﻿456 
  Ever-sporting 
  Varieties 
  

  

  very 
  first 
  evolution 
  of 
  the 
  young 
  organs 
  within 
  

   the 
  buds. 
  Iris, 
  and 
  Lactuca 
  Scariola 
  or 
  the 
  

   prickly 
  lettuce, 
  and 
  many 
  other 
  plants 
  afford 
  

   similar 
  instances. 
  As 
  the 
  definitive 
  decision 
  

   must 
  be 
  made 
  in 
  these 
  cases 
  long 
  before 
  the 
  di- 
  

   rect 
  influence 
  of 
  the 
  conditions 
  which 
  would 
  

   make 
  the 
  change 
  useful 
  is 
  felt, 
  it 
  is 
  hardly 
  con- 
  

   ceivable 
  how 
  they 
  could 
  be 
  ascribed 
  to 
  this 
  

   cause. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  universally 
  known 
  that 
  many 
  plants 
  

   show 
  deviating 
  features 
  when 
  very 
  young, 
  and 
  

   that 
  these 
  often 
  remind 
  us 
  of 
  the 
  characters 
  of 
  

   their 
  probable 
  ancestors. 
  Many 
  plants 
  that 
  

   must 
  have 
  been 
  derived 
  from 
  their 
  nearest 
  sys- 
  

   tematic 
  relatives, 
  chiefly 
  by 
  reductions, 
  are 
  

   constantly 
  betraying 
  this 
  relation 
  by 
  a 
  repeti- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  ancestral 
  marks 
  during 
  their 
  

   youth. 
  

  

  There 
  can 
  be 
  hardly 
  a 
  doubt 
  that 
  the 
  general 
  

   law 
  of 
  natural 
  selection 
  prevails 
  in 
  such 
  cases 
  

   as 
  it 
  does 
  in 
  others. 
  Or 
  stated 
  otherwise, 
  it 
  is 
  

   very 
  probable, 
  that 
  in 
  most 
  cases 
  the 
  atavistic 
  

   characters 
  have 
  been 
  retained 
  during 
  youth 
  

   because 
  of 
  their 
  temporary 
  usefulness. 
  Un- 
  

   fortunately, 
  our 
  knowledge 
  of 
  utility 
  of 
  quali- 
  

   ties 
  is 
  as 
  yet 
  very 
  incomplete. 
  Here 
  we 
  must 
  

   assume 
  that 
  what 
  is 
  ordinarily 
  spared 
  by 
  nat- 
  

   ural 
  selection 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  considered 
  as 
  useful, 
  

  

  