INCIPIENT STERILITY THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF DOUBLE FLOWERS AND SEEDLESS FRUIT.
ON THE GOOD DERIVED FROM SLIGHT CHANGES IN THE CONDITIONS OF LIFE.
In considering whether any facts were known which might throw light on the conclusion arrived at in the last chapter, namely, that benefits ensue from crossing, and that it is a law of nature that all organic beings should occasionally cross, it appeared to me probable that the good derived from slight changes in the conditions of life, from being an a.n.a.logous phenomenon, might serve this purpose. No two individuals, and still less no two varieties, are absolutely alike in const.i.tution and structure; and when the germ of one is fertilised by the male element of another, we may believe that it is acted on in a somewhat similar manner as an individual when exposed to slightly changed conditions. Now, every one must have observed the remarkable influence on convalescents of a change of residence, and no medical man doubts the truth of this fact. Small farmers who hold but little land are convinced that their cattle derive great benefit from a change of pasture. In the case of plants, the evidence is strong that a great advantage is derived from exchanging seeds, tubers, bulbs, and cuttings from one soil or place to another as different as possible.
[The belief that plants are thus benefited, whether or not well founded, has been firmly maintained from the time of Columella, who wrote shortly after the Christian era, to the present day; and it now prevails in England, France, and Germany. (18/1. For England see below. For Germany see Metzger "Getreidearten"
1841 s. 63. For France Loiseleur-Deslongchamps ("Consid. sur les Cereales"
1843 page 200) gives numerous references on this subject. For Southern France see G.o.dron "Florula Juvenalis" 1854 page 28.) A sagacious observer, Bradley, writing in 1724 (18/2. "A General Treatise of Husbandry" volume 3 page 58.), says, "When we once become Masters of a good Sort of Seed, we should at least put it into Two or Three Hands, where the Soils and Situations are as different as possible; and every Year the Parties should change with one another; by which Means, I find the Goodness of the Seed will be maintained for several Years. For Want of this Use many Farmers have failed in their Crops and been great Losers." He then gives his own practical experience on this head. A modern writer (18/3. "Gardener"s Chronicle and Agricult. Gazette"
1858 page 247; and for the second statement, Ibid 1850 page 702. On this same subject see also Rev. D. Walker "Prize Essay of Highland Agricult. Soc."
volume 2 page 200. Also Marshall "Minutes of Agriculture" November 1775.) a.s.serts, "Nothing can be more clearly established in agriculture than that the continual growth of any one variety in the same district makes it liable to deterioration either in quality or quant.i.ty." Another writer states that he sowed close together in the same field two lots of wheat-seed, the product of the same original stock, one of which had been grown on the same land and the other at a distance, and the difference in favour of the crop from the latter seed was remarkable. A gentleman in Surrey who has long made it his business to raise wheat to sell for seed, and who has constantly realised in the market higher prices than others, a.s.sures me that he finds it indispensable continually to change his seed; and that for this purpose he keeps two farms differing much in soil and elevation.
With respect to the tubers of the potato, I find that at the present day the practice of exchanging sets is almost everywhere followed. The great growers of potatoes in Lancashire formerly used to get tubers from Scotland, but they found that "a change from the moss-lands, and vice versa, was generally sufficient." In former times in France the crop of potatoes in the Vosges had become reduced in the course of fifty or sixty years in the proportion from 120-150 to 30-40 bushels; and the famous Oberlin attributed the surprising good which he effected in large part to changing the sets. (18/4. Oberlin "Memoirs" English translation page 73. For Lancashire see Marshall "Review of Reports" 1808 page 295.)
