Chapter III: Variation (2)

Pigeon fanciers require that the ideal turbit shall have, among other things, an unbroken “sweep,” that is to say the line of the profile from the tip of the beak to the back of the head should be the arc of a circle. As a rule this line is broken by the overgrowth of the wattle at the base of the beak. Mr Scatliff, however, has succeeded in breeding a strain which possesses the required description of profile.

“In the year 1895,” writes Mr H. P. Scatliff on page 25 of _The Modern Turbit_, “I visited Mr Houghton’s lofts and purchased three or four extra stout and short-beaked stock birds. . . . The following year I mated one of these to one of my own black hens, and reared one of the most successful show birds ever bred, viz. ‘Champion Ladybird,’ a black hen. . . . Most of the leading judges and many turbit breeders remarked upon this hen’s wonderful profile, which seemed to improve as she got older instead of getting worse, as is usual in rather coarse-wattled birds. I, too, had remarked this, and it opened my eyes to a point in turbit breeding which I had never heard mentioned by any turbit judges or breeders, and which I believe I am now pointing out for the first time in print, viz. that the feathers over her beak wattle which formed her front _grew from the top and right to the front of her wattle, and not from slightly behind_, as in almost every other turbit of her day; thus, as the wattle developed and grew coarser, the front became more developed, and made her head larger without in any way spoiling the sweep of the profile.

“The same year ‘Ladybird’ was bred I bred eight others from the same pair, and with one exception all turned out to be hens. There was only one other hen, however (a dun), that had this same point, but in a lesser degree than ‘Ladybird,’ and from these two hens nearly all my blacks, and several of my blues are descended.”

Mr Scatliff, having “spotted” this point, looked about him for another bird having the peculiarity, with the object, if possible, of fixing the same in his strain. He discovered this point in a pigeon belonging to Mr Johnston of Hull, and purchased the bird for £20. But it died in the following spring without producing for Mr Scatliff a single young one. The next year Scatliff found that a bird belonging to a Mr Brannam had the required peculiarity and so purchased him for £20. But that cock, too, died before anything was bred from him. Nothing daunted, Scatliff found that another of Brannam’s cocks displayed the same peculiarity, so purchased him in 1899 for £15, but he also died before the year was out. Meanwhile Scatliff had, by mating up “Ladybird” with the most likely of his own cocks, succeeded in producing one or two young cocks with the desired point. By breeding these with their mother “Ladybird” and their offspring again with “Ladybird,” Scatliff eventually succeeded in breeding some turbits, both blacks and duns, with the required peculiarity fully developed, but not before he had spent a further sum of £55 on two other cocks, both of which died before they could be mated with the famous “Ladybird.” However, amid all his misfortunes, Scatliff informs us that he bought one bird, by name “Amazement,” which did assist him in fixing his strain. Thus Scatliff spent considerably over £100 in purchases, and took eight years fixing the peculiarity in question. Had “Ladybird” been a flower, the peculiarity could probably have been fixed in one generation by self-fertilisation.

This furnishes an excellent example of the trouble which breeders will take, and the expense to which they will go in order to produce a desired result. Nevertheless, it appears to be the fashion for scientific men to decry the work of the breeder.

Let us now pass on to consider the cases of mutations which are known to have occurred among animals.

Mutations among Animals

Some instances of great and sudden variation in domesticated animals have become classical, and been detailed in almost every work on evolution. These are, firstly, the celebrated hornless Paraguay cattle. This hornless breed, or rather the ancestor of the breed, arose quite suddenly.

Many domestic horned breeds of animals, especially sheep and goats, throw off hornless sports. Were a hornless breed of buffalo found in nature, it would undoubtedly be ranked a new species, and the Wallaceians would doubtless exercise much ingenuity in explaining how natural selection had brought about the gradual disappearance of the horns; and palæontologists, being baffled in their search for intermediaries between the hornless species and their horned ancestors, would complain of the imperfection of the geological record.

It may, perhaps, be argued that this hornless mutation was a direct result of the unnatural conditions to which the Paraguay cattle were subjected, it may be asserted that since there are no species of hornless cattle in nature, such mutations have never occurred under natural conditions, and hence the Paraguay cattle prove nothing. As a matter of fact, we know that in nature a great many mutations occur which are not perpetuated because not beneficial to the species. A hornless individual in the wild state would stand but little chance in fighting for females against his horned brethren. We must keep clearly in mind that the theory of mutation does not seek to abolish natural selection; it merely affords that force something substantial to work upon.

