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live for only n very short time. And
the individual with a variation bet
ter adapted to its surroundings than
the remainder is the one which is most
likely to survivo. To quote Mr.
Spencer's phrasethere will be a "sur
vival of the fittest. ' ' Please note
that I am not , at this moment , refer
ring to variation , apart from the con
nection with natural selection , nor
am I speaking of heredity. In a pop
ular address the points must bo dealt
with one by one. It may not bo out
of place hero to give Darwin's defini
tion of natural selection in his own
words. ' ' This preservation of favor
able individual differences and var
iations , and the destruction of those
which are injurious , I have called
natural selection. " Every form of life
has a congenital tendency to vary ;
these congenital variations are trans
mitted to the next generation , and
marked changes are gradually pro
duced. From analogy to the manner
in which , by selective breeding , al
terations are produced in domestic
animals by man , nature may be de
scribed as selecting those forms which ,
varying advantageously , thereby sur
vive , and propagate. Natural selec
tion , however , does not suppose , as
some people seem to imagine , any
conscious selection upon the part of
nature , but merely that existing con
ditions are taken advantage of. It is
obvious , of course , that the congenital
tendency to variation is really the key
note of natural selection , and our
master , whose work I am attempting
to describe , was very well aware of
that fact. I will ask you to listen tea
a few of his remarks on selection.
"It may metaphorically be said that
natural selection is daily and hourly
scrutinizing throughout the world the
slightest variations ; rejecting those
that are bad , preserving and adding
up all that are good ; silently and in
sensibly working , whenever and wher
ever opportunity offers , at the im
provement of e.ich organic being in
relation to its organic and inorganic
conditions of life. We see nothing of
these slow changes in progress , until
the hand of time has marked the lapse
of ages , and then so imperfect is our
view into long past geological ages ,
that we can only see that the forms
of life are now different from what
they formerly were. " * * "What
natural selection cannot do is to modi
fy the structure of one species without
giving it any advantage for the good
of another species ; and though state
ments to this effect may be found in
works of natural history , I cannot find
one case which will bear considera
tion. " A very little thought will
show the importance of this last re
mark. If it could bo proved that ani
mals or plants varied not for their OWE
advantage , but only for the benefit of
some other organism , a very serious
difficulty would arise in accepting the
theory of natural selection as the very
basis on which it rests , would bo
undermined.
The ultimate result of natural selec
tion will be , that by preserving and
accumulating beneficial variations ,
each creature tends to become more
and more improved in relation to its
conditions. This improvement leads
to the gradual advancement of the
greater number of living beings
throughout the world.
I have said that natural selection
depends upon the tendency to vary
which all organic life possesses a (
birth. Selection , as I have already
mentioned , can only act by seizing
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upon any variations which occur con-
; enitally in animals and plants , and
; hen transmitting those variations to
; heir offspring. Whatever form , there-
: ore , selection may take , the import
ance of variation is equally manifest.
Variation is the starting point of the
whole argument. Now , as this is the
keynote of the arch of Darwinism , wo
must bo absolutely assured of its ex
istence , for without such assurance
thpro can be no certain belief in the
verity of Darwin's theory. If one is
convinced of variation and heredity ,
natural selection follows as a neces
sary corollary. Darwin's book upon
the subject of variation lie called it
"The Variation of Animals and
Plants under Domestication" was be
gun in 1860 , but was not published
until 1868. This book contains an
enormous number of facts illustrating
variation , and , although it consists of
two large volumes , I strongly advise
the reader to forsake Hall Caine , Mrs.
Burdett , Thomas Hardy , et hoc genus
omue , until he has read this remarkable
work. Anybody who has mastered it ,
will see what great importance Dar
win attributed to variation , and how
he appreciated the necessity of con
vincing his readers of its reality and
extent.
The advantage of long thinking and
pondering over his theory for twenty
years before publishing his book , is
well brought out by the poverty of
the criticisms , as regards their novel
ty , passed upon the Origin of Species
after its publication. Darwin himself
was evidently struck by this , as shown
by a letter of his to Lyell in Septem
ber , 1860 , in which he says : "Few
thing have surprised me more than the
entire paucity of objections and diffi
culties new to me in the published
reviews. ' '
The enormous extent of variation in
the vegetable kingdom is very strik
ingly brought out by one fact not
generally known. It is that a flower
garden as ve know it , is comparative
ly speaking , a modern innovation.
