The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication

Goats

From the recent researches of M. Brandt, most naturalists now believe that all our goats are descended from the Capra ægagrus of the mountains of Asia, possibly mingled with the allied Indian species C. falconeri of India.97 In Switzerland, during the neolithic period, the domestic goat was commoner than the sheep; and this very ancient race differed in no respect from that now common in Switzerland.98 At the present time, the many races found in several parts of the world differ greatly from each other; nevertheless, as far as they have been tried,99 they are all quite fertile when crossed. So numerous are the breeds, that Mr. G. Clark100 has described eight distinct kinds imported into the one island of Mauritius. The ears of one kind were enormously developed, being, as measured by Mr. Clark, no less than 19 inches in length and 4-3/4 inches in breadth. As with cattle, the mammæ of those breeds which are regularly milked become greatly developed; and, as Mr. Clark remarks, “it is not rare to see their teats touching the ground.” The following cases are worth notice as presenting unusual points of variation. According to Godron,101 the mammæ differ greatly in shape in different breeds, being elongated in the common goat, hemispherical in the Angora race, and bilobed and divergent in the goats of Syria and Nubia. According to this same author, the males of certain breeds have lost their usual offensive odour. In one of the Indian breeds the males and females have horns of widely-different shapes;102 and in some breeds the females are destitute of horns.103 M. Ramu of Nancy informs me that many of the goats there bear on the upper part of the throat a pair of hairy appendages, 70 mm. in length and about 10 mm. in diameter, which in external appearance resemble those above described on the jaws of pigs. The presence of inter-digital pits or glands on all four feet has been thought to characterise the genus Ovis, and their absence to be characteristic of the genus Capra; but Mr. Hodgson has found that they exist in the front feet of the majority of Himalayan goats.104 Mr. Hodgson measured the intestines in two goats of the Dúgú race, and he found that the proportional length of the great and small intestines differed considerably. In one of these goats the cæcum was thirteen inches, and in the other no less than thirty-six inches in length!

References

1 Hermann von Nathusius ‘Die Racen des Schweines,’ Berlin, 1860; and ‘Vorstudien für Geschichte,’ etc., ‘Schweineschädel,’ Berlin, 1864. Rütimeyer, ‘Die Fauna der Pfahlbauten,’ Basel, 1861.

2 Nathusius, ‘Die Racen des Schweines,’ Berlin, 1860. An excellent appendix is given with references to published and trustworthy drawings of the breeds of each country.

3 For Europe see Bechstein, ‘Naturgesch. Deutschlands,’ 1801, B. i., s. 505. Several accounts have been published on the fertility of the offspring from wild and tame swine. See Burdach’s ‘Physiology,’ and Godron ‘De l’Espèce,’ tom. i. p. 370. For Africa, ‘Bull. de la Soc. d’Acclimat.’ tom. iv. p. 389. For India, see Nathusius, ‘Schweineschädel,’ s. 148.

4 Sir W. Elliot, Catalogue of Mammalia, ‘Madras Journal of Lit. and Science,’ vol. x. p. 219.

5 ‘Pfahlbauten,’ s. 163 et passim.

6 See J. W. Schütz’ interesting essay, ‘Zur Kenntniss des Torfschweins,’ 1868. This author believes that the Torfschwein is descended from a distinct species, the S. sennariensis of Central Africa.

7 Stan. Julien quoted by de Blainville, ‘Ostéographie,’ p. 163.

8 Richardson, ‘Pigs, their Origin,’ etc., p. 26.

9 ‘Die Racen des Schweines’ s. 47, 64.

10 ‘Proc. Zoolog. Soc.,’ 1861, p. 263.

11 Sclater, in ‘Proc. Zoolog. Soc.,’ Feb. 26, 1861.

12 ‘Proc. Zoolog. Soc.,’ 1862, p. 13. The skull has since been described much more fully by Professor Lucae in a very interesting essay, ‘Der Schädel des Maskenschweines,’ 1870. He confirms the conclusion of von Nathusius on the relationship of this kind of pig.

13 ‘Journal of Voyages and Travels from 1821 to 1829,’ vol. i. p. 300.