The second classical example of a leap taken by nature is furnished by the Franqueiro breed of long-horned cattle in Brazil. These furnish us with an example of a mutation in the other direction. Then there is the Niata or bull-dog breed of cattle, which are also South American. These instances would seem to indicate that cattle are what De Vries would call “in a mutating state” in that part of the world.

The other classical examples of great and sudden variations are the Ancon sheep of Massachusetts, the Mauchamp breed of Merino sheep, the tufted turkeys, and the long-haired race of guinea-pigs.

The “wonder horses,” whose manes and tails grow to an extraordinary length, so as to trail on the ground, may perhaps be cited as a race which originated in a sudden mutation. They are all descendants of a single individual, Linus I., whose mane and tail were respectively eighteen and twenty-one feet long. But in this case it is important to note that the parents and grandparents of Linus I. had exceptionally long hair.

Mutations among Birds

Coming now to birds we find several undoubted examples of mutations, or new forms which have come suddenly into being.

The black-winged peafowl, whose peculiarities were commented on by Darwin, afford a striking example of this phenomenon. These birds breed true when mated together, and are known to have arisen from common peafowl in no less than nine instances. The cocks have the wings (except the primary quills), black glossed with blue and green, and have the thighs black, whereas, in the ordinary peacock, the same part of the wing is nearly all mottled black and pale buff, and the thighs are drab. The black-winged hen, on the other hand, is nearly white, but has a black tail and black speckling on the upper surface of the body, while her primary quills are cinnamon coloured as in male peafowl, not drab as in the normal hens. The young are white when hatched, the young cock gradually assuming the dark colour as he matures.

This mutation, which, in one case quoted by Darwin, increased among a flock of peafowl until the black-winged supplanted the ordinary kind, is so distinct in appearance in all stages that it was formerly supposed to be a true species (_Pavo nigripennis_), of which the wild habitat was unknown.

The Golden Pheasant (_Chrysolophus pictus_) produces, in domestication, the dark-throated form (_C. obscurus_), in which the cock has the throat sooty-black instead of buff, and the scapulars or shoulder feathers black instead of red. Moreover, the two middle-tail-feathers are barred with black and brown like the lateral ones, while in the ordinary form they are spotted with brown on a black ground. The hens have a chocolate-brown ground-colour instead of yellow-ochre as in the normal type. The chicks are likewise darker.

The common duck, in domestication, when coloured like the wild mallard, sometimes produces a form in which the chocolate breast and white collar of the drake are absent, the pencilled grey of the abdomen reaching up to the green neck. In this mutation the duck has the head uniformly speckled black and brown, and lacks the light eye-brow and cheek-stripes found in the normal duck. Both sexes have the bar on the wing dull black instead of metallic blue.

The ducklings which ultimately bear this plumage are sooty-black throughout, not black and yellow like normal ones.

The phenomenon of mutation is not confined to animals in a state of domestication. The common Little Owl of Europe (_Athene noctua_) has produced the mutation _A. chiaradiæ_ in the wild state. In this the irides are dark, instead of yellow as in the normal type, and the plumage of the back of the wings is longitudinally streaked with white instead of barred. Several examples of this form were found, along with normal young, in the nest of one particular pair of little owls in Italy, but the whole family were foolishly exterminated by local ornithologists.

The reed bunting (_Emberiza schœniclus_) exists in two distinct forms—one having a much stouter bill than the other (_E. pyrrhuloides_). This probably is an example of a mutation.

The rare yellow-rumped Finch (_Munia flaviprymna_), of Australia, has displayed a tendency to change into the allied and far commoner chestnut-breasted Finch (_M. castaneithorax_) during the lifetime of the individual (_Avicultural Magazine_, 1907). Conversely, the male of the common Red-billed Weaver (_Quelea quelea_) of Africa has been found in its old age to assume the characters of the comparatively rare _Q. russi_, its black throat becoming pale buff as in that form.

Everyone is familiar with the chequered variety of the common blue-rock pigeon, in which the wings are regularly mottled with black instead of being barred. This form sometimes occurs among wild birds, so that it has been described as a distinct species. It is important to note that there are red, dun, and silver chequers as well as blue ones.

