Conservative * 9
as important as that of heredity. It is
apparent in the fact that , although
every individual of every species re
produces qualities of parents and an
cestors , no two individuals do so in
precisely the same manner ; and no
two are exactly alike. This differ
ence , or individuality , becomes more
marked as the organism is higher ; and
while the differences between dogs
and horses are only observed by or
dinary people with difficulty , the dis
tinctions between human beings are
so marked that the many millions ex
isting in each generation no two ex
actly resemble one another. The reason
of this is apparent , if we consider that
the higher the organism the more com
plex does it become , and the less the
chance of the whole complicated re
lations of parent and ancestral
organisms being transmitted by single
cells so solidly and completely as to
overpower and remain uninfluenced
by external influences. Darwin's the
ory of Natural Selection , which is
now fully recognized as true by al
most the entire scientific world , is , in
a few words , as follows :
"No two forms of life are identical
at birth , congenital variation being
the rule. The individuals , possessing
variations which are in conformity
with the environment , persist , while
those having disadvantageous varia
tions , disappear. Such variations as are
present at birth have a marked tend
ency to be transmitted to offspring. ' '
It is certain that the process of
Natural Selection the struggle for
existence gives victory and survival
to those forms and eventually to
those forms only whose variations ,
slight as they may bo , bring individu
als into better adaption to their en
vironment.
Evolution of Species.
To Charles Darwin and Alfred Bus-
sell Wallace the credit is due of hav
ing firmly established by an immense
amount of evidence , the scientific ex
planation of the most important factor
in evolution. Every day fresh dis
coveries and experiments confirm the
great principle of the adaption of the
individual to its external surround
ings , and it has almost passed into the
same phase as Newton's law of grav
ity , as the fundamental law acepted
as axiomatic by all men of science ,
and as the basis of modern thought , to
which all philosophies necessarily
conform. And while Darwinism was
most virulently attacked by nil the var
ious ministers of religion from I860 to
1874 , these attacks have now ceased ,
and many of the churches have accept
ed the greater part of the teaching
of Modern Science.
It will bo well to give a few examples
of the operation of variation in work
ing out the evolution of species.
There is an amphibious animal
called the triton , akin to the frog ,
whose normal course is to begin life
in the water , breathing by gills , and
end it with gills altered into lungs.
But if these creatures are kept in a
tank full of water they never lose their
gills , but continue through life in the
lower stage of development , and breed
in the larva stage , producing , of
course , gilled tritons. In this connec
tion it may be well to mention , as a
proof of the result of external surround
ings , that the metamorphosis of the
tadpole into the frog may be pro
longed probably indefinitely ' ' mere
ly by feeding the animals very scant-
ilv. "
The Axolotl , a curious gilled Mexi
can salamandra , has its normal course
to .live , die and propagate its species in
water , breathing by gills ; but when
an axolotl strays from the water and
takes to living on dry land , the gills
become modified into lungs and the
animal gains a higher position in
vertebrate world.
When we remember that the embryo
of all vertebrate mammals , including
man , passes through the gilled stage
before arriving at the development of
lungs , the above facts assist us in
understanding something of the hisory
of Evolution. They teach us how
terrestial life may have arisen from
aquatic life by adaption to altered
conditions ; and how the evolution of
the embryo sums up in the individual ,
in a period of a few days or months ,
the various stages of evolutions which
it has taken millions of years to ac
complish in the species.
As a parallel to the transformation
of gills into lungs , and of an aquatic
into a land animal , if we turn to the
geological records of the Secondary
period , we may trace the transforma
tion of a water into an air popula
tion of sea-lizards into
, - flying-lizards ,
and of flying-lizards into birds. The
"Hesperonirs" is an actual specimen
of the transition , being a feathered
lizard or rather winged and feath
ered creature , which is half lizard
and half bird.
We will now leave the general as
pect of biology , in the hope that the
reader may realize how the infinite
diversities of living species have been
developed in the course of evolution
from simply origins , just as the inor
ganic world has developed from
atoms , by the action and reaction of
primitive polar forces between the
organism and its environment , by
means of incessant variation and
adaption to external srroundings.
I AM THE * * LIFE.
This is taken from Stw John.
Nothing is primordial. Life has al
ways been connected with material ,
and material has always been connect
ed with Life. They had no begin
ning. Throughout eternity the seeds
of material forms which energy dis
closes , have existed. Not only human
existence but all manifestation has
eternal meaning.
A perfect activity is a perfect Life.
This is our Father the father of all.
1' Canst thou by searching find out
God ? "
This interrogation is the expression
of a principle as well as a question. It
is represented as the utterance of the
best man in the world. All that we
know or can know is from observa
tion of forms which Life developed.
The grand function is to disclose forms
and to perpetuate them. Natural forms
arc beautiful and harmonious.
As we go downward the forms be
come small and , seemingly , less in
telligent , until no optical instrument
can reveal any life-forms. When natur
al senses fail we fall back on reason.
In all places where our senses are able
to serve us , we have found life-form s.
Hence , we infer that the laws of
nature are universal and that all
nature abounds in life. God is om
nipresent. "Not the God of the
dead , but of the living. ' '
We live in the earth. As we delve
further into the earth , it is found more
dense. Here worms and peculiar anim
als make their homes. Coming to
the surface of what we usually call
earth , wo find a substance less dense.
We call it water. This -water is in
habited. Next , we find a substance
less dense. This we call air. The air
is inhabited. In the inhabitants of
the air we find that our investigation
results in a similar conclusion as the
downward trend ; , we fall back on the
one fundamental * rule and reason for
ward interminably. The atmosphere
is a part of the earth. We live
in the earth. Like Dr. Dick ,
we might call to our aid imagination.
We refrain. We * have not room in the
mind's store for all the solid truths.
There are some things which life
never does. It never makes sharp
corners. The tendency is to become
more round. The trees , the pebbles ,
the friction caused by the earth , the
water , the air , tend to smooth off the
rough corners and result in a frictionless -
less , calm action a perfect activity
which is a perfect life. Let us reason
no further in this direction.
' ' Canst thou by searching find out
God ? " Our vision is only about so
broad. Let us wait till our powers
get used to the bright light.
Life never leaps. One step at a
time , is the rule. If wo ever succeed
to a higher plane , it will be just
above the one wo now occupy. The
Author of Our Beginning is too wise
to make sudden changes. All His
works reveal the same rhythmic
progress.
A glorious lesson here wo loam , and learn
it well :
Infinitude , wo know not how ,
Commingles with our own life , now ,
And wo , the beauties of a higher life , may tell.
JOSEPH MAKINSON.
Holdrege , Nebraska.
