There is, he says,[CW] "a very powerful cause of isolation in the mental
nature--the likes and dislikes--of animals; and to this is probably due
the fact of the rarity of hybrids in a state of nature. The differently
coloured herds of cattle in the Falkland Islands, each of which keeps
separate, have been already mentioned. Similar facts occur, however,
among our domestic animals, and are well known to breeders. Professor
Low, one of the greatest authorities on our domesticated animals, says,
'The female of the dog, when not under restraint, makes selection of her
mate, the mastiff selecting the mastiff, the terrier the terrier, and so
on.' And again, 'The merino sheep and the heath sheep of Scotland, if
two flocks are mixed together, each will breed with its own variety.'
Mr. Darwin has collected many facts illustrating this point.[CX] One of
the chief pigeon-fanciers in England informed him that, if free to
choose, each breed would prefer pairing with its own kind. Among the
wild horses in Paraguay those of the same colour and size associate
together; while in Circassia there are three races of horses which have
received special names, and which, when living a free life, almost
always refuse to mingle and cross, and will even attack one another. In
one of the Faröe Islands, not more than half a mile in diameter, the
half-wild native black sheep do not readily mix with imported white
sheep. In the Forest of Dean and in the New Forest the dark and pale
coloured herds of fallow deer have never been known to mingle; and even
the curious ancon sheep, of quite modern origin, have been observed to
keep together, separating themselves from the rest of the flock when put
into enclosures with other sheep. The same rule applies to birds, for
Darwin was informed by the Rev. W. D. Fox that his flocks of white and
Chinese geese kept distinct. This constant preference of animals for
their like, even in the case of slightly different varieties of the same
species, is evidently a fact of great importance in considering the
origin of species by natural selection, since it shows us that, so soon
as a slight differentiation of form or colour has been effected,
isolation will at once arise by the selective association of the animals
themselves."
Mr. Wallace thus allows, nay, he lays no little stress on, preferential
mating, and his name is associated with the hypothesis of
recognition-marks. But he denies that preferential mating, acting on
recognition-marks, has had any effect in furthering a differentiation of
form or colour. He admits that so soon as a slight differentiation of
form or colour has been effected, segregation will arise by the
selective association of the animals themselves; but he does not admit
that such selective association can carry the differentiation further.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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