A well-marked mutation which appears regularly in nature is the red-headed variety of the beautiful Gouldian Finch (_Pöephila mirabilis_) of North Australia. Normally the head of the cock is black, but in about ten per cent. of the individuals the cock has a crimson head, while that of the hen is dull crimson and black.

Mutations which occur with such regularity are certainly rare. On the other hand, there are certain mutations which we may expect to see appear in any species of plant or animal.

Albinistic forms are a case in point, and less frequently we see white varieties which are not pure albinos, because the eye retains some at least of the normal pigment. As examples, we may cite white dogs, cats, fowls, horses, ducks, geese, and Java sparrows among domesticated animals, and the white forms of the Amazonian dolphin and of the giant Petrel of the South seas (_Ossifraga gigantea_) among wild creatures.

In a white mutation the eye may lose all its pigment, and then we have a true albino. Such forms on account of their imperfect vision cannot survive in a state of nature, hence no wild pink-eyed species are known.

Or the eye may display a partial loss of pigment, as, for example, in the white domestic forms of the common goose, the Chinese goose, and the Muscovy duck. Finn saw a case in which the eyes of a pink-eyed rabbit changed after death into this type of eye—that is, with the pupil black and the iris blue. It is to be observed that this kind of eye sometimes occurs in coloured horses, rabbits, and dogs. Finally, we have white mutations in which the eye loses none of the pigment. These are abundant in nature, and probably most of the white species of birds—as, for example, some egrets, swans, etc.—arose in this way.[4] Pure white species are comparatively uncommon in nature, because, except in snow-clad regions, white creatures are easily seen by their adversaries. Most white birds are of considerable size, and well able to look after themselves.

Similarly black mutations occur frequently among animals, both under domestication and in a state of nature. All are familiar with black dogs, cats, horses, fowls, ducks, pigeons. Black mutations, however, do not occur nearly so frequently as white ones. So far as we are aware no black mutation has been recorded among canaries, geese, guinea-fowl, ferrets, Java sparrows or doves, all of which produce white mutations.

On the other hand, in the wild state black species occur more frequently than normal-eyed white forms. This is probably because such creatures are less conspicuous than white ones. As examples of black mutations which occur in nature, we may cite black leopards, water rats, squirrels, foxes, barking deer (_Cervulus muntjac_), hawk-eagles, harriers, peppered moth (_Amphidasys betularia_), etc.

That many black species have arisen as sudden mutations from lighter-coloured animals seems tolerably certain from the facts that in Malacca the black leopard forms a local race; that some of the Gibbon apes are as often black as light coloured; that the American black bear is sometimes brown, while the other bears, when not brown, are almost invariably black.

Color Mutations

Not uncommon, although rarer than black or melanistic forms, are reddish or chestnut varieties. These occur both among tame and wild animals. Among domesticated creatures, sandy cats, “red” pigeons, buff fowls, chestnut horses, red guinea pigs afford examples of this mutation. Among wild animals many of the species of squirrel, not naturally red, produce red mutations; and some of the grey owls—as, for example, the Indian race of the Scops (_Scops giu_)—throw off a red or chestnut form. As everyone knows, some species are normally red.

Green or olive species not unfrequently throw off yellow mutations. As examples of these we may cite yellow canaries, yellow budgerigars (_Melopsittacus undulatus_), goldfish, golden tench, and the golden form of the common carp among captive animals; and among animals in a state of nature, yellow forms have been recorded of the rose-ringed Paroquet (_Palæornis torquatus_), the green woodpecker, the pike, and the eel. These lutinistic forms usually have normally coloured eyes. Sometimes, but only very rarely, these yellow forms throw off white sports—as, for example, the “silver” form of the goldfish. Finn has seen a white variety of the common carp. White canaries are excessively rare, while white budgerigars are unknown.

It is worthy of note that entirely yellow species of birds and fish are unknown. We would suggest that the explanation of this is that yellowness is correlated with some physical characteristic unfavourable to an organism exposed to the struggle for existence; hence individuals which are yellow are not permitted to survive. In some species of moths individuals occur in which the parts normally red are yellow. According to Bateson, a chalk pit at Madingly, near Cambridge, has long been known to collectors as a habitat of a yellow-marked form of the six-spot Burnet Moth (_Zygæna filipendulæ_). These lutinistic forms are not confined to one genus of Butterflies. Moreover, in the Pin-tailed Nonpareil Finch (_Eythrura prasina_) of the Eastern Archipelago the red tail and other red parts of the plumage are not infrequently replaced by yellow in wild individuals of either sex and of any age. In the blue-fronted Amazon parrot (_Chrysotis æstiva_)—a most variable bird—the normally red edge of the pinion is sometimes yellow. Bateson, in his _Materials for the Study of Variation_, gives other examples of this kind of variation.