A well-known practical gardener, Mr. Robson (18/5. "Cottage Gardener" 1856 page 186. For Mr. Robson"s subsequent statements see "Journal of Horticulture"
February 18, 1866 page 121. For Mr. Abbey"s remarks on grafting etc. Ibid July 18, 1865 page 44.) positively states that he has himself witnessed decided advantage from obtaining bulbs of the onion, tubers of the potato, and various seeds, all of the same kind, from different soils and distant parts of England. He further states that with plants propagated by cuttings, as with the Pelargonium, and especially the Dahlia, manifest advantage is derived from getting plants of the same variety, which have been cultivated in another place; or, "where the extent of the place allows, to take cuttings from one description of soil to plant on another, so as to afford the change that seems so necessary to the well-being of the plants." He maintains that after a time an exchange of this nature is "forced on the grower, whether he be prepared for it or not." Similar remarks have been made by another excellent gardener, Mr. Fish, namely, that cuttings of the same variety of Calceolaria, which he obtained from a neighbour, "showed much greater vigour than some of his own that were "treated in exactly the same manner," and he attributed this solely to his own plants having become "to a certain extent worn out or tired of their quarters." Something of this kind apparently occurs in grafting and budding fruit-trees; for, according to Mr. Abbey, grafts or buds generally take with greater facility on a distinct variety or even species, or on a stock previously grafted, than on stocks raised from seeds of the variety which is to be grafted; and he believes this cannot be altogether explained by the stocks in question being better adapted to the soil and climate of the place. It should, however, be added, that varieties grafted or budded on very distinct kinds, though they may take more readily and grow at first more vigorously than when grafted on closely allied stocks, afterwards often become unhealthy.
I have studied M. Tessier"s careful and elaborate experiments (18/6. "Mem. de l"Acad. des Sciences" 1790 page 209.) made to disprove the common belief that good is derived from a change of seed; and he certainly shows that the same seed may with care be cultivated on the same farm (it is not stated whether on exactly the same soil) for ten consecutive years without loss. Another excellent observer, Colonel Le Couteur (18/7. "On the Varieties of Wheat" page 52.) has come to the same conclusion; but then he expressly adds, if the same seed be used, "that which is grown on land manured from the mixen one year becomes seed for land prepared with lime, and that again becomes seed for land dressed with ashes, then for land dressed with mixed manure, and so on." But this in effect is a systematic exchange of seed, within the limits of the same farm.]
On the whole the belief, which has long been held by many cultivators, that good follows from exchanging seed, tubers, etc., seems to be fairly well founded. It seems hardly credible that the advantage thus derived can be due to the seeds, especially if very small ones, obtaining in one soil some chemical element deficient in the other and in sufficient quant.i.ty to influence the whole after-growth of the plant. As plants after once germinating are fixed to the same spot, it might have been antic.i.p.ated that they would show the good effects of a change more plainly than do animals which continually wander about; and this apparently is the case. Life depending on, or consisting in, an incessant play of the most complex forces, it would appear that their action is in some way stimulated by slight changes in the circ.u.mstances to which each organism is exposed. All forces throughout nature, as Mr. Herbert Spencer (18/8. Mr. Spencer has fully and ably discussed this whole subject in his "Principles of Biology" 1864 volume 2 chapter 10. In the first edition of my "Origin of Species" 1859 page 267, I spoke of the good effects from slight changes in the conditions of life and from cross-breeding, and of the evil effects from great changes in the conditions and from crossing widely distinct forms, as a series of facts "connected together by some common but unknown bond, which is essentially related to the principle of life.) remarks, tend towards an equilibrium, and for the life of each organism it is necessary that this tendency should be checked. These views and the foregoing facts probably throw light, on the one hand, on the good effects of crossing the breed, for the germ will be thus slightly modified or acted on by new forces; and on the other hand, on the evil effects of close interbreeding prolonged during many generations, during which the germ will be acted on by a male having almost identically the same const.i.tution.
STERILITY FROM CHANGED CONDITIONS OF LIFE.
I will now attempt to show that animals and plants, when removed from their natural conditions, are often rendered in some degree infertile or completely barren; and this occurs even when the conditions have not been greatly changed. This conclusion is not necessarily opposed to that at which we have just arrived, namely, that lesser changes of other kinds are advantageous to organic beings. Our present subject is of some importance, from having an intimate connection with the causes of variability. Indirectly it perhaps bears on the sterility of species when crossed: for as, on the one hand, slight changes in the conditions of life are favourable to plants and animals, and the crossing of varieties adds to the size, vigour, and fertility of their offspring; so, on the other hand, certain other changes in the conditions of life cause sterility; and as this likewise ensues from crossing much-modified forms or species, we have a parallel and double series of facts, which apparently stand in close relation to each other.
