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The Descent of Man

The Descent of Man

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CHOICE IN PAIRING BY EITHER SEX OF<br />

QUADRUPEDS.<br />

Before describing in the next chapter, the differences<br />

between the sexes in voice, odours emitted,<br />

and ornaments, it will be convenient here<br />

to consider whether the sexes exert any choice<br />

in their unions. Does the female prefer any particular<br />

male, either before or after the males<br />

may have fought together for supremacy; or<br />

does the male, when not a polygamist, select<br />

any particular female? <strong>The</strong> general impression<br />

amongst breeders seems to be that the male<br />

accepts any female; and this owing to his eagerness,<br />

is, in most cases, probably the truth.<br />

Whether the female as a general rule indifferently<br />

accepts any male is much more doubtful. In<br />

the fourteenth chapter, on Birds, a considerable<br />

body <strong>of</strong> direct and indirect evidence was advanced,<br />

shewing that the female selects her<br />

partner; and it would be a strange anomaly if<br />

female quadrupeds, which stand higher in the<br />

scale and have higher mental powers, did not

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