Gold-fish (Cyprinus auratus) were introduced into Europe only two or three centuries ago; but they have been kept in confinement from an ancient period in China. Mr. Blyth (8/50. The 'Indian Field' 1858 page 255.) suspects, from the analogous variation of other fishes, that golden- coloured fish do not occur in a state of nature. These fishes frequently live under the most unnatural conditions, and their variability in colour, size, and in some important points of structure is very great. M. Sauvigny has described and given coloured drawings of no less than eighty-nine varieties. (8/51. Yarrell 'British Fishes' volume 1 page 319.) Many of the varieties, however, such as triple tail-fins, etc., ought to be called monstrosities; but it is difficult to draw any distinct line between a variation and a monstrosity. As gold-fish are kept for ornament or curiosity, and as "the Chinese are just the people to have secluded a chance variety of any kind, and to have matched and paired from it" (8/52. Mr. Blyth in the 'Indian Field' 1858 page 255.), it might have been predicted that selection would have been largely practised in the formation of new breeds; and this is the case. In an old Chinese work it is said that fish with vermilion scales were first raised in confinement during the Sung dynasty (which commenced A.D. 960), "and now they are cultivated in families everywhere for the sake of ornament." In another and more ancient work, it is said that "there is not a household where the gold-fish is not cultivated, in RIVALRY as to its colour, and as a source of profit," etc. (8/53. W.F. Mayers 'Chinese Notes and Queries' August 1868 page 123.) Although many breeds exist, it is a singular fact that the variations are often not inherited. Sir R. Heron (8/54. 'Proc. Zoolog. Soc.' May 25, 1842.) kept many of these fishes, and placed all the deformed ones, namely, those destitute of dorsal fins and those furnished with a double anal fin, or triple tail, in a pond by themselves; but they did "not produce a greater proportion of deformed offspring than the perfect fishes."

Passing over an almost infinite diversity of colour, we meet with the most extraordinary modifications of structure. Thus, out of about two dozen specimens bought in London, Mr. Yarrell observed some with the dorsal fin extending along more than half the length of the back: others with this fin reduced to only five or six rays: and one with no dorsal fin. The anal fins are sometimes double, and the tail is often triple. This latter deviation of structure seems generally to occur "at the expense of the whole or part of some other fin (8/55. Yarrell 'British Fishes' volume 1 page 319.); but Bory de Saint-Vincent (8/56. 'Dict. Class. d'Hist. Nat.' tome 5 page 276.) saw at Madrid gold-fish furnished with a dorsal fin and a triple tail. One variety is characterised by a hump on its back near the head; and the Rev. L. Jenyns (Blomefield) (8/57. 'Observations in Nat. Hist.' 1846 page 211. Dr. Gray has described in 'Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.' 1860 page 151 a nearly similar variety but destitute of a dorsal fin.) has described a most singular variety, imported from China, almost globular in form like a Diodon, with "the fleshy part of the tail as if entirely cut away? the caudal fin being set on a little behind the dorsal and immediately above the anal." In this fish the anal and caudal fins were double; the anal fin being attached to the body in a vertical line: the eyes also were enormously large and protuberant.

HIVE-BEES.

Bees have been domesticated from an ancient period; if indeed their state can be considered one of domestication, for they search for their own food, with the exception of a little generally given to them during the winter. Their habitation is a hive instead of a hole in a tree. Bees, however, have been transported into almost every quarter of the world, so that climate ought to have produced whatever direct effect it is capable of producing. It is frequently asserted that the bees in different parts of Great Britain differ in size, colour, and temper; and Godron (8/58. 'De l'Espece' 1859 page 459. With respect to the bees of Burgundy see M. Gerard, art. 'Espece' in 'Dict. Univers. d'Hist. Nat.') says that they are generally larger in the south than in other parts of France; it has also been asserted that the little brown bees of High Burgundy, when transported to La Bresse become large and yellow in the second generation. But these statements require confirmation. As far as size is concerned, it is known that bees produced in very old combs are smaller, owing to the cells having become smaller from the successive old cocoons. The best authorities (8/59. See a discussion on this subject, in answer to a question of mine, in 'Journal of Horticulture' 1862 pages 225-242; also Mr. Bevan Fox in ditto 1862 page 284) concur that, with the exception of the Ligurian race or species, presently to be mentioned, distinct breeds do not exist in Britain or on the Continent. There is, however, even in the same stock, some variability in colour. Thus, Mr. Woodbury states (8/60. This excellent observer may be implicitly trusted; see 'Journal of Horticulture' July 14, 1863 page 39.) that he has several times seen queen bees of the common kind annulated with yellow-like Ligurian queens, and the latter dark-coloured like common bees. He has also observed variations in the colour of the drones, without any corresponding difference in the queens or workers of the same hive. The great apiarian, Dzierzon, in answer to my queries on this subject, says (8/61. 'Journal of Horticulture' September 9, 1862 page 463; see also Herr Kleine on same subject November 11 page 643, who sums up, that, though there is some variability in colour, no constant or perceptible differences can be detected in the bees of Germany.), that in Germany bees of some stocks are decidedly dark, whilst others are remarkable for their yellow colour. Bees also seem to differ in habits in different districts, for Dzierzon adds, "If many stocks with their offspring are more inclined to swarm, whilst others are richer in honey, so that some bee-keepers even distinguish between swarming and honey-gathering bees, this is a habit which has become second nature, caused by the customary mode of keeping the bees and the pasturage of the district. For example, what a difference in this respect one may perceive to exist between the bees of the Luneburg heath and those of this country!"…"Removing an old queen and substituting a young one of the current year is here an infallible mode of keeping the strongest stock from swarming and preventing drone-breeding; whilst the same means if adopted in Hanover would certainly be of no avail." I procured a hive full of dead bees from Jamaica, where they have long been naturalised, and, on carefully comparing them under the microscope with my own bees, I could detect not a trace of difference.

