The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I

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About this book

Domestic breeds and garden plants provide Charles Darwin with a wide field for comparing inherited differences. This first volume examines dogs and cats, horses, farm animals, rabbits, pigeons and poultry before turning to cereals, vegetables, fruit and flowers. Its chapter headings follow changes in colour, body structure, habits and fertility, alongside the effects of selection and the conditions in which organisms live.

In the discussion of fowls, Darwin draws on older descriptions of breeds and observations supplied by other naturalists. Even eggs become evidence: their size, shape, colour and surface differ between birds and breeds. Readers interested in the history of biology can follow how comparisons, reported observations and uncertainty about origins help Darwin build an account of variation under human care. The detailed examples connect broad biological ideas with familiar animals and plants.

About the author

Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was an English naturalist whose theory of evolution by natural selection, set out in On the Origin of Species, transformed biology and our understanding of life on Earth.