Striking instances of this first class of cases were given in the sixth
chapter, namely, of the occasional reappearance, in variously-coloured breeds
of the pigeon, of blue birds with all the marks characteristic of the wild
Columba livia. Similar cases were given in the case of the fowl. With the
common ass, as the legs of the wild progenitor are almost always striped, we
may feel assured that the occasional appearance of such stripes in the
domestic animal is a case of simple reversion. But I shall be compelled to
refer again to these cases, and therefore here pass them over.
The aboriginal species from which our domesticated cattle and sheep are
descended, no doubt possessed horns; but several hornless breeds are now well
established. Yet in these--for instance, in Southdown sheep--"it is not
unusual to find among the male lambs some with small horns." The horns, which
thus occasionally reappear in other polled breeds, either "grow to the full
size," or are curiously attached to the skin alone and hang "loosely down, or
drop off." (13/1. 'Youatt on Sheep' pages 20, 234. The same fact of loose
horns occasionally appearing in hornless breeds has been observed in Germany;
Bechstein 'Naturgesch. Deutschlands.' b. 1 s. 362.) The Galloways and Suffolk
cattle have been hornless for the last 100 or 150 years, but a horned calf,
with the horn often loosely attached, is occasionally produced. (13/2. 'Youatt
on Cattle' pages 155, 174.)
There is reason to believe that sheep in their early domesticated condition
were "brown or dingy black;" but even in the time of David certain flocks were
spoken of as white as snow. During the classical period the sheep of Spain are
described by several ancient authors as being black, red, or tawny. (13/3.
'Youatt on Sheep' 1838 pages 17, 145.) At the present day, notwithstanding the
great care which is taken to prevent it, particoloured lambs and some entirely
black are occasionally, or even frequently, dropped by our most highly
improved and valued breeds, such as the Southdowns. Since the time of the
famous Bakewell, during the last century, the Leicester sheep have been bred
with the most scrupulous care; yet occasionally grey-faced, or black-spotted,
or wholly black lambs appear. (13/4. I have been informed of this fact through
the Rev. W.D. Fox on the excellent authority of Mr. Wilmot: see also remarks
on this subject in an article in the 'Quarterly Review' 1849 page 395.) This
occurs still more frequently with the less improved breeds, such as the
Norfolks. (13/5. Youatt pages 19, 234.) As bearing on this tendency in sheep
to revert to dark colours, I may state (though in doing so I trench on the
reversion of crossed breeds, and likewise on the subject of prepotency) that
the Rev. W.D. Fox was informed that seven white Southdown ewes were put to a
so-called Spanish ram, which had two small black spots on his sides, and they
produced thirteen lambs, all perfectly black. Mr. Fox believes that this ram
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