’QuarterlyReview’1849page392。），insomeotherpoints:butthereisnoreasontobelievethatthissplit，theoriginofwhichisunknown，wasintentionallymade;itmaywithmuchmoreprobabilitybeattributedtodifferentbreedershavingattendedtodifferentpoints。Soagain，theBerkshirebreedofswineintheyear1810hadgreatlychangedfromwhatitwasin1780;andsince1810atleasttwodistinctsub—breedshavearisenbearingthesamename。（20/80。H。vonNathusius’Vorstudien……Schweineschadel’1864s140。）Keepinginmindhowrapidlyallanimalsincrease，andthatsomemustbeannuallyslaughteredandsomesavedforbreeding，then，ifthesamebreederduringalongcourseofyearsdeliberatelysettleswhichshallbesavedandwhichshallbekilled，itisalmostinevitablethathisindividualturnofmindwillinfluencethecharacterofhisstock，withouthishavinghadanyintentiontomodifythebreed。
Unconsciousselectioninthestrictestsenseoftheword，thatis，thesavingofthemoreusefulanimalsandtheneglectorslaughterofthelessuseful，withoutanythoughtofthefuture，musthavegoneonoccasionallyfromtheremotestperiodandamongstthemostbarbarousnations。Savagesoftensufferfromfamines，andaresometimesexpelledbywarfromtheirownhomes。Insuchcasesitcanhardlybedoubtedthattheywouldsavetheirmostusefulanimals。
WhentheFuegiansarehardpressedbywant，theykilltheiroldwomenforfoodratherthantheirdogs;for，aswewereassured，\"oldwomennouse——dogscatchotters。\"Thesamesoundsensewouldsurelyleadthemtopreservetheirmoreusefuldogswhenstillharderpressedbyfamine。Mr。Oldfield，whohasseensomuchoftheaboriginesofAustralia，informsmethat\"theyareallverygladtogetaEuropeankangaroodog，andseveralinstanceshavebeenknownofthefatherkillinghisowninfantthatthemothermightsucklethemuch—prizedpuppy。\"DifferentkindsofdogswouldbeusefultotheAustralianforhuntingopossumsandkangaroos，andtotheFuegianforcatchingfishandotters;andtheoccasionalpreservationinthetwocountriesofthemostusefulanimalswouldultimatelyleadtotheformationoftwowidelydistinctbreeds。
Withplants，fromtheearliestdawnofcivilisation，thebestvarietywhichwasknownwouldgenerallyhavebeencultivatedateachperiodanditsseedsoccasionallysown;sothattherewillhavebeensomeselectionfromanextremelyremoteperiod，butwithoutanyprefixedstandardofexcellenceorthoughtofthefuture。Weatthepresentdayprofitbyacourseofselectionoccasionallyandunconsciouslycarriedonduringthousandsofyears。ThisisprovedinaninterestingmannerbyOswaldHeer’sresearchesonthelake—
inhabitantsofSwitzerland，asgiveninaformerchapter;forheshowsthatthegrainandseedofourpresentvarietiesofwheat，barley，oats，peas，beans，lentils，andpoppy，exceedinsizethosewhichwerecultivatedinSwitzerlandduringtheNeolithicandBronzeperiods。Theseancientpeople，duringtheNeolithicperiod，possessedalsoacrabconsiderablylargerthanthatnowgrowingwildontheJura。（20/81。SeealsoDr。ChristinRutimeyer’s’Pfahlbauten’1861s。226。）ThepearsdescribedbyPlinywereevidentlyextremelyinferiorinqualitytoourpresentpears。Wecanrealisetheeffectsoflong—continuedselectionandcultivationinanotherway，forwouldanyoneinhissensesexpecttoraiseafirst—rateapplefromtheseedofatrulywildcrab，oralusciousmeltingpearfromthewildpear？AlphonsedeCandolleinformsmethathehaslatelyseenonanancientmosaicatRomearepresentationofthemelon;andastheRotnans，whoweresuchgourmands，aresilentonthisfruit，heinfersthatthemelonhasbeengreatlyamelioratedsincetheclassicalperiod。