It is notorious that many animals, though perfectly tamed, refuse to breed in captivity. Isidore Geoffroy St.-Hilaire (18/9. "Essais de Zoologie Generale"
1841 page 256. ) consequently has drawn a broad distinction between tamed animals which will not breed under captivity, and truly domesticated animals which breed freely--generally more freely, as shown in the sixteenth chapter, than in a state of nature. It is possible and generally easy to tame most animals; but experience has shown that it is difficult to get them to breed regularly, or even at all. I shall discuss this subject in detail; but will give only those cases which seem most ill.u.s.trative. My materials are derived from notices scattered through various works, and especially from a Report, kindly drawn up for me by the officers of the Zoological Society of London, which has especial value, as it records all the cases, during nine years from 1838-46, in which the animals were seen to couple but produced no offspring, as well as the cases in which they never, as far as known, coupled. This MS.
Report I have corrected by the annual Reports subsequently published up to the year 1865. (18/10. Since the appearance of the first edition of this work, Mr.
Sclater has published ("Proc. Zoolog. Soc." 1868 page 623) a list of the species of mammals which have bred in the gardens from 1848 to 1867 inclusive.
Of the Artiodactyla 85 species have been kept, and of these 1 species in 1.9 have bred at least once during the 20 years; of 28 Marsupialia, 1 in 2.5 have bred; of 74 Carnivora, 1 in 3.0 have bred; of 52 Rodentia, 1 in 4.7 have bred; and of Quadrumana 75 species have been kept, and 1 in 6.2 have bred.) Many facts are given on the breeding of the animals in that magnificent work, "Gleanings from the Menageries of Knowsley Hall" by Dr. Gray. I made, also, particular inquiries from the experienced keeper of the birds in the old Surrey Zoological Gardens. I should premise that a slight change in the treatment of animals sometimes makes a great difference in their fertility; and it is probable that the results observed in different menageries would differ. Indeed, some animals in our Zoological Gardens have become more productive since the year 1846. It is, also, manifest from F. Cuvier"s account of the Jardin des Plantes (18/11. Du Rut "Annales du Museum" 1807 tome 9 page 120.) that the animals formerly bred much less freely there than with us; for instance, in the Duck tribe, which is highly prolific, only one species had at that period produced young.
[The most remarkable cases, however, are afforded by animals kept in their native country, which, though perfectly tamed, quite healthy, and allowed some freedom, are absolutely incapable of breeding. Rengger (18/12. "Saugethiere von Paraguay" 1830 s. 49, 106, 118, 124, 201, 208, 249, 265, 327.), who in Paraguay particularly attended to this subject, specifies six quadrupeds in this condition; and he mentions two or three others which most rarely breed.
Mr. Bates, in his admirable work on the Amazons, strongly insists on similar cases (18/13. "The Naturalist on the Amazons" 1863 volume 1 pages 99, 193; volume 2 page 113.); and he remarks, that the fact of thoroughly tamed native mammals and birds not breeding when kept by the Indians, cannot be wholly accounted for by their negligence or indifference, for the turkey and fowl are kept and bred by various remote tribes. In almost every part of the world--for instance, in the interior of Africa, and in several of the Polynesian islands --the natives are extremely fond of taming the indigenous quadrupeds and birds; but they rarely or never succeed in getting them to breed.
The most notorious case of an animal not breeding in captivity is that of the elephant. Elephants are kept in large numbers in their native Indian home, live to old age, and are vigorous enough for the severest labour; yet, with a very few exceptions, they have never been known even to couple, though both males and females have their proper periodical seasons. If, however, we proceed a little eastward to Ava, we hear from Mr. Crawfurd (18/14. "Emba.s.sy to the Court of Ava" volume 1 page 534.) that their "breeding in the domestic state, or at least in the half-domestic state in which the female elephants are generally kept, is of everyday occurrence;" and Mr. Crawfurd informs me that he believes that the difference must be attributed solely to the females being allowed to roam the forest with some degree of freedom. The captive rhinoceros, on the other hand, seems from Bishop Heber"s account (18/15.
"Journal" volume 1 page 213.) to breed in India far more readily than the elephant. Four wild species of the horse genus have bred in Europe, though here exposed to a great change in their natural habits of life; but the species have generally been crossed one with another. Most of the members of the pig family breed readily in our menageries; even the Red River hog (Potamoch.o.e.rus penicillatus), from the sweltering plains of West Africa, has bred twice in the Zoological Gardens. Here also the Peccary (Dicotyles torquatus) has bred several times; but another species, the D. l.a.b.i.atus, though rendered so tame as to be half-domesticated, is said to breed so rarely in its native country of Paraguay, that according to Rengger (18/16.
