﻿802 
  Fluctuations 
  

  

  proved 
  races 
  do 
  not 
  generally 
  last 
  very 
  long 
  

   in 
  practice; 
  sooner 
  or 
  later 
  they 
  are 
  surpassed 
  

   by 
  new 
  selections. 
  Exactly 
  so 
  we 
  may 
  imagine 
  

   the 
  agency 
  of 
  natural 
  intra-specific 
  selection. 
  

   It 
  produces 
  the 
  local 
  races, 
  the 
  marks 
  of 
  which 
  

   disappear 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  the 
  special 
  external 
  con- 
  

   ditions 
  cease 
  to 
  act. 
  It 
  is 
  responsible 
  only 
  for 
  

   the 
  smallest 
  lateral 
  branches 
  of 
  the 
  pedigree, 
  

   but 
  has 
  nothing 
  in 
  common 
  with 
  the 
  evolution 
  

   on 
  the 
  main 
  stems. 
  It 
  is 
  of 
  very 
  subordinate 
  

   importance. 
  

  

  These 
  assertions 
  of 
  course, 
  are 
  directly 
  op- 
  

   posed 
  to 
  the 
  current 
  run 
  of 
  scientific 
  belief, 
  but 
  

   they 
  are 
  supported 
  by 
  facts. 
  A 
  considerable 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  evidence 
  has 
  already 
  been 
  dealt 
  

   with 
  and 
  for 
  our 
  closing 
  discussion 
  only 
  an 
  ex- 
  

   act 
  comparison 
  remains 
  to 
  be 
  made 
  between 
  the 
  

   two 
  detailed 
  types 
  of 
  intra-specific 
  selection. 
  In 
  

   coming 
  to 
  this 
  I 
  will 
  first 
  dwell 
  upon 
  some 
  in- 
  

   termediate 
  types 
  and 
  conclude 
  with 
  a 
  critical 
  

   discussion 
  of 
  the 
  features 
  of 
  artificial 
  selection, 
  

   which 
  to 
  my 
  mind 
  prove 
  the 
  invalidity 
  of 
  the 
  

   conclusions 
  drawn 
  from 
  it 
  in 
  behalf 
  of 
  an 
  ex- 
  

   planation 
  of 
  the 
  processes 
  of 
  nature. 
  

  

  Natural 
  selection 
  occurs 
  not 
  only 
  in 
  the 
  wild 
  

   state, 
  but 
  is 
  also 
  active 
  in 
  cultivated 
  fields. 
  

   Here 
  it 
  regulates 
  the 
  struggle 
  of 
  the 
  selected 
  

   varieties 
  and 
  improved 
  races 
  with 
  the 
  older 
  

   types, 
  and 
  even 
  with 
  the 
  wild 
  species. 
  In 
  a 
  pre- 
  

  

  