The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication

by Charles Darwin

Overview

Charles Darwin (1809–1882) first published this work in 1868 in two volumes. The book began as an expansion of the first two chapters of On the Origin of Species: 'Variation under Domestication' and 'Variation under Nature' and it developed into one of his largest works; Darwin referred to it as his 'big book'. In volume 2, concerned with how species inherit particular characteristics, Darwin first published his 'provisional hypothesis' of pangenesis. This theory of 'gemmules' was not met with much acceptance and today is not valuable as scientific explanation, but it was important in laying down the key questions that needed to be answered regarding the processes of genetic inheritance. Darwin also used volume 2 to challenge the theories of evolution by design, expounded by the botanist Asa Gray. Darwin's arguments were some of the very first in a long debate that remains hot today.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940000749265
Publisher:	B&R Samizdat Express
Publication date:	12/01/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Date of Birth:

February 12, 1809

Date of Death:

April 19, 1882

Place of Birth:

Shrewsbury, England

Place of Death:

London, England

Education:

B.A. in Theology, Christ¿s College, Cambridge University, 1831

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Domestic dogs and cats; 2. Horses and asses; 3. Pigs, cattle, sheep, goats; 4. Domestic rabbits; 5. Domestic pigeons; 6. Pigeons continued; 7. Fowls; 8. Ducks, goose, peacock, turkey, guinea-fowl, canary-bird, gold-fish, hive-bees, silk-moths; 9. Cultivated plants: cereal and culinary plants; 10. Plants continued: fruits, ornamental trees, flower; 11. On bud-variation, and on certain anomalous modes of reproduction and variation.

Editorial Reviews

Reproduced from the 1883 edition (which was revised from its original publication in 1868), this was Darwin's follow-up to his , written in response to criticisms that his theory of evolution was unsubstantiated. Darwin here supports his views via analysis of various aspects of plant and animal life, including an inventory of varieties and their physical and behavioral characteristics, and an investigation of the impact of a species' surrounding environment and the effect of both natural and forced changes in this environment. Volume 2 contains the index for both volumes. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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