One of the earliest gardens in Europe
if not the first was the little Bo
tanical Garden , still existing at
Padua , in Italy , formed in 1545. All
the vast variety of flowers both in
form and color which we see today
have arisen from a very fewT simple
forms during the past three hundred
and fifty years in other words ,
through an extraordinary amount of
variation , and by natural selection ,
aided of late years by mankind
adopting the process of artificial se
lection.
Variation is a fact beyond all dis
pute ; but its causes are clouded in
mystery. Darwin attacked the sub
ject , but ho felt the extreme difficulty
of giving , with our present knowledge ,
any satisfactory solution of the prob
lem. It would be out of place for mete
to say much upon this point here. I
will ask the reader , however , in this
connection , to note the influence of
environment as linking together Dar
win and Lamarck. I have already
mentioned the importance attributed
by Lamarck to environment upon ani
mal development. Darwin , from his
observations upon animals and plants
under domestication , formed the
opinion that oven very slight changes
in the conditions of life ( that is.sfighi
alterations in the environment ) art
often sufficient to cause variation ; ol
these , excess of nutriment is ono of
the most exciting causes. He also con
cluded that the influences of environ
ment accumulate , so that variation
nay appear oulv two or three gener
ations after exposure to them. The
bearing of this point upon heredity
will at once strike you , and it is a
subject which , I think , has not re
ceived sufficient consideration. In a
letter to Dr. Wagner in 1876 , Darwin
makes an admission concerning this
matter. "In inyopinion , ' ho writes ,
"the greatest mistake I have committed -
mitted , has been in not allowing |
sufficient weight to the direct action \
of environment , i. e. , food , climate , ]
etc. , independently of natural selec
tion. "
While assuming that the environ
ment may produce variation in an or
ganism , the extent to which that vari
ation will survive and persist will
largely depend upon how largely it
renders that organism better adapted
to its environment as a whole. If the
variation makes the individual more
in harmony with its surroundings , it
will aid in its preservation and per
petuation ; if , on the contrary , the
variation renders the individual less
fitted to its environment , it will favor
its destruction. It is an obvious tru
ism that the preservation and surviv
al of an organism depends on its being
adapted to its surroundings. When
that adaption is perfect , the organism
will remain stationary , and natural
selection is at a standstill. But , as a
matter of fact , the environment is
perpetually changing ; adaption is
continually being disturbed , and
hence , natural selection is constantly
in action. Now the beauty , accuracy ,
and completeness of the many adap
tions in nature have been a theme for
the wonder and the admiration of
naturalists and philosophers from time
immemorial. To take a few familiar
examples the eye for light ; the ear
for sound ; the flower , and the bee ,
which assists in is fertilization ; the
color , or the shape of an insect , which ,
by simulating some other object , ob
tains protection from its enemies ; the
wonderful instincts of birds and ants
it is unnecessary to add more. Before -
fore Darwin brought forward this
theory of natural selection , the com
monly accepted explanation of all
adaptions was that the adapted ob
jects were specially designed for the
position they were found to fill. It
would be wast of time for men to enu
merate' the difficulties which this
hypothesis involved. The explana
tion given by Darwin , upon the other
hand , accounts for the most difficult
cases. I dwell upon this point be
cause so great an amount of this won
derful man's work demonstrated the
adaption in cases not easily understood
at first. I have in mind his work up
on Orchids ; upon the Power of Move
ment in Plants ; upon Cross and Self -
Fertilization in the Vegetable King
dom. It is the extreme completeness
with which Natural Selection is able
to explain all the innumerable adap
tions of nature which has done so
much to enable it , not only to en
trench itself in the minds of the
scientific world , but also to take hold
of the popular imagination , although
I feel very confident that many people
have only a hazy idea of its meaning.
Darwin had seen from the first con
ception of his theory , as far back as
1838 , that it would , as a necessary
corollary , include men. On such "an
important point it is desirable to give
his own words. "Although m the
origin of species , the derivation of
any particular species is never dis
cussed , yet I thought it best , in order
that no honorable man should accuse