14 Rev. G. Low ‘Fauna Orcadensis,’ p. 10. See also Dr. Hibbert’s account of the pig of the Shetland Islands.

15 ‘Die Racen des Schweines’ s. 70.

16 These woodcuts are copied from engravings given in Mr. S. Sidney’s excellent edition of ‘The Pig,’ by Youatt, 1860. See pp. 1, 16, 19.

17 ‘Schweineschädel’ s. 74, 135.

18 Nathusius, ‘Die Racen des Schweines,’ s. 71.

19 ‘Die Racen des Schweines,’ s. 47. ‘Schweineschädel’ s. 104. Compare, also, the figures of the old Irish and the improved Irish breeds in Richardson on ‘The Pig,’ 1847.

20 Quoted by Isid. Geoffroy, ‘Hist. Nat. Gén.,’ tom. iii. p. 441.

21 S. Sidney, ‘The Pig,’ p. 61.

22 ‘Schweineschädel,’ s. 2, 20.

23 ‘Proc. Zoolog. Soc.,’ 1837, p. 23. I have not given the caudal vertebræ, as Mr. Eyton says some might possibly have been lost. I have added together the dorsal and lumbar vertebræ, owing to Prof. Owen’s remarks (‘Journal Linn. Soc.,’ vol. ii. p. 28) on the difference between dorsal and lumbar vertebræ depending only on the development of the ribs. Nevertheless the difference in the number of the ribs in pigs deserves notice. M. Sanson gives the number of lumbar vertebræ in various pigs; ‘Comptes Rendus,’ lxiii. p. 843.

24 ‘Edinburgh New Philosoph. Journal,’ April, 1863. See also De Blainville’s ‘Ostéographie,’ p. 128, for various authorities on this subject.

25 Eudes-Deslongchamps, ‘Mémoires de la Soc. Linn. de Normandie,’ vol. vii., 1842, p. 41. Richardson, ‘Pigs, their Origin, etc.,’ 1847, p. 30. Nathusius, ‘Die Racen des Schweines,’ 1863, s. 54.

26 D. Johnson’s ‘Sketches of Indian Field Sports,’ p. 272. Mr. Crawfurd informs me that the same fact holds good with the wild pigs of the Malay peninsula.

27 For Turkish pigs see Desmarest, ‘Mammalogie,’ 1820, p. 391. For those of Westphalia see Richardson’s ‘Pigs, their Origin, etc.,’ 1847, p. 41.

28 With respect to the several foregoing and following statements on feral pigs, see Roulin, in ‘Mém. présentés par divers Savans a l’Acad.,’ etc., Paris, tom. vi. 1835, p. 326. It should be observed that his account does not apply to truly feral pigs; but to pigs long introduced into the country and living in a half-wild state. For the truly feral pigs of Jamaica, see Gosse’s ‘Sojourn in Jamaica,’ 1851, p. 386; and Col. Hamilton Smith, in ‘Nat. Library,’ vol. ix. p. 93. With respect to Africa see Livingstone’s ‘Expedition to the Zambesi,’ 1865, p. 153. The most precise statement with respect to the tusks of the West Indian feral boars is by P. Labat (quoted by Roulin); but this author attributes the state of these pigs to descent from a domestic stock which he saw in Spain. Admiral Sulivan, R.N., had ample opportunities of observing the wild pigs on Eagle Islet in the Falklands; and he informs me that they resembled wild boars with bristly ridged backs and large tusks. The pigs which have run wild in the province of Buenos Ayres (Rengger ‘Säugethiere,’ s. 331) have not reverted to the wild type. De Blainville (‘Ostéographie,’ p. 132) refers to two skulls of domestic pigs sent from Patagonia by Al. d’Orbigny, and he states that they have the occipital elevation of the wild European boar, but that the head altogether is “plus courte et plus ramassée.” He refers, also, to the skin of a feral pig from North America, and says “il ressemble tout à fait à un petit sanglier, mais il est presque tout noir, et peut-être un peu plus ramassé dans ses formes.”

29 Gosse’s ‘Jamaica,’ p. 386, with a quotation from Williamson’s ‘Oriental Field Sports.’ Also Col. Hamilton Smith, in ‘Naturalist Library,’ vol. ix. p. 94.

