872

breeds. 1859 1860

breeds; but the goose seems to have a singularly inflexible organisation. 1861 1866 1869

be reared only where the conditions for its propagation are favourable. ↑ When the individuals →OMIT are scanty, all →will be allowed to breed, whatever their quality may be, →OMIT and this will effectually prevent selection. But probably the most important →element is that the animal or plant should be so highly →OMIT valued by

him,

man,

that the closest attention

should be

paid to even the slightest

deviation

deviations

the

its

qualities or

structure

each

individual.

Unless such attention be paid nothing can be effected. I have seen it gravely remarked, that it was most fortunate that the strawberry began to vary just when gardeners began to attend

closely

....

to this plant. No doubt the strawberry had always varied since it was cultivated, but the slight varieties had been neglected. As soon, however, as gardeners picked out individual plants with slightly larger, earlier, or better fruit, and raised seedlings from them, and again picked out the best seedlings and bred from them,

then,

then

→(with some aid by crossing distinct species) those many admirable varieties of the strawberry →were raised which have appeared during the last →half-century.

→With animals, facility in preventing crosses is an important element

of success

....

in the formation of new races, — at least, in a country which is already stocked with other races. In this respect enclosure of the land plays a part. Wandering savages or the inhabitants of open plains rarely possess more than one breed of the same species. Pigeons can be mated for life, and this is a great convenience to the fancier, for thus many races may be →improved and kept true, though mingled in the same aviary; and this circumstance must have largely favoured the

improvement and

....

formation of new breeds. Pigeons, I may add, can be propagated in great numbers and at a very quick rate, and inferior birds may be freely rejected, as when killed they serve for food. On the other hand, cats, from their nocturnal rambling habits, cannot be

matched,

easily matched,

and, although so much valued by women and children, we

hardly ever

rarely

see a distinct breed

kept

long kept

up; such breeds as we do sometimes see are almost always imported from some other

country,

often

from

islands.

Although I do not doubt that some domestic animals vary less than others, yet the rarity or absence of distinct breeds of the cat, the donkey, peacock, goose, &c., may be attributed in main part to selection not having been brought into play: in cats, from the difficulty in pairing

them:

them;

in donkeys, from only a few being kept by poor people, and little attention paid to their breeding; →for recently in certain parts of Spain and of the United States this animal has been surprisingly modified and improved by careful selection; in peacocks, from not being very easily reared and a large stock not

kept:

kept;

in geese, from being valuable only for two purposes, food and feathers, and more especially from no pleasure having been felt in the display of distinct →breeds;