New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-05-15


time FOR the operation Of natural selection weaken
the Darwnian theory only on tho assumption that the
factors concerned In forwarding organic evou-
tion, and this assumption, though It may n ma
win-has never been made by Mr. Darwin himself. ne
profoundly scientific in spirit 10 imagine a
of the intricate of problems IL Is quit hiI
that further research will disclose other nratinr
have cooperated with natural seiee'ion !" "''''''
OF retarding specific evolution.
EXPLANATION OF THE PHENOMENA OF COLOR,
Among the specal phenomena explained by the theory
Of natural selection and which do not admit OF any
other scientific explanation, is that OF eoior ~ VIC
NAL and vegetable kingdoms 1t used 10 DC
the vague and untenable 10y PROOF ny
notbesis that the colors OF plants and ant
mails were due to the direct action OF snen pnysG h
he naturaselection theory that each species OF AMI
mails will be characterized by that shade OF coior S
struggle for existence. Those animals whc9
need concealment, either ior IN, nTsvinS A' mon
others found TO be nearly all so coored as 10
eooTed are animals whose habits Of life are such to
enable them to dispense with Tie Polar bear
+ White b as the oc because SsSr With coat
coored il can best escape notice and secure
coat Of white but the Alpine hare the Arctic fox and
the ermine which do not live amid perpetual snow a
nocturnal animals owls. bats and noes are dusKy
colOred The spotted skins OF tigers ana 4'ler a1sS
eats necessarily tend to blend with the IA VI
foliage out of many species OF tropical reesnked
there is but which is not green and Ihs hL h
eonceals itself during The day time IN h9les dne pm
in complete han mony WIN inc 3UeTic
ura selection the yaraDy oi v v' coioTcd wild
species shows that there is direct physoosie ne
InSle GIVEN stvle of coloring. But it is toll
erably obvious that in the struggle ior existence
the most conspicuous among those animals when serve
as food fot others will be the soonest detected, Killed.
and eaten; while in general the most conspicuous saiN
or0us animals will be the most easily avoided ana hehce
win be the most likely perish for lack OF sustenance
Natural selection equally explains why animals when
retain without considerable deviation their protective
style coorng Freed from the exigencies OF wild me-
he there longer imperlOus need Tor cOnceai-
men and hence the unfavoraby colored individuals sur
vive like the rest and variety appears among members
OF the same species.
INSECTS AND FLOWERS
The colorng OF the insect world furnish also abund
ant proof Of the truth Of the theory The
cases OF protective mimcTy the most wonderful
Of all. Various species of butterflies which are
beautifully coored are never eaten by birds
on account of nauseous liquid which exudes
from them when touched. and other insects
which do possess this disageeable gait are exact
structure In many cases the gorgeous tints OF the
otherwise protected Bae animal are due to the conn
ual selection OF the beautiful males
by the females; to this cause is dne the
@Sse OF kind 6 o sdo as is G ason IN
connection with the need for protective concealment we
have the means of explaining by the greater part of
the coloring found III the animal kingdom. The coors
of the vegetable kingdom have, TO CONSIDERABLE ex-
SAYS Of flowers that they very often require
! the aid of insects 10 fertilize them, and
seereon sT are useful in Attracting the insects That hs
main function of color IN flowers is shown by toe
ferzedby the wind and do not need the aid OF Insects
rarely or never have n9%Grs d3 pnGnp enc
winan theory Is only one OF many spdeai eeses ~
| remarkable success
MAN COMPARED WITH APES.
| That man, considered from purely geological point
OF view, differs much less from the higher apes than
these differ from the lower is generally acknowledged
by naturalists, yet there are sundry respects in
which man has become very widely Differentiated
from the highest Of apes. The social feelings the
| use of aruculate language, the construction OF
tools, haDitatons ana eloInng ana ,t e iholeasIi
| ability 10 ADAPT his actions 10 luIue c e
| gencies. obviously dependent upon the relatively
great size ana completely OF the upper lobes Of his BRAIN
The probable action Of natural selection upon the BRAN
is therefore, the most interesting and important point
connected with the origin of mankind Mr. Darwin shows
that the higher apes manifest eeltan s0clal Ieenng
sympathy and fidelity; that they employ stones and
and stones as HAMMERS ana that without possessing
articulate speech they are nevertheless able to com
From these contemporary apes the earliest known man
would TO have differed in little save greater crana
capacity implying doubtless increased OF social
combination and perhaps the ability to chip the stones
used for tools and weapons whether the earliest man
possessed aTtcuate language not, cannot be deter
mined. But granting race OF apelke men or man-hke
apes such as natural selection mls nave eeVel9peG
| Of time the action of natural selection would
| be more and more confined modifying
the cerebral structure Of the race. Among the lower
animals even those which gregarOus, the preserva-
ton Of any individual depends almost entirely upon
his physical adaptation to surrounding clTcum-
stances. There is SO little division Of labor,
and so little mutual assistance, that all
must be capable who would survive. With
things is somewhat altered Even in the rudest actual
imaginable society there Is some division OF labor and
some mutual assisancesO that those who fall below the
average capaby Of the race are no longer sure to be
prematurely cut of, aud thus the agency Of natural
ftness is to some extent checked In the highly complex
societies which call civilized division OF labor and CO.
operation have greatly obseured the effects OF this
agency. But az natural selection among individuals
Societies become more marked. The attributes which
to make society strong and durable with refer
natural selection will chiefly favor oonsid-
Grafton is this: Inferior animals respond chiefly TO
ton deals chiefly with such changes TO the visible mod
hcatiOn Of their bodily structure
PROBABLE RAPIDITY OF CEREBRAL DEVELOPMENT
But when an animal has appeared endowed with
sufficient intelligence to chip a stone tool and hurl
weapon natural selection will take advantage OF varia
tons in this intelligence TO the neglect Of purely physical
variations. Communities whose members are best
able meet by intelligent eontrivances the
other communities, and will be less easily de-
Rs Of an has SS m
Of adaptation and selection become considerable that
any variation in physical structure then such variation
will be more and more constantly selected, while
physical variations, being of less vital mpor
lance TO the species, will be more and more
neglected. Thus. while the external appearance
of such ANIMAL and his internal nutritive and muscu-
lar apparatus may vary but little in many
lectua moral attributes and his cerebral structure
will vary with comparative rapidly. We may
understand why differs little in
general physical structure and external appearance
from the chimpanzee and the gorilla while the spe-
cal points of cerebral structure and accompanying in
tegence he differs vastly from them. The cranial
capacity of varies from ia cubic inches In the
Teuton down TO 46 cubic inches in certain
Hindoo skulls, presumably those of aboriginal
Aryan HindoOs. But the average Australian
skull has capacity OF ron m 20 10 20 cubic inches
s5 cubic inches These facts show that while the differ