30 S. Sidney’s edition of ‘Youatt on the Pig,’ 1860, pp. 7, 26, 27, 29, 30.

31 ‘Schweineschädel’ s. 140.

32 ‘Die Fauna der Pfahlbauten,’ 1861, s. 109, 149, 222. See also Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in ‘Mém. du Mus. d’Hist. Nat.,’ tom. x. p. 172; and his son Isidore in ‘Hist. Nat. Gen.’ tom. iii. p. 69. Vasey, in his ‘Delineations of the Ox Tribe,’ 1851, p. 127, says the zebu has four, and common ox five, sacral vertebræ. Mr. Hodgson found the ribs either thirteen or fourteen in number; see a note in ‘Indian Field,’ 1858, p. 62.

33 ‘The Indian Field,’ 1858, p. 74, where Mr. Blyth gives his authorities with respect to the feral humped cattle. Pickering, also, in his ‘Races of Man,’ 1850, p. 274, notices the peculiar grunt-like character of the voice of the humped cattle.

34 Mr. H. E. Marquand, in ‘The Times,’ June 23rd, 1856.

35 Vasey, ‘Delineations of the Ox-Tribe,’ p. 124. Brace’s ‘Hungary,’ 1851, p. 94. The Hungarian cattle descend, according to Rütimeyer ‘Zahmen Europ. Rindes,’ 1866, s. 13 from Bos primigenius.

36 Moll and Gayot, ‘La Connaissance Gén. du Bœuf,’ Paris, 1860. Fig. 82 is that of the Podolian breed.

37 A translation appeared in three parts in the ‘Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.,’ 2nd series, vol. iv., 1849.

38 See also Rütimeyer’s ‘Beiträge pal. Gesch. der Wiederkäuer Basel,’ 1865, s. 54.

39 Pictet ‘Paléontologie,’ tom. i. p. 365 (2nd edit.). With respect to B. trochoceros, see Rütimeyer ‘Zahmen Europ. Rindes,’ 1866, s. 26.

40 W. Boyd Dawkins on the British Fossil Oxen, ‘Journal of the Geolog. Soc.,’ Aug. 1867, p. 182. Also ‘Proc. Phil. Soc. of Manchester,’ Nov. 14th, 1871, and ‘Cave Hunting,’ 1875, p. 27, 138.

41 ‘British Pleistocene Mammalia,’ by W. B. Dawkins and W. A. Sandford, 1866, p. 15.

42 W. R. Wilde, ‘An Essay on the Animal Remains, etc. Royal Irish Academy,’ 1860, p. 29. Also ‘Proc. of R. Irish Academy,’ 1858, p. 48.

43 ‘Lecture: Royal Institution of G. Britain,’ May 2nd, 1856, p. 4. ‘British Fossil Mammals,’ p. 513.

44 Nilsson, in ‘Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.,’ 1849, vol. iv. p. 354.

45 See W. R. Wilde, ut supra; and Mr. Blyth, in ‘Proc. Irish Academy,’ March 5th, 1864.

46 Laing’s ‘Tour in Norway,’ p. 110.

47 Isid. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, ‘Hist. Nat. Gén.,’ tom. iii. 96.

48 Idem, tom. iii. pp. 82, 91.

49 ‘Quadrupèdes du Paraguay,’ tom. ii. p. 360.

50 Walther ‘Das Rindvieh,’ 1817, s. 30.

51 I am much indebted to the present Earl of Tankerville for information about his wild cattle; and for the skull which was sent to Prof. Rütimeyer. The fullest account of the Chillingham cattle is given by Mr. Hindmarsh, together with a letter by the late Lord Tankerville, in ‘Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.,’ vol. ii., 1839, p. 274. See Bewick, ‘Quadrupeds,’ 2nd edit., 1791, p. 35, note. With respect to those of the Duke of Queensberry, see Pennant’s ‘Tour in Scotland,’ p. 109. For those of Chartley, see Low’s ‘Domesticated Animals of Britain,’ 1845, p. 238. For those of Gisburne, see Bewick ‘Quadrupeds,’ and ‘Encyclop. of Rural Sports,’ p. 101.

52 Boethius was born in 1470; ‘Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.,’ vol. ii., 1839, p. 281; and vol. iv., 1849, p. 424.

