﻿558 
  Mutations 
  

  

  I. 
  The 
  first 
  law 
  is, 
  that 
  new 
  elementary 
  spe- 
  

   cies 
  appear 
  suddenly, 
  without 
  intermediate 
  

   steps. 
  

  

  This 
  is 
  a 
  striking 
  point, 
  and 
  the 
  one 
  that 
  is 
  in 
  

   the 
  most 
  immediate 
  contradiction 
  to 
  current 
  

   scientific 
  belief. 
  The 
  ordinary 
  conception 
  as- 
  

   sumes 
  very 
  slow 
  changes, 
  in 
  fact 
  so 
  slow 
  that 
  

   centuries 
  are 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  required 
  to 
  make 
  

   the 
  differences 
  appreciable. 
  If 
  this 
  were 
  true, 
  

   all 
  chance 
  of 
  ever 
  seeing 
  a 
  new 
  species 
  arise 
  

   would 
  be 
  hopelessly 
  small. 
  Fortunately 
  the 
  

   evening-primroses 
  exhibit 
  contrary 
  tendencies. 
  

   One 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  points 
  of 
  pedigree-culture 
  is 
  the 
  

   fact 
  that 
  the 
  ancestors 
  of 
  every 
  mutant 
  have 
  

   been 
  controlled 
  and 
  recorded. 
  Those 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  

   year 
  have 
  seven 
  generations 
  of 
  known 
  lamarck- 
  

   iana 
  parents 
  preceding 
  them. 
  If 
  there 
  had 
  been 
  

   any 
  visible 
  preparation 
  towards 
  the 
  coming 
  mu- 
  

   tation, 
  it 
  could 
  not 
  have 
  escaped 
  observation. 
  

   Moreover, 
  if 
  visible 
  preparation 
  were 
  the 
  rule, 
  

   it 
  could 
  hardly 
  go 
  on 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  

   same 
  individuals 
  in 
  five 
  or 
  six 
  diverging 
  direc- 
  

   tions, 
  producing 
  from 
  one 
  parent, 
  gigas 
  and 
  na- 
  

   nella, 
  lata 
  and 
  rubrinervis, 
  oblonga 
  and 
  albida 
  

   and 
  even 
  scintillans. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  other 
  hand 
  the 
  mutants, 
  that 
  constitute 
  

   the 
  first 
  representatives 
  of 
  their 
  race, 
  exhibit 
  

   all 
  the 
  attributes 
  of 
  the 
  new 
  type 
  in 
  full 
  display 
  

   at 
  once. 
  No 
  series 
  of 
  generations, 
  no 
  selection, 
  

  

  