"Saugethiere" s. 327.) the fact requires confirmation. Mr. Bates remarks that the tapir, though often kept tame in Amazonia by the Indians, never breeds.
Ruminants generally breed quite freely in England, though brought from widely different climates, as may be seen in the Annual Reports of the Zoological Gardens, and in the Gleanings from Lord Derby"s menagerie.
The Carnivora, with the exception of the Plantigrade division, breed (though with capricious exceptions) about half as freely as ruminants. Many species of Felidae have bred in various menageries, although imported from diverse climates and closely confined. Mr. Bartlett, the present superintendent of the Zoological Gardens (18/17. On the Breeding of the Larger Felidae "Proc.
Zoolog. Soc." 1861 page 140.) remarks that the lion appears to breed more frequently and to bring forth more young at a birth than any other species of the family. He adds that the tiger has rarely bred; "but there are several well-authenticated instances of the female tiger breeding with the lion."
Strange as the fact may appear, many animals under confinement unite with distinct species and produce hybrids quite as freely as, or even more freely than, with their own species. On inquiring from Dr. Falconer and others, it appears that the tiger when confined in India does not breed, though it has been known to couple. The chetah (Felis jubata) has never been known by Mr.
Bartlett to breed in England, but it has bred at Frankfort; nor does it breed in India, where it is kept in large numbers for hunting; but no pains would be taken to make them breed, as only those animals which have hunted for themselves in a state of nature are serviceable and worth training. (18/18.
Sleeman"s "Rambles in India" volume 2 page 10.) According to Rengger, two species of wild cats in Paraguay, though thoroughly tamed, have never bred.
Although so many of the Felidae breed readily in the Zoological Gardens, yet conception by no means always follows union: in the nine-year Report, various species are specified which were observed to couple seventy-three times, and no doubt this must have pa.s.sed many times unnoticed; yet from the seventy- three unions only fifteen births ensued. The Carnivora in the Zoological Gardens were formerly less freely exposed to the air and cold than at present, and this change of treatment, as I was a.s.sured by the former superintendent, Mr. Miller, greatly increased their fertility. Mr. Bartlett, and there cannot be a more capable judge, says, "it is remarkable that lions breed more freely in travelling collections than in the Zoological Gardens; probably the constant excitement and irritation produced by moving from place to place, or change of air, may have considerable influence in the matter."
Many members of the Dog family breed readily when confined. The Dhole is one of the most untamable animals in India, yet a pair kept there by Dr. Falconer produced young. Foxes, on the other hand, rarely breed, and I have never heard of such an occurrence with the European fox: the silver fox of North America (Canis argentatus), however, has bred several times in the Zoological Gardens.
Even the otter has bred there. Every one knows how readily the semi- domesticated ferret breeds, though shut up in miserably small cages; but other species of Viverra and Paradoxurus absolutely refuse to breed in the Zoological Gardens. The Genetta has bred both here and in the Jardin des Plantes, and produced hybrids. The Herpestes fasciatus has likewise bred; but I was formerly a.s.sured that the H. griseus, though many were kept in the Gardens, never bred.
The Plantigrade Carnivora breed under confinement much less freely than other Carnivora, although no reason can be a.s.signed for this fact. In the nine-year Report it is stated that the bears had been seen in the Zoological Gardens to couple freely, but previously to 1848 had most rarely conceived. In the Reports published since this date three species have produced young (hybrids in one case), and, wonderful to relate, the white Polar bear has produced young. The badger (Meles taxus) has bred several times in the Gardens; but I have not heard of this occurring elsewhere in England, and the event must be very rare, for an instance in Germany has been thought worth recording.
(18/19. Wiegmann "Archiv. fur Naturgesch." 1837 s. 162.) In Paraguay the native Nasua, though kept in pairs during many years and perfectly tamed, has never been known, according to Rengger, to breed or show any s.e.xual pa.s.sion; nor, as I hear from Mr. Bates, does this animal, or the Cercoleptes, breed in Amazonia. Two other plantigrade genera, Procyon and Gulo, though often kept tame in Paraguay, never breed there. In the Zoological Gardens species of Nasua and Procyon have been seen to couple; but they did not produce young.
