﻿Artificial 
  and 
  Natural 
  Selection 
  819 
  

  

  strosities 
  constitute 
  double 
  races, 
  consisting 
  of 
  

   monstrous 
  and 
  of 
  normal 
  individuals. 
  At 
  first 
  

   sight 
  one 
  might 
  be 
  induced 
  to 
  surmise 
  that 
  the 
  

   monstrous 
  ones 
  are 
  the 
  true 
  representatives 
  of 
  

   the 
  race, 
  and 
  that 
  their 
  seeds 
  should 
  be 
  ex- 
  

   clusively 
  sown, 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  keep 
  the 
  strain 
  up 
  

   to 
  its 
  normal 
  standard. 
  One 
  might 
  even 
  sup- 
  

   pose 
  that 
  the 
  normal 
  individuals, 
  or 
  the 
  so-called 
  

   atavists, 
  had 
  really 
  reverted 
  to 
  the 
  original 
  

   type 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  and 
  that 
  their 
  progeny 
  would 
  

   remain 
  true 
  to 
  this. 
  

  

  My 
  experiments, 
  however, 
  have 
  shown 
  that 
  

   quite 
  the 
  contrary 
  is 
  the 
  case. 
  No 
  doubt, 
  the 
  

   seeds 
  of 
  the 
  monstrous 
  specimens 
  are 
  trust- 
  

   worthy, 
  but 
  the 
  seeds 
  of 
  the 
  atavists 
  are 
  not 
  

   less 
  so. 
  Fasciated 
  hawkweeds 
  and 
  twist- 
  

   ed 
  teasels 
  gave 
  the 
  same 
  average 
  constitu- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  offspring 
  from 
  highly 
  monstrous, 
  

   and 
  from 
  apparently 
  wholly 
  normal 
  indi- 
  

   viduals. 
  In 
  other 
  words 
  the 
  fullest 
  devel- 
  

   opment 
  of 
  the 
  visible 
  characteristic 
  was 
  not 
  

   in 
  the 
  slightest 
  degree 
  an 
  indication 
  of 
  better 
  

   hereditary 
  tendencies. 
  In 
  unfavorable 
  years 
  a 
  

   whole 
  generation 
  of 
  a 
  f 
  asciated 
  race 
  may 
  exhibit 
  

   exclusively 
  normal 
  plants, 
  without 
  transmitting 
  

   a 
  trace 
  of 
  this 
  deficiency 
  to 
  the 
  following 
  genera- 
  

   tion. 
  As 
  soon 
  as 
  the 
  suitable 
  conditions 
  return, 
  

   the 
  monstrosity 
  reassumes 
  its 
  full 
  development. 
  

  

  The 
  accordance 
  of 
  these 
  facts 
  with 
  the 
  ex- 
  

  

  