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

ISBN-13:	9781108014236
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/03/2010
Series:	Cambridge Library Collection - Darwin, Evolution and Genetics
Pages:	500
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.30(d)

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

12. Inheritance; 13. Inheritance continued: reversion or atavism; 14. Inheritance continued: fixedness of character, prepotency, sexual limitation; correspondence of age; 15. On crossing; 16. Causes which interfere with the free crossing of varieties, influence of domestication on fertility; 17. On the good effects of crossing, and on the evil effects of close interbreeding; 18. On the advantages and disadvantages of changed conditions of life: sterility form various causes; 19. Summary of the four last chapters, with remarks on hybridism; 20. Selection by man; 21. Selection continued; 22. Causes of variability; 23. Direct and definite action of the external conditions of life; 24. Laws of variation, use and disuse, etc.; 25. Laws of variation continued, correlated variability; 26. Laws of variation continued, summary; 27. Provisional hypothesis of pangenesis; 28. Concluding remarks; Index.

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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