Mutations among Invertebrates

As further instances of mutations among animals which have been observed in nature, we may mention the _valezina_ form of the female of the Silver-washed Fritillary Butterfly (_Argynnis paphia_) and the _helice_ form of the female Clouded-yellow Butterfly (_Colias edusa_).

The common jelly-fish is an organism which frequently throws off sports, and some zoologists are of opinion that the medusoid _Pseudoclytia pentata_ arose by a discontinuous variation from _Epenthesis folleata_ or a closely allied form. Thomson discusses this particular case at some length on pages 87-89 of his _Heredity_, and gives it as his opinion that the evidence in favour of this latter having arisen as a mutation is “exceedingly strong.”

Mutating Species

It is our belief that many species of birds which occur in nature have been derived from other species which still exist, but as no one has ever seen the mutation take place, we cannot furnish any proof thereof. We merely rely on the fact that the species in question differ so slightly from one another that there seems every likelihood that they have suddenly arisen and managed to establish themselves alongside of the parent species.

The Curassows, _Crax grayi_, _C. hecki_, each of which is only known by a very few specimens, appear to be mutations of the female of the globose Curassow, _Crax globicera_. The fact that when a female _hecki_ bred in the London Zoological Gardens with a male _globicera_, the solitary young one which lived to grow up was a pure _globicera_, renders the assumption almost certain.

The Chamba Monaul (_Lophophorus chambanus_) seems to be a mutation of the male of the common Monaul or Impeyan Pheasant (_Lophophorus impeyanus_), the common species of the Himalayas.

The Three-coloured Mannikin (_Munia malacca_) of South India is probably simply a white-bellied form of the widely-ranging Black-headed Mannikin (_M. atricapilla_), which has the abdomen chestnut like the back. Intermediate wild-caught forms have been recorded.

The African Cordon-bleu (_Estrelda phœnicotis_) and Blue-bellied Waxbill (_E. cyanogastra_) would also seem to be mutations, as almost the only difference between them lies in the fact that the male of the former has a crimson cheek-patch, which is wanting in the latter.

The Ringed Finch (_Stictoptera annulosa_) of Java, and Bicheno’s Finch (_S. bichenovii_) of Australia, only differ in the former having the rump black, while in the latter it is white, and this difference appears to be of the nature of a mutation.

So, it might be urged, is the pure white breast of the male Upland Goose (_Chloëphaga magellanica_), which part, in the very similar _C. dispar_, is barred as in the females, the latter form being probably the ancestor.

The differences between the silver-grey-necked Crowned Crane of the Cape (_Balearica chrysopelargus_) and the dark-necked species of West Africa (_B. regulorum_) seem also to be not more than could be accounted for by mutation.

Peculiar forms, such as a rabbit with a convoluted brain or a mouse with a peculiar pattern of molar teeth, have been come upon by anatomists.

The above-cited mutations are all very considerable ones, and we do not profess to have mentioned a tenth part of those which have actually been recorded.

We trust that we have collected and set forth sufficient evidence to show that the phenomenon of discontinuous variation is a very general one, and this would seem to tell against the hypothesis of De Vries that species pass through alternate periods of comparative stability and periods when swarms of mutations appear. We think it more probable that all species throw off at greater or less intervals discontinuous variations, and that it is upon these that natural selection acts.

We further hope that we have succeeded in making clear what we believe to be the very sharp distinction between continuous and discontinuous variations, even when the latter are inconsiderable, as frequently happens.

Somatic and Germinal Variations

Before leaving the subject of variation it is necessary to notice the distinction, which Weismann was the first to emphasise, between somatic and germinal variations.

