Criticisms of Theory of Natural Selection. 367 



have been begun, or afterwards developed, by means 

 of natural selection. For if it be not even yet of any 

 conceivable use to its possessor, clearly thus far sur- 

 vival of the fittest can have had nothing to do with its 

 formation. On the other hand, seeing that electric 

 organs when of larger size, as in the Gymnotus and 

 Torpedo, are of obvious use to their possessors, the 

 facts of the case, so far as the skate is concerned, 

 assuredly do appear to sanction the doctrine of " pro- 

 phetic germs/ 1 The organ in the skate seems to be on 

 its way towards becoming such an organ as we meet 

 with in these other animals ; and, therefore, unless we 

 can show that it is now, and in all previous stages of 

 its evolution has throughout been, of use to the skate, 

 the facts do present a serious difficulty to the theory 

 of natural selection, while they readily lend themselves 

 to the interpretation of a disposing or fore-ordaining 

 mind, which knows how to construct an electric bat- 

 tery by thus transforming muscular tissue into electric 

 tissue, and is now actually in process of constructing 

 such an apparatus for the prospective benefit of future 

 creatures. 



Should it be suggested that possibly the electric 

 organ of the skate may be in process of degeneration, 

 and therefore that it is now the practically function- 

 less remnant of an organ which in the ancestors of 

 the skate was of larger size and functional use against 

 so obvious a suggestion there lie the whole results of 

 Professor Ewart's investigations, which go to indicate 

 that the organ is here not in a stage of degeneration, 

 but of evolution. For instance, in Raia radiata, it does 

 not begin to be formed out of the muscular tissue until 

 some time after the animal has left the egg-capsule, 



