It can be seen here that Darwin attributes the greater variation amongst individuals of domestic varieties compared to their progenitor populations in nature as being due to their "conditions of life" (environment) being "not so uniform as", and "somewhat different from" those of the parent species". He later erroneously elaborates that changed "conditions of life" act on the reproductive organs to generate greater variability in the progeny. Even after 1860 when Darwin read the correct reason for greater variation in domestic varieties in Patrick Matthew's book, On Naval Timber and Arboriculture published in 1831, future editions of On the Origin of Species contained these first two sentences unchanged and continued to omit the correct explanation of stabilizing selection.
It can be seen here that Darwin attributes the greater variation amongst individuals of domestic varieties compared to their progenitor populations in nature as being due to their "conditions of life" (environment) being "not so uniform as", and "somewhat different from" those of the parent species". He later erroneously elaborates that changed "conditions of life" act on the reproductive organs to generate greater variability in the progeny Even after 1860 when Darwin read the correct reason for greater variation in domestic varieties in Patrick Matthew's book, On Naval Timber and Arboriculture published in 1831, future editions of On the Origin of Species contained these first two sentences unchanged and continued to omit the correct explanation of stabilizing selection.