This remarkable uniformity in the hive-bee, wherever kept, may probably be accounted for by the great difficulty, or rather impossibility, of bringing selection into play by pairing particular queens and drones, for these insects unite only during flight. Nor is there any record, with a single partial exception, of any person having separated and bred from a hive in which the workers presented some appreciable difference. In order to form a new breed, seclusion from other bees would, as we now know, be indispensable; for since the introduction of the Ligurian bee into Germany and England, it has been found that the drones wander at least two miles from their own hives, and often cross with the queens of the common bee. (8/62. Mr. Woodbury has published several such accounts in 'Journal of Horticulture' 1861 and 1862.) The Ligurian bee, although perfectly fertile when crossed with the common kind, is ranked by most naturalists as a distinct species, whilst by others it is ranked as a variety: but this form need not here be noticed, as there is no reason to believe that it is the product of domestication. The Egyptian and some other bees are likewise ranked by Dr. Gerstacker (8/63. 'Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.' 3rd series volume 11 page 339.) but not by other highly competent judges, as geographical races; he grounds his conclusion in chief part on the fact that in certain districts, as in the Crimea and Rhodes, they vary so much in colour, that the several geographical races can be closely connected by intermediate forms.

I have alluded to a single instance of the separation and preservation of a particular stock of bees. Mr. Lowe (8/64. 'The Cottage Gardener' May 1860 page 110; and ditto in 'Journal of Hort.' 1862 page 242.) procured some bees from a cottager a few miles from Edinburgh, and perceived that they differed from the common bee in the hairs on the head and thorax being lighter coloured and more profuse in quantity. From the date of the introduction of the Ligurian bee into Great Britain we may feel sure that these bees had not been crossed with this form. Mr. Lowe propagated this variety, but unfortunately did not separate the stock from his other bees, and after three generations the new character was almost completely lost. Nevertheless, as he adds, "a great number of the bees still retain traces, though faint, of the original colony." This case shows us what could probably be effected by careful and long-continued selection applied exclusively to the workers, for, as we have seen, queens and drones cannot be selected and paired.

SILK-MOTHS.

These insects are in several respects interesting to us, more especially because they have varied largely at an early period of life, and the variations have been inherited at corresponding periods. As the value of the silk-moth depends entirely on the cocoon, every change in its structure and qualities has been carefully attended to, and races differing much in the cocoon, but hardly at all in the adult state, have been produced. With the races of most other domestic animals, the young resemble each other closely, whilst the adults differ much.

It would be useless, even if it were possible, to describe all the many kinds of silkworms. Several distinct species exist in India and China which produce useful silk, and some of these are capable of freely crossing with the common silk-moth, as has been recently ascertained in France. Captain Hutton (8/65. 'Transact. Entomolog. Soc.' 3rd series volume 3 pages 143-173 and pages 295-331.) states that throughout the world at least six species have been domesticated; and he believes that the silk-moths reared in Europe belong to two or three species. This, however, is not the opinion of several capable judges who have particularly attended to the cultivation of this insect in France; and hardly accords with some facts presently to be given.

The common silk-moth (Bombyx mori) was brought to Constantinople in the sixth century, whence it was carried into Italy, and in 1494 into France. (8/66. Godron 'De l'Espece' 1859 tome 1 page 460. The antiquity of the silkworm in China is given on the authority of Stanislas Julien.) Everything has been favourable for the variation of this insect. It is believed to have been domesticated in China as long ago as 2700 B.C. It has been kept under unnatural and diversified conditions of life, and has been transported into many countries. There is reason to believe that the nature of the food given to the caterpillar influences to a certain extent the character of the breed. (8/67. See the remarks of Prof. Westwood, Gen. Hearsey and others at the meeting of the Entomolog. Soc. of London July 1861.) Disuse has apparently aided in checking the development of the wings. But the most important element in the production of the many now existing, much modified races, no doubt has been the close attention which has long been applied in many countries to every promising variation. The care taken in Europe in the selection of the best cocoons and moths for breeding is notorious (8/68. See for instance M. A. de Quatrefages 'Etudes sur les Maladies actuelles du Ver a Soie' 1859 page 101.), and the production of eggs is followed as a distinct trade in parts of France. I have made inquiries through Dr. Falconer, and am assured that in India the natives are equally careful in the process of selection. In China the production of eggs is confined to certain favourable districts, and the raisers are precluded by law from producing silk, so that their whole attention may be necessarily given up to this one object. (8/69. My authorities for the statements will be given in the chapter on Selection.)