7O Darwin, and after Darwin. 



these no less than 23 have all their species in this 

 condition. 



Similar facts have been recently observed by the 

 Rev. A. E. Eaton with respect to insects inhabiting 

 Kerguelen Island. All the species which he found 

 on the island viz. a moth, several flies, and numerous 

 beetles he found to be incapable of flight ; and 

 therefore, as Wallace observes, " as these insects could 

 hardly have reached the islands in a wingless state, 

 even if there were any other known land inhabited by 

 them, which there is not, we must assume that, like 

 the Madeiran insects, they were originally winged, 

 and lost their power of flight because its possession 

 was injurious to them " Kerguelen Island being " one 

 of the stormiest places on the globe," and therefore a 

 place where insects could rarely afford to fly without 

 incurring the danger of being blown out to sea. 



Here is another and perhaps an even more suggestive 

 class of facts. 



It is now many years ago since the editors of 

 Sillimaris Journal requested the late Professor Agassiz 

 to give them his opinion on the following question. 

 In a certain dark subterranean cave, called the 

 Mammoth cave, there are found some peculiar species 

 of blind fishes. Now the editors of Sillimaris Journal 

 wished to know whether Prof. Agassiz would hold 

 that these fish had been specially created in these 

 caves, and purposely devoided of eyes which could 

 never be of any use to them ; or whether he would 

 allow that these fish had probably descended from 

 other species, but, having got into the dark cave, 

 gradually lost their eyes through disuse. Prof. 

 Agassiz, who was a believer in special creation, 



