10 SEXUAL SELECTION 



nerves, muscles, arteries, are developed in proportion 

 to the change of external form. 



Besides selection by death, in bisexual animals 

 (illegible) the selection in time of fullest vigour,namely 

 struggle of males; even in animals which pair there 

 seems a surplus (?) and a battle, possibly as in man 

 more males produced than females, struggle of war 

 or charms 1 . Hence that male which at that time 

 is in fullest vigour, or best armed with arms or 

 ornaments of its species, will gain in hundreds of 

 generations some small advantage and transmit such 

 characters to its offspring. So in female rearing 

 its young, the most vigorous and skilful and indus- 

 trious, (whose) instincts (are) best developed, will 

 rear more young, probably possessing her good 

 qualities, and a greater number will thus (be) pre- 

 pared for the struggle of nature. Compared to man 

 using a male alone of good breed. This latter 

 section only of limited application, applies to 

 variation of [specific] sexual characters. Introduce 

 here contrast with Lamarck, absurdity of habit, or 

 chance ?? or external conditions, making a wood- 

 pecker adapted to tree 2 . 



Before considering difficulties of theory of 

 selection let us consider character of the races 

 produced, as now explained, by nature. Conditions 

 have varied slowly and the organisms best adapted 

 in their whole course of life to the changed conditions 

 have always been selected, man selects small dog 

 and afterwards gives it profusion of food, selects a 

 long-backed and short-legged breed and gives it no 

 particular exercise to suit this function &c. &c. In 

 ordinary cases nature has not allowed her race to 



1 Here we have the two types of sexual selection discussed in the Origin, 

 Ed. i. pp. 88 et seq., vi. pp. 108 et seq. 



2 It is not obvious why the author objects to " chance " or "external con- 

 ditions making a woodpecker." He allows that variation is ultimately 

 referable to conditions and that the nature of the connexion is unknown, i.e. 

 that the result is fortuitous. It is not clear in the original to how much of 

 the passage the two ? refer. 