Every adult organism must be regarded as the result of two sets of forces; inherited tendencies or internal forces, and the action of environment or external forces. The differences which the various members of a family show are due in part to the initial differences in the germinal material of which they are composed, and in part to the differences of their environment. The former differences are the result of what we may call germinal variations, and the latter the result of somatic variations. It is scarcely ever possible to say of any particular variation that it is a germinal or a somatic one, because even before birth a developing organism has been subjected to environmental influences. One of a litter may have received more nourishment than the others. Nevertheless, any marked variation which appears at birth is probably largely germinal. According to Weismann and the majority of zoologists, there is a fundamental difference between these germinal and somatic variations, in that the former tend to be inherited, while the latter are never inherited. Weismann believes that very early in the formation of the embryo the cells which will form the generative organs of the developing organism are separated off from those cells which will go to build up the body, and become as much isolated from them as if they were contained in a hermetically-sealed flask, so that they remain totally unaffected by any changes which the environment effects in the somatic cells. Therefore, says Weismann, acquired characters cannot be inherited.

While the majority of zoologists believe that acquired characters are not inherited, probably not many will go so far as Weismann and declare that the environment cannot exercise _any_ effect whatever on the germ cells.

Somatic Variations

Even though acquired characters or variations are not inherited, it does not follow that they do not play an important part in evolution. Acquired variations are the result of the way in which an organism reacts to its environment. If an organism is unable to react to its environment it must inevitably perish. If it is able to react, it matters not, so far as the chances of survival of the organism are concerned, whether the adaptation is the result of a congenital variation or a somatic one. This will be rendered clear by a hypothetical example. Let us suppose that a certain mammal is forced, owing to the intensity of the struggle for existence, to migrate into the Arctic regions. Let us further suppose that this organism is preyed upon by some creature that hunts by sight rather than by scent. Let us yet further imagine that this predacious species is swifter than our animal, on which it preys. It is obvious that, other things being equal, the more closely the creature preyed upon assimilates to its surroundings the more likely is it to escape the observation of its foes, and so to survive and give birth to offspring. Now suppose that the glare from the snow-covered ground bleaches its coat. This whitening of the fur is a somatic variation, one which is induced by the environment. Such an animal will be as difficult to see, if the bleaching is such as to render it snow-white, as if its whiteness were due to a germinal variation. Thus, as regards its chances of survival, it matters not whether its whiteness be the result of germinal or somatic variation. But if the whiteness is due to a somatic variation, its offspring will show no tendency to inherit the variation; they will have in turn to undergo the bleaching process. If, on the other hand, the whiteness is due to a germinal variation, the offspring will tend to inherit this peculiarity and to be born white. In such a case, it is unlikely that the fur of an organism which is naturally coloured will be completely bleached by the snow, and, even if it be, the bleaching process will take time, meanwhile the creature will be comparatively conspicuous. So that those which are naturally whiter than the average, that is to say, those in which the tendency to whiteness appears as a germinal variation, will be less conspicuous than those which tend to be the ordinary colour. Thus the former will enjoy a better chance of survival, and will be likely to transmit their whiteness to their offspring in so far as it is due to a germinal or congenital variation.

Thus, although none of the whiteness due to somatic variations is transmitted to the offspring, such variations are of considerable importance to the species, as they enable it to survive and allow time for the germinal variations in the required direction to appear.

That this case need not be purely hypothetical is shown by the fact that dun domestic pigeons, which are of an earthy-brown colour when fresh moulted, soon fade in the sun to a dull creamy hue. Thus a coloration adapted to an ordinary soil could soon be suited to a desert environment. The ruddy sheldrake also, normally a bright chestnut-coloured bird, and one that haunts exposed sunny places, in many cases fades very much, becoming almost straw-coloured.

Many variations which organisms display are of a mixed kind, being in part the result of inner forces and in part due to the action of the environment. In so far as they are due to this latter they do not appear to be inherited.

Thus, although we cannot say of many variations whether they are germinal, or somatic, or of a mixed kind, it is of great importance to keep continually in mind the fundamental differences between the two kinds.

Some somatic variations are due to the direct action of the environment; they are merely the expression of the manner in which an organism responds to external stimuli.

What is the cause of germinal variations? This is a question to which we are not yet in a position to give a satisfactory answer.

The attempt to explain their origin plunges us into the realm of theory. This doubtless is a realm full of fascination, but it is an unexplored region of extreme darkness, in which, we believe, it is scarcely possible to take the right road until more of the light of fact has been shed upon it.

In the chapter dealing with inheritance we shall indicate the lines along which it is likely that future progress will be made.