New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-09-05


he wishes to exaggerae he selects it - 1t reappears in
successive broeds and thus adds increment to mere
mont until astonishing amount Of divergence rom
the parent type SELECTED. Man In this case does notpro
dnce elements Of the variation. He simply observes
them and by selection adds them together until the re
CURED result has been obtained. "No man" says N.Y.
Darwin would ever try to make fantaii Till ne
saw q pigeon with a tail developed In so'o
slight degree in an unusual manner, OF
pouter until he saw q pigeon with crop Oh
unusual size" Thus nature gives the hnt' maa ac's
upon it, and by the law Of Inheritance exaggerates inc
deviation. Having thus satisfied himself py inuuptaoie
facts that the organization OF an animal OF plant uor
precisely the treatment applies 10 plants) Is 10
some extent plastic he passes from variation under
opest,cation 20 variation under nature. Hitherto
have dealt with the adding together OF small changes
nv the conscious selection of man. Can nature thus
selectf Mr.. Darwin's answer is. "Assuredly che cam
The number living things produced Is far In excess OF
the number that be supported; hence at some
period or other their lives there must be struggle
for existence. Aud what is the Infallible resultf II
one organism perfect copy of the other in regard
10 strength Skill and agility, external conditions would
decide But this Is not the case.
SYNOPSIS OF DARwINs THEORY.
Hero we have the fact Of variety Offering itself to
nature the instance 1t offered itself to man.
and those varieties which least competent to cope
with surrounding conditions will infalby give way to
those that most competent To use familiar pro-
verb, the weakest the wall But the triumph
fraction again breeds overproducton transmit
ting the qualities which secured its maintenance, but
transmitting them IN different degrees The struggle
for food again supervenes and those to whom the IA
vorable quality has been transmitted in excess Will
assuredy triumph 1t is easy to that have here
the addition favorable to the individual
still vigorously carried out than in the case OF
domestcation; for not sny unfavorabe specimens
not selected by nature, but they are destroyed.
This Is what Mr.. Darw.o calls "Natural selec-
tion" which "acts by the preservation and accumula
ton of small inherited notifications, each profitable to
the preserved beng With this idea he interpenetrstes
aud eavens the OF facts that he and others
have collected We cannot, without shutting our eyes
through fear prejudice fail to see that Darwin here
dealing not with imaginary, but with true causes noe
fail 20 discern what vast notifications may be
produced by natural selection In periods sufficiently
long Each individual increment may resemble what
nsthematcians call diferentia" Ia quantity indefn
itely small but definite and great changes may OBJ
v0usly be produced by the Indignation OF these infn
itesmal quantities through practically infinite time.
DARwIN's RECORD OF FACTS.
II Darwin like Bruno rejects the notion of creative
power acting after hDman fashion. it certainly is not
because he is unaaua lted with the numberless ex-
Quise adaptations on which this notion OF super
natural artifcer has been founded. His book is
repository of the startling facts OF this description
Take the marvellous observation which he cites from Dr.
Criger, where bucket with aperture, serving as
spout, is formed In orchid. Bees visit the flower in
eager Of material for their combs they push each
other into the bucket the drenched escaping from
their involuntary bath by the spout Here they rub
their backs against the vscid stigma OF the flower and
obtain glue; then again the pollenmasses, which are
thus stuck to the back Of the bee and carried away
when the bee thus provided flies to another flower,
fha and finnn and "a hQ6
by It's comrades into the bucket. and then
crawls out by the passage, the pollen.mass
upon its back necessarily comes first into
with the vscid stigma" which takes the pollen
and this is how that orchid fortified. Or take this
other OF the Oaatelum Bees visit these flowers
In order to gnaw the labeum doing this they nev
itaby touch long, tapering, sensitive projection This
when touched, transmits sensation vibration to
certain membrane which is instantly ruptured, setting
free spring by which the pollen is shot forth like
an arrow In the right direction and adheres by its wis.,
cid extremity TO the back OF the bee" In this the
fertizng pollen is spread abroad. 1t is the mind thus
stored with choicest materials Of the eleologst that
rejects theology seeking to refer these wonders to nstu
raj causes. They illustrate, according to him, the
method OF nature, not the "technic Of man-ke Arti
eer Tue beauty OF flowers is due TO natural selection
Those that Distinguish themselves by wildly contrast
ing colOrs from the surrounding green leaves are
most readily seen, most frequently visited by In
natural selection. Colored berries also readily attract
the attention OF birds and beasts. which feed upon
them spread their MANFRED seeds abroad, thus giving
trees and shrubs possessing such berries greater
chance in the struggle for existence. With profound
analytic and synthetic skill Mr. Darwin investigates the
cellmaking instinct Of the hive-bee His method Of
dealing with it is representative. He falls back from
perfectly TO less perfectly developed instinct
from the hive-bee the humbebee which its
cocoon as comb and TO classes Of bees Of intermediate
skll. eDdeavorng to show how the passage might be
gradually made from the lowest to the highest The
saving Of is the most important point in
the economy OF bees. Twelve TO fifteen pounds
OF dry sugar are said to be needed for the So
erection OF a single pound Of The quantities Of
nectar necessary for the wax therefore be vast
and every improvement Of constructive instinct which
results in the saving OF is direct profit TO the In
sects life The time that would otherwise be devoted
10 the making OF wax devoted to the gathering
and storing of honey for Winter food He passes from
the humbebee with Its rude cells through the Mepona
with its artistic cells to the hvebee with its as
tonishing architecture The bees place themselves at
equal distances apart upon the wax sweep and ex
csyate equal spheres round the selected points The
spheres intersect and the planes Of intersection are
built up with thin lamna. Hexagonal cells are thus
formed.
TYNDALLs OPINION OF DARWIN
This mode Of treating such questions is, as have
said representative. He habitualy retres from the
more perfect complex to the less perfect and simple
and carries you with him through stages Of perfectng
adds increment TO increment Of ninitesimal change
and this way gradually breaks down your reluctance
to admit that the exquisite climax of the whole could be
q result Of natural selection. Mr.. Darwin shrks
difcuity; and saturated the subject with his
owe thought, he must have known better than his
critics the weakness well as the strength OF his
theory This OF would be Of little avail were his
ofiect Of t4mporary dialectic
establishment Of truth which he means 10 be ever
lasting But be takes pains to disguise the weakness
he has dscerned nay he takes every pains bring 1t
into the strongest light His vast enable him
TO cope with objections started by himself and others
so as 10 leave the final impression upon the readers