As domesticated rabbits, guinea-pigs, and white mice breed so abundantly when closely confined under various climates, it might have been thought that most other members of the Rodent order would have bred in captivity, but this is not the case. It deserves notice, as showing how the capacity to breed sometimes goes by affinity, that the one native rodent of Paraguay, which there breeds FREELY and has yielded successive generations, is the Cavia aperea; and this animal is so closely allied to the guinea-pig, that it has been erroneously thought to be the parent form. (18/20. Rengger "Saugethiere"
etc. s. 276. On the parentage of the guinea-pig, see also Isid. Geoffroy St.- Hilaire "Hist. Nat. Gen." I sent to Mr. H. Denny of Leeds the lice which I collected from the wild aperea in La Plata, and he informs me that they belong to a genus distinct from those found on the guinea-pig. This is important evidence that the aperea is not the parent of the guinea-pig; and is worth giving, as some authors erroneously suppose that the guinea-pig since being domesticated has become sterile when crossed with the aperea.) In the Zoological Gardens, some rodents have coupled, but have never produced young; some have neither coupled nor bred; but a few have bred, as the porcupine more than once, the Barbary mouse, lemming, chinchilla, and agouti (Dasyprocta aguti) several times. This latter animal has also produced young in Paraguay, though they were born dead and ill-formed; but in Amazonia, according to Mr.
Bates, it never breeds, though often kept tame about the houses. Nor does the paca (Coelogenys paca) breed there. The common hare when confined has, I believe, never bred in Europe; though, according to a recent statement, it has crossed with the rabbit. (18/21. Although the existence of the Leporides, as described by Dr. Broca ("Journal de Phys." tome 2 page 370), has been positively denied, yet Dr. Pigeaux ("Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist." volume 20 1867 page 75) affirms that the hare and rabbit have produced hybrids.) I have never heard of the dormouse breeding in confinement. But squirrels offer a more curious case: with one exception, no species has bred in the Zoological Gardens, yet as many as fourteen individuals of S. palmarum were kept together during several years. The S. cinera has been seen to couple, but it did not produce young; nor has this species, when rendered extremely tame in its native country, North America, been ever known to breed. (18/22. "Quadrupeds of North America" by Audubon and Bachman 1846 page 268.) At Lord Derby"s menagerie squirrels of many kinds were kept in numbers, but Mr. Thompson, the superintendent, told me that none had ever bred there, or elsewhere as far as he knew. I have never heard of the English squirrel breeding in confinement.
But the species which has bred more than once in the Zoological Gardens is the one which perhaps might have been least expected, namely, the flying squirrel (Sciuropterus volucella): it has, also, bred several times near Birmingham; but the female never produced more than two young at a birth, whereas in its native American home she bears from three to six young. (18/23. Loudon"s "Mag.
of Nat. Hist." volume 9 1836 page 571; Audubon and Bachman "Quadrupeds of North America" page 221.)
Monkeys, in the nine-year Report from the Zoological Gardens, are stated to unite most freely, but during this period, though many individuals were kept, there were only seven births. I have heard of only one American monkey, the Ouist.i.ti, breeding in Europe. (18/24. Flourens "De l"Instinct" etc. 1845 page 88.) A Macacus, according to Flourens, bred in Paris; and more than one species of this genus has produced young in London, especially the Macacus rhesus, which everywhere shows a special capacity to breed under confinement.
Hybrids have been produced both in Paris and London from this same genus. The Arabian baboon, or Cynocephalus hamadryas (18/25. See "Annual Reports Zoolog.
Soc." 1855, 1858, 1863, 1864; "Times" newspaper August 10, 1847; Flourens "De l"Instinct" page 85.), and a Cercopithecus have bred in the Zoological Gardens, and the latter species at the Duke of Northumberland"s. Several members of the family of Lemurs have produced hybrids in the Zoological Gardens. It is much more remarkable that monkeys very rarely breed when confined in their native country; thus the Cay (Cebus azara) is frequently and completely tamed in Paraguay, but Rengger (18/26. "Saugethiere" etc. s. 34, 49.) says that it breeds so rarely, that he never saw more than two females which had produced young. A similar observation has been made with respect to the monkeys which are frequently tamed by the aborigines in Brazil. (18/27.
Art. Brazil "Penny Cyclop." page 363.) In Amazonia, these animals are so often kept in a tame state, that Mr. Bates in walking through the streets of Para counted thirteen species; but, as he a.s.serts, they have never been known to breed in captivity. (18/28. "The Naturalist on the Amazons" volume 1 page 99.)
BIRDS.
