﻿Double 
  Adaptations 
  447 
  

  

  bers 
  of 
  twisted 
  individuals. 
  In 
  nature 
  they 
  are 
  

   able 
  to 
  maintain 
  themselves 
  during 
  long 
  cen- 
  

   turies, 
  quite 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  normal 
  species 
  and 
  va- 
  

   rieties. 
  But 
  they 
  owe 
  this 
  quality 
  entirely 
  to 
  

   their 
  dimorphous 
  character. 
  A 
  twisted 
  race 
  of 
  

   teasels 
  might 
  consist 
  of 
  successive 
  generations 
  

   of 
  tall 
  atavistic 
  individuals, 
  and 
  produce 
  year- 
  

   ly 
  some 
  twisted 
  specimens, 
  which 
  might 
  be 
  de- 
  

   stroyed 
  every 
  time 
  before 
  ripening 
  their 
  seeds. 
  

   Reasoning 
  from 
  the 
  evidence 
  available, 
  and 
  

   from 
  analogous 
  cases, 
  the 
  variety 
  would, 
  even 
  

   under 
  such 
  extreme 
  circumstances, 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  

   last 
  as 
  long 
  as 
  any 
  other 
  good 
  variety 
  or 
  ele- 
  

   mentary 
  species. 
  And 
  it 
  seems 
  to 
  me 
  that 
  this 
  

   explanation 
  makes 
  clear 
  how 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  that 
  

   varieties, 
  which 
  are 
  potentially 
  rich 
  in 
  their 
  pe- 
  

   culiar 
  monstrosity, 
  are 
  discovered 
  from 
  time 
  to 
  

   time 
  among 
  plants 
  when 
  tested 
  by 
  experimental 
  

   methods. 
  

  

  Granting 
  these 
  conclusions, 
  monstrosities 
  on 
  

   the 
  one 
  side, 
  and 
  dimorphous 
  wild 
  species 
  on 
  

   the 
  other, 
  constitute 
  the 
  most 
  striking 
  examples 
  

   of 
  the 
  inheritance 
  of 
  latent 
  characters. 
  

  

  The 
  bearing 
  of 
  the 
  phenomena 
  of 
  dimorphism 
  

   upon 
  the 
  principles 
  of 
  evolution 
  formulated 
  by 
  

   Lamarck, 
  and 
  modified 
  by 
  his 
  followers 
  to 
  con- 
  

   stitute 
  Neo-Lamarckianism, 
  remains 
  to 
  be 
  con- 
  

   sidered. 
  Lamarck 
  assumed 
  that 
  the 
  external 
  

   conditions 
  directly 
  affected 
  the 
  organisms 
  in 
  

  

  