, 1877-04-02
THE RACES FUTURE,


IHE RACE'6 FUTURE.
Scientific Prophecies.
Scientific American.
NJ. A1phonsc dc Candollcs ia to bc credited
with the striklng1y- idea OF applying tho
principle OF tha Darwtninn theory TO determine,
not tho past, but tho future Of the human race.
That principle he defines ~ "tac forced atlapta-
tlon Of organized beings To surrounding
circumstances OF every kind, The result Of which
is TINT the notifications preserved arc sotne-
ccption Of what IA good Or ba1:" Reasoning
from the truths determined as TO the past history
Of the world az demonstrated BY geology. ard
ress, extinction or growth, Of the various iYpes
Of mankind which baSn existed or now exist
upon tho cartl,, lie lttluccs logirnl conception
Of llfc on our planet centuries hence.
premises-hrst, that organized beings. endowed
with wilt md tho faculty OF loromotton always
seek to adapt themselves to their environment,
and mono do SO mora clfcctnalfy tllan man, be-
that those Individual. least able thus to nccola.
rnoatc themselves aro most likely 10 perish, and
hence regulations are principally recruited by
in,v%as Tint The 9atos best snt
age In whtrll they live. Thirdly, that tho vio-
lent contests between nntIuns nnd individuals
accelerate notifications anl adaptations 10 new
circumstances. 1t Will 10 evident that, In CON.
tho racc at os,cc present themselves, nr rnthcr
two questions arc before us to answer. What
will lie tho state OF mankind 900 years hcnrv,
turing which period It Is reasonably certain that
the physical conditions which allcctthc spccos
will remain stahlo1 Aud what Will he the stnto
Of rnankndscvcral hundred Thousand years In
the future, when vast cosmical changes may
possibly hare occurrcli
The period of 1.0go years Is an extremely
short ono In tic carth'a history, We, have his
toric documents dating even further back: md
since their origin no material change In clinlats
tho globe altered. The supposition Of d contin-
uatlon, Of present physical conditions during
several generations Of man Is thus prcslmnble;
and: such being ,e sase, ~ t%o , nhsnomena nay
ly inhabited. for everywhere thu population Is III.
crcasing and seeking new places Of abode; and,
as consequence, there wi 10 q moro frequent
trines q natural selection aud survival u iha
atteat the weaker fncca mtist either bo destroy
] cd or absorbed by the stronger ones. This ls
already taking plncc with tho lnl!an', the AUS
tribes, Thore arc threa great races, however,
endowed with admirable qualities for invasion,
which Will mix with tho inferior races, mora or
less, according TO circunistances. These are
aud tlIeir American ,lcsccndants; Tho yc!ow
race, or Chincac and Japanese, mud tli6 iGeroes.
The whites hnvo the advantage Of intelligence
and ability TO boar cold climates, but they ran
physical vigor, bit, as regards Eearing cold md
hcnt, they aro tho reverse Of tho whites. Tho
Chinese Gun exist In all latltudcs, but they luck
courage aud progrcssfycucss. Tic minglug Of
the three races will, tllcr0fcrG, never be ct,in-
pIvtei and although ten centuries hence hybrid
poOpca Of ev0ry lcBEeo will be louml IN
Africa, in China, anil IN the north Of Europe
and AInOslca, tho primitive rucos will prcdornI-
mite.
Before tile far ren,ote. period designated Ia
thu second question shall nrrlyo great changes
nlny, as We Lavo already hti,natcd, occur. Tho
] cutlfe lab!tahlo surface oi tho E1obo nsay ho
surfacc, constantly, though e'owlY, In progress.
Now diAeascs may sweep OIL whoio nations, Or
| the RICO Itself. The accumulation OF icc at thu
rents, eventually In climate aud another gIacial
| period may snperycnc, tho effect Of which
| would hc to drive ri organized l'cings toward
tho cquntor; and this change In habtatlon would
cntlra solar eystem is moving with great raphlIty
| In o ccrtaiu direction. It may cutcr warmer
o5 colder Pa5t u TIC universe. Or tlIc sun May
blazo up ana be destroyed, as Old that otl,er
recently. But scttiag asltfo these hypothetical
casos, let us sec What science predicts as alb
| soiutcly certain.
by human lauer, tho quantity Of u,ctuis and
| coal on thu surface uf tho enrtl, ID constantly
being tliininishcd. Undoubtedly rs this occuss,
now ways Of working lnincs to great depths and
VI uIllxlllE HnIuIll QlGlnllc uAlAE4 VIII DC UtS@
covered; but these RESOURCES can isvor bc &C
advantageous rs those VIC now enjoy. Az they
inlustrics decrease; aud thfs result Will ho tho
resources. We know that tho terrestrial sur
face is constantly diminishing, and elevated IT.
Eions aro' being lowered thFnugh tho inccssant
action Of water, Ice, und atr. The earthly matter,
which is thus filling up. Tho result, however,
will 6e q tOtal sublncrsion Of the laul aA 1t now
exists, ANIL tho destruction ot ,ali organized
hcinga which live thereon or fin frcah water.
But tho human species, because OF its lntc!ll.
gcnce, will survive longest; and pcEhaps the
last uinn Will Yield up his lifo on somc isolated
coral reef IN tho vast wn6to OF water. Defotc
tl,!a extrcmc perlol ID reached. however. as ll!s
localities, people will seek then elsewhere; mil
titus the races will cnngrcgato In niasscs eu
smaller areaa of terrestrial surface. This e0A-
ccntrAtlon will 10 enforced by other causes, Ms,
munleatton VII b. difficult; through tho dcprc4'
htDn OF mountain chaius diminishing tho con.
dcNsattnn ol aaucous yapors,. now fertile coun-
accordingly tlimlnlsis. Then, us tho continent.
deprived OF mountntna BECAME partial deserts Of
arch'pclagocs, the people ,wtil !'erprne moro a,d
moro maritime. They will draw tleir susie
tho MluElng Of raves. Tic whiles, who will
nvo!d equatorial rcgtot,s, will suffer more from
leo lngnAto!s froul the Poles; and tho colored
saces In tho Central arrhpe!aEDes, remaining
Non during their long isulatEon, viii probably
be the survivors OF tho rarc.
To rccnpitulaac, II. du CalIdolleh bcliovcs tbat
our period and that which will follow for iAe
next thousand years VIII hc characterized BY,
grent increase in population, .minglnE Of
RACES, and prospsrity more or less marked
I'len wtl probably follow tonz period. of q.
nSsn psops 81 lelSsae o' separation OF 'A'