Birds offer in some respects better evidence than quadrupeds, from their breeding more rapidly and being kept in greater numbers. (18/29. A list of the species of birds which have bred in the Zoological Gardens from 1848 to 1867 inclusive has been published by Mr. Sclater in "Proc. Zoolog. Soc." 1869 page 626, since the first edition of this work appeared. Of Columbae 51 species have been kept, and of Anseres 80 species, and in both these families 1 species in 2.6 have bred at least once in the 20 years. Of Gallinae 83 species have been kept and 1 in 27 have bred; of 57 Grallae 1 in 9 have bred; of 110 Prehensores 1 in 22 have bred; of 178 Pa.s.seres 1 in 25.4 have bred; of 94 Accipitres 1 in 47 have bred; of 25 Picariae and of 35 Herodiones not one species in either group has bred.) We have seen that carnivorous animals are more fertile under confinement than most other mammals. The reverse holds good with carnivorous birds. It is said (18/30. "Encyclop. of Rural Sports" page 691.) that as many as eighteen species have been used in Europe for hawking, and several others in Persia and India (18/31. According to Sir A. Burnes "Cabool" etc. page 51, eight species are used for hawking in Sinde.); they have been kept in their native country in the finest condition, and have been flown during six, eight, or nine years (18/32. Loudon"s "Mag. of Nat. Hist."
volume 6 1833 page 110.); yet there is no record of their having ever produced young. As these birds were formerly caught whilst young, at great expense, being imported from Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, there can be little doubt that, if possible, they would have been propagated. In the Jardin des Plantes, no bird of prey has been known to couple. (18/33. F. Cuvier "Annal. du Museum"
tome 9 page 128.) No hawk, vulture, or owl has ever produced fertile eggs in the Zoological Gardens, or in the old Surrey Gardens, with the exception, in the former place on one occasion, of a condor and a kite (Milvus niger). Yet several species, namely, the Aquila fusca, Haliaetus leucocephalus, Falco tinnunculus, F. subbuteo, and Buteo vulgaris, have been seen to couple in the Zoological Gardens. Mr. Morris (18/34. "The Zoologist" volume 7-8 1849-50 page 2648.) mentions as a unique fact that a kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) bred in an aviary. The one kind of owl which has been known to couple in the Zoological Gardens was the Eagle Owl (Bubo maximus); and this species shows a special inclination to breed in captivity; for a pair at Arundel Castle, kept more nearly in a state of nature "than ever fell to the lot of an animal deprived of its liberty" (18/35. Knox "Ornithological Rambles in Suss.e.x" page 91.), actually reared their young. Mr. Gurney has given another instance of this same owl breeding in confinement; and he records the case of a second species of owl, the Strix pa.s.serina, breeding in captivity. (18/36. "The Zoologist"
volume 7-8 1849-50 page 2566; volume 9-10 1851-2 page 3207.)
Of the smaller graminivorous birds, many kinds have been kept tame in their native countries, and have lived long; yet, as the highest authority on cage- birds (18/37. Bechstein "Naturgesch. der Stubenvogel" 1840 s. 20.) remarks, their propagation is "uncommonly difficult." The canary-bird shows that there is no inherent difficulty in these birds breeding freely in confinement; and Audubon says (18/38. "Ornithological Biography" volume 5 page 517.) that the Fringilla (Spiza) ciris of North America breeds as perfectly as the canary.
The difficulty with the many finches which have been kept in confinement is all the more remarkable as more than a dozen species could be named which have yielded hybrids with the canary; but hardly any of these, with the exception of the siskin (Fringilla spinus), have reproduced their own kind. Even the bullfinch (Loxia pyrrhula) has bred as frequently with the canary, though belonging to a distinct genus, as with its own species. (18/39. A case is recorded in "The Zoologist" volume 1-2 1843-45 page 453. For the siskin breeding, volume 3-4 1845-46 page 1075. Bechstein "Stubenvogel" s. 139 speaks of bullfinches making nests, but rarely producing young.) With respect to the skylark (Alauda arvensis), I have heard of birds living for seven years in an aviary, which never produced young; and a great London bird-fancier a.s.sured me that he had never known an instance of their breeding; nevertheless one case has been recorded. (18/40. Yarrell "Hist. British Birds" 1839 volume 1 page 412.) In the nine-year Report from the Zoological Society, twenty-four insessorial species are enumerated which had not bred, and of these only four were known to have coupled.
