﻿572 
  Mutations 
  

  

  far 
  as 
  they 
  protect 
  the 
  bearers 
  of 
  such 
  charac- 
  

   ters 
  against 
  being 
  crowded 
  out 
  by 
  their 
  more 
  

   poorly 
  constituted 
  competitors. 
  

  

  However, 
  the 
  differentiating 
  characteristics 
  

   of 
  elementary 
  species 
  are 
  only 
  very 
  small. 
  How 
  

   widely 
  distant 
  they 
  are 
  from 
  the 
  beautiful 
  adap- 
  

   tative 
  organizations 
  of 
  orchids, 
  of 
  insectivorous 
  

   plants 
  and 
  of 
  so 
  many 
  others 
  ! 
  Here 
  the 
  differ- 
  

   ence 
  lies 
  in 
  the 
  accumulation 
  of 
  numerous 
  ele- 
  

   mentary 
  characters, 
  which 
  all 
  contribute 
  to 
  the 
  

   same 
  end. 
  Chance 
  must 
  have 
  produced 
  them, 
  

   and 
  this 
  would 
  seem 
  absolutely 
  improbable, 
  even 
  

   impossible, 
  were 
  it 
  not 
  for 
  Darwin's 
  ingenious 
  

   theory. 
  Chance 
  there 
  is, 
  but 
  no 
  more 
  than 
  any- 
  

   where 
  else. 
  It 
  is 
  not 
  by 
  mere 
  chance 
  that 
  the 
  

   variations 
  move 
  in 
  the 
  required 
  direction. 
  They 
  

   do 
  go, 
  according 
  to 
  Darwin's 
  view, 
  in 
  all 
  direc- 
  

   tions, 
  or 
  at 
  least 
  in 
  many. 
  If 
  these 
  include 
  the 
  

   useful 
  ones, 
  and 
  if 
  this 
  is 
  repeated 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  

   times, 
  cumulation 
  is 
  possible; 
  if 
  not, 
  there 
  is 
  

   simply 
  no 
  progression, 
  and 
  the 
  type 
  remains 
  

   stable 
  through 
  the 
  ages. 
  Natural 
  selection 
  is 
  

   continually 
  acting 
  as 
  a 
  sieve, 
  throwing 
  out 
  the 
  

   useless 
  changes 
  and 
  retaining 
  the 
  real 
  improve- 
  

   ments. 
  Hence 
  the 
  accumulation 
  in 
  apparent- 
  

   ly 
  predisposed 
  directions, 
  and 
  hence 
  the 
  

   increasing 
  adaptations 
  to 
  the 
  more 
  specialized 
  

   conditions 
  of 
  life. 
  It 
  must 
  be 
  obvious 
  to 
  any 
  

   one 
  who 
  can 
  free 
  himself 
  from 
  the 
  current 
  ideas. 
  

  

  