﻿Artificial 
  and 
  Natural 
  Selection 
  801 
  

  

  I 
  think 
  that 
  the 
  principal 
  differences 
  might 
  bet- 
  

   ter 
  become 
  understood 
  by 
  the 
  introduction 
  of 
  

   the 
  word 
  election 
  into 
  the 
  discussion 
  of 
  ques- 
  

   tions 
  of 
  heredity. 
  Election 
  meant 
  formerly 
  the 
  

   preferential 
  choice 
  of 
  single 
  individuals, 
  while 
  

   the 
  derivation 
  of 
  the 
  word 
  selection 
  points 
  to 
  a 
  

   segregation 
  of 
  assemblies 
  into 
  their 
  larger 
  parts. 
  

   Or 
  to 
  state 
  it 
  in 
  a 
  shorter 
  way, 
  individual 
  selec- 
  

   tion 
  is 
  exactly 
  what 
  is 
  usually 
  termed 
  elec- 
  

   tion. 
  Choosing 
  one 
  man 
  from 
  among 
  thou- 
  

   sands 
  is 
  to 
  elect 
  him, 
  but 
  a 
  select 
  party 
  is 
  a 
  

   group 
  of 
  chosen 
  persons. 
  There 
  would 
  be 
  no 
  

   great 
  difficulty 
  in 
  the 
  introduction 
  of 
  the 
  word 
  

   election, 
  as 
  breeders 
  are 
  already 
  in 
  the 
  

   habit 
  of 
  calling 
  their 
  choice 
  individuals 
  ' 
  i 
  elite, 
  ' 
  ' 
  

   at 
  least 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  beets 
  and 
  of 
  cereals. 
  

  

  This 
  intra-specific 
  selection 
  affords 
  a 
  second 
  

   point 
  for 
  the 
  comparison 
  between 
  natural 
  and 
  

   artificial 
  processes. 
  This 
  case 
  is 
  readily 
  grant- 
  

   ed 
  to 
  be 
  more 
  difficult 
  than 
  the 
  first, 
  but 
  there 
  

   can 
  be 
  no 
  doubt 
  that 
  the 
  similarity 
  is 
  due 
  to 
  

   strictly 
  comparable 
  causes. 
  In 
  practice 
  this 
  

   process 
  is 
  scarcely 
  second 
  in 
  importance 
  to 
  the 
  

   selection 
  between 
  species, 
  and 
  in 
  numerous 
  

   cases 
  it 
  rests 
  upon 
  it, 
  and 
  crowns 
  it, 
  bringing 
  

   the 
  isolated 
  forms 
  up 
  to 
  their 
  highest 
  possible 
  

   degree 
  of 
  usefulness. 
  In 
  nature 
  it 
  does 
  quite 
  

   the 
  same, 
  adapting 
  strains 
  of 
  individuals 
  to 
  

   the 
  local 
  conditions 
  of 
  their 
  environment. 
  Im- 
  

  

  