Parrots are singularly long-lived birds; and Humboldt mentions the curious fact of a parrot in South America, which spoke the language of an extinct Indian tribe, so that this bird preserved the sole relic of a lost language.
Even in this country there is reason to believe (18/41. Loudon"s "Mag. of Nat.
History" volume 19 1836 page 347.) that parrots have lived to the age of nearly one hundred years; yet they breed so rarely, though many have been kept in Europe, that the event has been thought worth recording in the gravest publications. (18/42. "Memoires du Museum d"Hist. Nat." tome 10 page 314: five cases of parrots breeding in France are here recorded. See also "Report Brit.
a.s.soc. Zoolog." 1843.) Nevertheless, when Mr. Buxton turned out a large number of parrots in Norfolk, three pairs bred and reared ten young birds in the course of two seasons; and this success may be attributed to their free life.
(18/43. "Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist." November 1868 page 311.) According to Bechstein (18/44. "Stubenvogel" s. 105, 83.) the African Psittacus erithacus breeds oftener than any other species in Germany: the P. macoa occasionally lays fertile eggs, but rarely succeeds in hatching them; this bird, however, has the instinct of incubation sometimes so strongly developed, that it will hatch the eggs of fowls or pigeons. In the Zoological Gardens and in the old Surrey Gardens some few species have coupled, but, with the exception of three species of parakeets, none have bred. It is a much more remarkable fact that in Guiana parrots of two kinds, as I am informed by Sir R. Schomburgk, are often taken from the nests by the Indians and reared in large numbers; they are so tame that they fly freely about the houses, and come when called to be fed, like pigeons; yet he has never heard of a single instance of their breeding. (18/45. Dr. Hanc.o.c.k remarks ("Charlesworth"s Mag. of Nat. Hist."
volume 2 1838 page 492) "it is singular that, amongst the numerous useful birds that are indigenous to Guiana, none are found to propagate among the Indians; yet the common fowl is reared in abundance throughout the country.") In Jamaica, a resident naturalist, Mr. R. Hill (18/46. "A Week at Pert Royal"
1855 page 7.), says, "no birds more readily submit to human dependence than the parrot-tribe, but no instance of a parrot breeding in this tame life has been known yet." Mr. Hill specifies a number of other native birds kept tame in the West Indies, which never breed in this state.
The great pigeon family offers a striking contrast with the parrots: in the nine-year Report thirteen species are recorded as having bred, and, what is more noticeable, only two were seen to couple without any result. Since the above date every annual Report gives many cases of various pigeons breeding.
The two magnificent crowned pigeons (Goura coronata and victoriae) produced hybrids; nevertheless, of the former species more than a dozen birds were kept, as I am informed by Mr. Crawfurd, in a park at Penang, under a perfectly well-adapted climate, but never once bred. The Columba migratoria in its native country, North America, invariably lays two eggs, but in Lord Derby"s menagerie never more than one. The same fact has been observed with the C.
leucocephala. (18/47. Audubon "American Ornithology" volume 5 pages 552, 557.)
Gallinaceous birds of many genera likewise show an eminent capacity for breeding under captivity. This is particularly the case with pheasants, yet our English species seldom lays more than ten eggs in confinement; whilst from eighteen to twenty is the usual number in the wild state. (18/48. Mowbray on "Poultry" 7th edition page 133.) With the Gallinaceae, as with all other orders, there are marked and inexplicable exceptions in regard to the fertility of certain species and genera under confinement. Although many trials have been made with the common partridge, it has rarely bred, even when reared in large aviaries; and the hen will never hatch her own eggs. (18/49.
Temminck "Hist. Nat. Gen. des Pigeons" etc. 1813 tome 3 pages 288, 382; "Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist." volume 12 1843 page 453. Other species of partridge have occasionally bred; as the red-legged (P. rubra), when kept in a large court in France (see Journal de Physique" tome 25 page 294), and in the Zoological Gardens in 1856.) The American tribe of Guans or Cracidae are tamed with remarkable ease, but are very shy breeders in this country (18/50. Rev.
E.S. Dixon "The Dovecote" 1851 pages 243-252.); but with care various species were formerly made to breed rather freely in Holland. (18/51. Temminck "Hist.
