as thoroughly well authenticated. It should, however, be borne in mind
that, owing to few animals breeding freely under confinement, few
experiments have been fairly tried: for instance, the canary-bird has
been crossed with nine other finches, but as not one of these nine
species breeds freely in confinement, we have no right to expect that
the first crosses between them and the canary, or that their hybrids,
should be perfectly fertile. Again, with respect to the fertility in
successive generations of the more fertile
hybrid animals, I hardly know of an instance in which two families of
the same hybrid have been raised at the same time from different
parents, so as to avoid the ill effects of close interbreeding. On the
contrary, brothers and sisters have usually been crossed in each
successive generation, in opposition to the constantly repeated
admonition of every breeder. And in this case, it is not at all
surprising that the inherent sterility in the hybrids should have gone
on increasing. If we were to act thus, and pair brothers and sisters in
the case of any pure animal, which from any cause had the least
tendency to sterility, the breed would assuredly be lost in a very few
generations.
Although I do not know of any thoroughly well-authenticated cases of
perfectly fertile hybrid animals, I have some reason to believe that
the hybrids from Cervulus vaginalis and Reevesii, and from Phasianus
colchicus with P. torquatus and with P. versicolor are perfectly
fertile. The hybrids from the common and Chinese geese (A. cygnoides),
species which are so different that they are generally ranked in
distinct genera, have often bred in this country with either pure
parent, and in one single instance they have bred _inter se_. This was
effected by Mr. Eyton, who raised two hybrids from the same parents but
from different hatches; and from these two birds he raised no less than
eight hybrids (grandchildren of the pure geese) from one nest. In
India, however, these cross-bred geese must be far more fertile; for I
am assured by two eminently capable judges, namely Mr. Blyth and Capt.
Hutton, that whole flocks of these crossed geese are kept in various
parts of the country; and as they are kept for profit, where neither
pure parent-species exists, they must certainly be highly fertile.
A doctrine which originated with Pallas, has been
largely accepted by modern naturalists; namely, that most of our
domestic animals have descended from two or more aboriginal species,
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