53 n’Youatt on Cattle,’ 1834, p. 48: See also p. 242, on short-horn cattle. Bell, in his ‘British Quadrupeds,’ p. 423, states that, after long attending to the subject, he has found that white cattle invariably have coloured ears.ote

54 Azara, ‘Quadrupèdes du Paraguay,’ tom. ii. p. 361. Azara quotes Buffon for the feral cattle of Africa. For Texas see ‘Times,’ Feb. 18th, 1846.

55 Anson’s Voyage. See Kerr and Porter’s ‘Collection,’ vol. xii. p. 103.

56 See also Mr. Mackinnon’s pamphlet on the Falkland Islands, p. 24.

57 ‘The Age of the Ox, Sheep, Pig,’ etc., by Prof. James Simonds, published by order of the Royal Agricult. Soc.

58 ‘Ann. Agricult. France,’ April, 1837, as quoted in ‘The Veterinary,’ vol. xii. p. 725. I quote Tessier’s observations from ‘Youatt on Cattle,’ p. 527.

59 ‘The Veterinary,’ vol. viii. p. 681 and vol. x. p. 268. Low’s ‘Domest. Animals, etc.’ p. 297.

60 Mr. Ogleby in ‘Proc. Zoolog. Soc.,’ 1836, p. 138, and 1840, p. 4. Quatrefages quotes Philippi (‘Revue des Cours Scientifiques,’ Feb. 12, 1688, p. 657), that the cattle of Piacentino have thirteen dorsal vertebræ and ribs in the place of the ordinary number of twelve.

61 Leguat’s Voyage, quoted by Vasey in his ‘Delineations of the Ox-tribe,’ p. 132.

62 ‘Travels in South Africa,’ pp. 317, 336.

63 ‘Mem. de l’Institut présent. par divers Savans,’ tom. vi., 1835, p. 333. For Brazil, see ‘Comptes Rendus,’ June 15, 1846. See Azara ‘Quadrupèdes du Paraguay,’ tom. ii. pp. 359, 361.

64 ‘Schweineschädel,’ 1864, s. 104. Nathusius states that the form of skull characteristic in the niata cattle occasionally appears in European cattle; but he is mistaken, as we shall hereafter see, in supposing that these cattle do not form a distinct race. Prof. Wyman, of Cambridge, United States, informs me that the common cod-fish presents a similar monstrosity, called by the fishermen “bull-dog cod.” Prof. Wyman also concluded, after making numerous inquiries in La Plata, that the niata cattle transmit their peculiarities or form a race.

65 ‘Ueber Art des zahmen Europ. Rindes,’ 1866, s. 28.

66 ‘Descriptive Cat. of Ost. Collect. of College of Surgeons,’ 1853, p. 624. Vasey in his ‘Delineations of the Ox-tribe’ has given a figure of this skull; and I sent a photograph of it to Prof. Rütimeyer.

67 Loudon’s ‘Magazine of Nat. Hist.,’ vol. i. 1829, p. 113. Separate figures are given of the animal, its hoofs, eye, and dewlap.

68 Low, ‘Domesticated Animals of the British Isles,’ p. 264.

69 ‘Mém. de l’Institut présent. Par divers Savans,’ tom. vi., 1835, p. 332.

70 Idem, pp. 304, 368, etc.

71 ‘Youatt on Cattle,’ p. 193. A full account of this bull is taken from Marshall.

72 ‘Youatt on Cattle,’ p. 116. Lord Spencer has written on this same subject.

73 Blyth, on the genus Ovis, in ‘Annals and Mag. of Nat. History,’ vol. vii., 1841, p. 261. With respect to the parentage of the breeds see Mr. Blyth’s excellent articles in ‘Land and Water,’ 1867, pp. 134, 156. Gervais, ‘Hist. Nat. des Mammifères,’ 1855, tom. ii. p. 191.

74 Dr. L. Fitzinger, ‘Ueber die Racen des Zahmen Schafes,’ 1860, s. 86.

75 J. Anderson, ‘Recreations in Agriculture and Natural History,’ vol. ii. p. 264.

76 ‘Pfahlbauten’ s. 127, 193.