Nat. Gen. des Pigeons" etc. tome 2 pages 456, 458; tome 3 pages 2, 13, 47.) Birds of this tribe are often kept in a perfectly tamed condition in their native country by the Indians, but they never breed. (18/52. Bates "The Naturalist on the Amazons" volume 1 page 193; volume 2 page 112.) It might have been expected that grouse from their habits of life would not have bred in captivity, more especially as they are said soon to languish and die.
(18/53. Temminck "Hist. Nat. Gen." etc. tome 2 page 125. For Tetrao urogallus see L. Lloyd "Field Sports of North of Europe" volume 1 pages 287, 314; and Bull. de la Soc. d"Acclimat." tome 7 1860 page 600. For T. scoticus Thompson "Nat. Hist. of Ireland" volume 2 1850 page 49. For T. cupido "Boston Journal of Nat. Hist." volume 3 page 199.) But many cases are recorded of their breeding: the capercailzie (Tetrao urogallus) has bred in the Zoological Gardens; it breeds without much difficulty when confined in Norway, and in Russia five successive generations have been reared: Tetrao tetrix has likewise bred in Norway; T. scoticus in Ireland; T. umbellus at Lord Derby"s; and T. cupido in North America.
It is scarcely possible to imagine a greater change in habits than that which the members of the ostrich family must suffer, when cooped up in small enclosures under a temperate climate, after freely roaming over desert and tropical plains or entangled forests; yet almost all the kinds have frequently produced young in the various European menageries, even the mooruk (Casuarius bennetii) from New Ireland. The African ostrich, though perfectly healthy and living long in the South of France, never lays more than from twelve to fifteen eggs, though in its native country it lays from twenty-five to thirty.
(18/54. Marcel de Serres "Annales des Sc. Nat." 2nd series Zoolog. tome 13 page 175.) Here we have another instance of fertility impaired, but not lost, under confinement, as with the flying squirrel, the hen-pheasant, and two species of American pigeons.
Most Waders can be tamed, as the Rev. E.S. Dixon informs me, with remarkable facility; but several of them are short-lived under confinement, so that their sterility in this state is not surprising. The cranes breed more readily than other genera: Grus montigresia has bred several times in Paris and in the Zoological Gardens, as has G. cinerea at the latter place, and G. antigone at Calcutta. Of other members of this great order, Tetrapteryx paradisea has bred at Knowsley, a Porphyrio in Sicily, and the Gallinula chloropus in the Zoological Gardens. On the other hand, several birds belonging to this order will not breed in their native country, Jamaica; and the Psophia, though often kept by the Indians of Guiana about their houses, "is seldom or never known to breed." (18/55. Dr. Hanc.o.c.k in "Charlesworth"s Mag. of Nat. Hist." volume 2 1838 page 491; R. Hill "A Week at Port Royal" page 8; "Guide to the Zoological Gardens" by P.L. Sclater 1859 pages 11, 12; "The Knowsley Menagerie" by D.
Gray 1846 p1. 14; E. Blyth "Report Asiatic Soc. of Bengal" May 1855.)
The members of the great Duck family breed as readily in confinement as do the Columbae and Gallinae and this, considering their aquatic and wandering habits, and the nature of their food, could not have been antic.i.p.ated. Even some time ago above two dozen species had bred in the Zoological Gardens; and M. Selys-Longchamps has recorded the production of hybrids from forty-four different members of the family; and to these Professor Newton has added a few more cases. (18/56. Prof. Newton in "Proc. Zoolog. Soc." 1860 page 336.) "There is not," says Mr. Dixon (18/57. "The Dovecote and Aviary" page 428.), "in the wide world, a goose which is not in the strict sense of the word domesticable;" that is, capable of breeding under confinement; but this statement is probably too bold. The capacity to breed sometimes varies in individuals of the same species; thus Audubon (18/58. "Ornithological Biography" volume 3 page 9.) kept for more than eight years some wild geese (Anser canadensis), but they would not mate; whilst other individuals of the same species produced young during the second year. I know of but one instance in the whole family of a species which absolutely refuses to breed in captivity, namely, the Dendrocygna viduata, although, according to Sir R.
Schomburgk (18/59. "Geograph. Journal" volume 13 1844 page 32.), it is easily tamed, and is frequently kept by the Indians of Guiana. Lastly, with respect to Gulls, though many have been kept in the Zoological Gardens and in the old Surrey Gardens, no instance was known before the year 1848 of their coupling or breeding; but since that period the herring gull (Larus argentatus) has bred many times in the Zoological Gardens and at Knowsley.