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The Descent of Man

The Descent of Man

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cock. <strong>Man</strong>y female progenitors <strong>of</strong> the peacock<br />

must, during a long line <strong>of</strong> descent, have appreciated<br />

this superiority; for they have unconsciously,<br />

by the continued preference for<br />

the most beautiful males, rendered the peacock<br />

the most splendid <strong>of</strong> living birds.<br />

ARGUS PHEASANT.<br />

Another excellent case for investigation is <strong>of</strong>fered<br />

by the ocelli on the wing-feathers <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Argus pheasant, which are shaded in so wonderful<br />

a manner as to resemble balls lying loose<br />

within sockets, and consequently differ from<br />

ordinary ocelli. No one, I presume, will attribute<br />

the shading, which has excited the admiration<br />

<strong>of</strong> many experienced artists, to chance—to<br />

the fortuitous concourse <strong>of</strong> atoms <strong>of</strong> colouring<br />

matter. That these ornaments should have been<br />

formed through the selection <strong>of</strong> many successive<br />

variations, not one <strong>of</strong> which was originally<br />

intended to produce the ball-and-socket effect,

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