77 ‘Youatt on Sheep,’ p. 120.

78 ‘Journal of the Asiatic Soc. of Bengal,’ vol.xvi. pp. 1007, 1016.

79 ‘Youatt on Sheep,’ pp. 142-169.

80 ‘Journal Asiat. Soc. of Bengal,’ vol. xvi., 1847, p. 1015.

81 ‘Hist. Nat. Gén.,’ tom. iii. p. 435.

82 ‘Youatt on Sheep,’ p. 138.

83 ‘Journal Asiat. Soc. of Bengal,’ vol. xvi., 1847, pp. 1015, 1016.

84 ‘Racen des Zahmen Schafes,’ s. 77.

85 ‘Rural Economy of Norfolk,’ vol. ii. p. 136.

86 ‘Youatt on Sheep,’ p. 312. On same subject, see excellent remarks in ‘Gardener’s Chronicle,’ 1858, p. 868. For experiments in crossing Cheviot sheep with Leicesters see Youatt, p. 325.

87 ‘Youatt on Sheep,’ note, p. 491.

88 M. Malingié-Nouel, ‘Journal R. Agricult. Soc.,’ vol. xiv. 1853, p. 214. Translated and therefore approved by a great authority, Mr. Pusey.

89 ‘The Veterinary,’ vol. x. p. 217.

90 A translation of his paper is given in ‘Bull. Soc. Imp. d’Acclimat.,’ tom. ix., 1862, p. 723.

91 Erman’s ‘Travels in Siberia,’ (Eng. trans.) vol. i. p. 228. For Pallas on the fat-tailed sheep I quote from Anderson’s account of the ‘Sheep of Russia,’ 1794, p. 34. With respect to the Crimean sheep see Pallas’ ‘Travels’ (Eng. trans.) vol. ii. p. 454. For the Karakool sheep see Burnes’ ‘Travels in Bokhara,’ vol. iii. p. 151.

92 See Report of the Directors of the Sierra Leone Company, as quoted in White’s ‘Gradation of Man,’ p. 95. With respect to the change which sheep undergo in the West Indies see also Dr. Davy, in ‘Edin. New. Phil. Journal,’ Jan. 1852. For the statement made by Roulin, see ‘Mém. de l’Institut présent. par divers Savans,’ tom. vi., 1835, p. 347.

93 ‘Youatt on Sheep,’ p. 69, where Lord Somerville is quoted. See p. 117 on the presence of wool under the hair. With respect to the fleeces of Australian sheep, p. 185. On selection counteracting any tendency to change, see pp. 70, 117, 120, 168.

94 Audubon and Bachman, ‘The Quadrupeds of North America,’ 1846, vol. v. p. 365.

95 ‘Journal of R. Agricult. Soc. of England,’ vol. xx., part ii., W. C. Spooner on cross-Breeding.

96 ‘Philosoph. Transactions,’ London, 1813, p. 88.

97 Isidore Geoffroy St. Hilaire, ‘Hist. Nat. Générale,’ tom. iii. p. 87. Mr. Blyth, (‘Land and Water,’ 1867, p. 37) has arrived at a similar conclusion, but he thinks that certain Eastern races may perhaps be in part descended from the Asiatic markhor.

98 Rütimeyer ‘Pfahlbauten,’ s. 127.

99 Godron ‘De l’Espèce,’ tom. i. p. 402.

100 ‘Annals and Mag. of Nat. History,’ vol ii. (2nd series), 1848, p. 363.

101 ‘De l’Espèce,’ tom. i. p. 406. Mr. Clark also refers to differences in the shape of the mammæ. Godron states that in the Nubian race the scrotum is divided into two lobes; and Mr. Clark gives a ludicrous proof of this fact, for he saw in the Mauritius a male goat of the Muscat breed purchased at a high price for a female in full milk. These differences in the scrotum are probably not due to descent from distinct species: for Mr. Clark states that this part varies much in form.

102 Mr. Clark, ‘Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.,’ vol. ii. (2nd series), 1848, p. 361.

103 Desmarest, ‘Encyclop. Méthod. Mammalogie,’ p. 480.

104 ‘Journal of Asiatic Soc. of Bengal,’ vol. xvi., 1847, pp. 1020, 1025.