The Descent of Man

peculiar shape as in the female, but longer and
thicker. If we may judge from analogy, the female
probably shews us, in these two cases of
cattle and the antelope, the former condition of
the horns in some early progenitor of each species.
But why castration should lead to the
reappearance of an early condition of the horns
cannot be explained with any certainty. Nevertheless,
it seems probable, that in nearly the
same manner as the constitutional disturbance
in the offspring, caused by a cross between two
distinct species or races, often leads to the
reappearance of long-lost characters (19. I have
given various experiments and other evidence
proving that this is the case, in my 'Variation of
Animals and Plants under Domestication,' vol.
ii. 1868, pp. 39-47.); so here, the disturbance in
the constitution of the individual, resulting
from castration, produces the same effect.
The tusks of the elephant, in the different species
or races, differ according to sex, nearly as