The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-03-18
The Descent or Man.

It is now more than ten years since the
world OF science was startled BY the appear
aucs Of, Mr.. ,Darwin's 'Orlgin Of SPECIES"
But profound and widespread. as hassbeen
the agitation created by tae announcement
of the hypothesis Of ':Na1ural. Selection, " as
familiar to mems ears as is the name of the
| @Darwinian Theory there are yet many
who through lack Of leisure or inclination 10
pursue the subject have not yet definite
idea OF what the theory actually is: Let US
briefy explain. All aniinals and plants tend
to increase with enormous rapidity. In the
case of the slowest breeders, if there were no
causes at work to interfere with The rate OF
their increase, the earth would be speedily
over populated Hence to maintain a just
equilibrium there prevails throughout the
organic world continued and prodigtous
slaughter. In the struggle for existence, in
the competition for subsistence, the strong
flourish at the expense Of the weak. The.
feeble and less favored individuals, which
constitute the majority, succumb and perish,
while they.who are best endowed with the
Qualities which lit them for success in 'te
strife, survive, and transmit their superior
organization to their descendants. This is
the doctrine Of Natural Selection; "the sur
"vivA of the l1ttest," of those best adapted to
the conditions in which they live. Now il
the circumstances Of their environment re-
NAMED constant, there would be no -altera-
tion of species. But the fact exists that
there is everywhere an incessant change in
the conditions of the soil and the atmos-
phere, and in the influences of heat and
moisture: To conform to these changes
there must be consequent continual raria.
ton in the constitution and characteristics
of plants and animals The members Of
each species are; therefore, constantly vary
ing-those dwelling in one locality ever de-
sveloping new and needed capacities, and
those in different situation acquiring di-
verse enes, according to their necessity
until finally in the course of many genera
tions, the change has become 80 great that
distinct species are recognized, or, in other
words, the process Of the evolution of'one
species from another has been effected. The
theory, in its full significance, is that all
present species of animalssprang from lower
and ruder forms, and that even man himself
is the ultimate result Of this evolution and
process of selection.
In his lately published work, ''The De-
ssscsat Of Man," Of which we have as yet but
the first volume Mr., Darwin does not pro-
-ject anything absolutely Hew regarding the
origin ofspecies, but occupies himseiy chiefly
with an application of the theory Of evolu-
lion to the case OF maa. In the opening
chapters he bripga forward q aecrowd OF in
terestipg facts TO show the points OF. resem-
blance between man and the lower animals
in physical structure and mental powers.
The mass of evidence tends to prove that the
intellectual faculties OF man and the lower
animals do not differ in kind, although i'm
measursbly in degree. The distance be-
tween the intelligence OF man and the high
est animal is not, according to Mr.. Darwin,
SO great as that between the ceceus' or
scale insect and the ant. two species which
belong to the same class.
'sPhe female coccns, while young, attaches
itself by Its proeocls to plant; sucks the sap,
but never moves agHin;- ia t.rtillzed and lays
eggs; aud this is It's whole history. on-ths
other'hand, ants communicate information to
each other, and several unite for the same
work, OF games OF play. They recognize their
fellow-snts after months of absence. They
build great edi6ces, keep them clean, close the