RUDIMENTARY ORGANS 47 



hereditariness 1 . Because we can understand the 

 origin of abortive organs in certain cases, it would 

 be wrong to conclude absolutely that all must have 

 had same origin, but the strongest analogy is in 

 favour of it. And we can by our theory, for during 

 infinite changes some organ, we might have anti- 

 cipated, would have become useless. (We can) 

 readily explain the fact, so astounding on any other 

 view, namely that organs possibly useless have been 

 formed often with the same exquisite care as when 

 of vital importance. 



Our theory, I may remark would permit an organ 

 (to) become abortive with respect to its primary use, 

 to be turned to any other purpose, (as the buds in 

 a cauliflower) thus we can see no difficulty in bones 

 of male marsupials being used as fulcrum of muscles, 

 or style of marygold 2 , indeed in one point of view, 

 the heads of [vertebrated] animal may be said to be 

 abortive vertebrae turned into other use: legs of 

 some Crustacea abortive jaws, &c., &c. De Candolle's 

 analogy of table covered with dishes 3 . 



(The following passage was possibly intended to 

 be inserted here.) Degradation and complication see 

 Lamarck: no tendency to perfection: if room, 

 [even] high organism would have greater power in 

 beating lower one, thought (?) to be selected for 

 a degraded end. 



1 The words vis medicatrix are inserted after " useless," apparently as a 

 memorandum. 



2 In the male florets of certain Composites the style functions merely as 

 a piston for forcing out the pollen. 



3 (On the back of the page is the following.) If abortive organs are a 

 trace preserved by hereditary tendency, of organ in ancestor of use, we can 

 at once see why important in natural classification, also why more plain in 

 young animal because, as in last section, the selection has altered the old 

 animal most. I repeat, these wondrous facts, of parts created for no use in 

 past and present time, all can by my theory receive simple explanation ; or 

 they receive none and we must be content with some such empty metaphor, 

 as that of De Candolle, who compares creation to a well covered table, and 

 says abortive organs may be compared to the dishes (some should be empty) 

 placed symmetrically ! 



