The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication: Volume 1 (Cambridge Library Collection - Darwin, Evolution and Genetics)

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) first published this work in 1868 in two volumes. The book began as an expansion of the first two chapters of On the Origin of Species: 'Variation under Domestication' and 'Variation under Nature', and it developed into one of his largest works; Darwin referred to it as his 'big book'. Volume 1 deals with the variations introduced into species as a result of domestication, through changes in climate, diet, breeding and an absence of predators. He began with an examination of dogs and cats, comparing them with their wild counterparts, and moved on to investigate horses and asses; pigs, cattle, sheep, and goats; domestic rabbits; domestic pigeons; fowl; and finally cultivated plants. The work is a masterpiece of nineteenth-century scientific investigation; it is a key text in the development of Darwin's own thought and of the wider discipline of evolutionary biology.

The publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species in 1859 ignited a public storm he neither wanted nor enjoyed. Having offered his book as a contribution to science, Darwin discovered to his dismay that it was received as an affront by many scientists and as a sacrilege by clergy and Christian citizens. To answer the criticism that his theory was a theory only, and a wild one at that, he published two volumes in 1868 to demonstrate that evolution was obvious to anyone who cared to look at a bull in a pasture or a dog on a hearth.

In response to those who insisted that species were distinct since creation, Darwin pointed to breeders of pigs and pigeons. In reply to those who protested that human intervention is one thing and natural selection another, he argued, If organic beings had not possessed an inherent tendency to vary, man could have done nothing. To counter those who scorned his descriptions of species in exotic places, he submitted local evidence of cabbages and cauliflower.

Based on a wide array of sources, from ancient pictographs to Polish roosters, from skins and from skeletons, from scientific journals and breeding manuals, Darwin assembled a mass of proof--and a hypothesis about species reversion that risked his reputation anew. The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication is a two-volume compilation of his thorough and intensive research and the revolutionary conclusions that resulted. The first portion of his work is dedicated to a meticulous analysis of various aspects of plant and animal life, including an inventory of varieties and their physical and behavioral characteristics, investigation of the impact of a species' surroundingenvironment and the role that both natural and forced changes in this environment have had. Darwin then turns to a richly detailed discussion of the roles of inheritance and crossing in the development of species. A wealth of illustrations further support and enhance his findings. This fascinating, invaluable, and courageous undertaking eventually formed the foundation for our current understanding of evolution.

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Reproduced from the 1883 edition (which was revised from its original publication in 1868), this was Darwin's follow-up to his , written in response to criticisms that his theory of evolution was unsubstantiated. Darwin here supports his views via analysis of various aspects of plant and animal life, including an inventory of varieties and their physical and behavioral characteristics, and an investigation of the impact of a species' surrounding environment and the effect of both natural and forced changes in this environment. Volume 2 contains the index for both volumes. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) first published this work in 1868 in two volumes. The book began as an expansion of the first two chapters of On the Origin of Species: 'Variation under Domestication' and 'Variation under Nature' and it developed into one of his largest works; Darwin referred to it as his 'big book'. In volume 2, concerned with how species inherit particular characteristics, Darwin first published his 'provisional hypothesis' of pangenesis. This theory of 'gemmules' was not met with much acceptance and today is not valuable as scientific explanation, but it was important in laying down the key questions that needed to be answered regarding the processes of genetic inheritance. Darwin also used volume 2 to challenge the theories of evolution by design, expounded by the botanist Asa Gray. Darwin's arguments were some of the very first in a long debate that remains hot today Cover......Page 1 Frontmatter......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS......Page 12 INTRODUCTION......Page 14 CHAPTER I - DOMESTIC DOGS AND CATS......Page 28 CHAPTER II - HORSES AND ASSES......Page 62 CHAPTER III - PIGS --- CATTLE --- SHEEP --- GOATS......Page 78 CHAPTER IV - DOMESTIC RABBITS......Page 116 CHAPTER V - DOMESTIC PIGEONS......Page 144 CHAPTER VI - PIGEONS---continued......Page 193 CHAPTER VII - FOWLS......Page 238 CHAPTER VIII - DUCKS --- GOOSE --- PEACOCK --- TURKEY --- GUINEA-FOWL --- CANARY-BIRD --- GOLD-FISH --- HIVE-BEES---SILK-MOTHS......Page 289 CHAPTER IX - CULTIVATED PLANTS: CEREAL AND CULINARY PLANTS......Page 318 CHAPTER X - PLANTS continued --- FRUITS --- ORNAMENTAL TREES --- FLOWERS......Page 345 CHAPTER XI - ON BUD-VARIATION, AND ON CERTAIN ANOMALOUS MODES OF REPRODUCTION AND VARIATION......Page 386 Cover 1 Frontmatter 6 Contents 8 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 12 INTRODUCTION 14 CHAPTER I - DOMESTIC DOGS AND CATS 28 CHAPTER II - HORSES AND ASSES 62 CHAPTER III - PIGS --- CATTLE --- SHEEP --- GOATS 78 CHAPTER IV - DOMESTIC RABBITS 116 CHAPTER V - DOMESTIC PIGEONS 144 CHAPTER VI - PIGEONS---continued 193 CHAPTER VII - FOWLS 238 CHAPTER VIII - DUCKS --- GOOSE --- PEACOCK --- TURKEY --- GUINEA-FOWL --- CANARY-BIRD --- GOLD-FISH --- HIVE-BEES---SILK-MOTHS 289 CHAPTER IX - CULTIVATED PLANTS: CEREAL AND CULINARY PLANTS 318 CHAPTER X - PLANTS continued --- FRUITS --- ORNAMENTAL TREES --- FLOWERS 345 CHAPTER XI - ON BUD-VARIATION, AND ON CERTAIN ANOMALOUS MODES OF REPRODUCTION AND VARIATION 386 9781108014229 Cambridge Library Collection - Life Sciences The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication follows from the first chapters of On the Origin of Species. Volume 1 deals with variations introduced into species as a result of domestication. It is a masterpiece of nineteenth-century scientific investigation and a key text in the development of Darwin's evolutionary theories.