358 ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES 



nowhere else, bear so plain a stamp of affinity to those 

 created in America ? There is nothing in the con- 

 ditions of life, in the geological nature of the islands, 

 in their height or climate, or in the proportions in 

 which the several classes are associated together, which 

 resembles closely the conditions of the South American 

 coast : in fact there is a considerable dissimilarity in 

 all these respects. On the other hand, there is a con- 

 siderable degree of resemblance in the volcanic nature 

 of the soil, in climate, height, and size of the islands, 

 between the Galapagos and Cape de Verde Archipelagos : 

 but what an entire and absolute difference in their 

 inhabitants ! The inhabitants of the Cape de Verde 

 Islands are related to those of Africa, like those of the 

 Galapagos to America. I believe this grand fact can 

 receive no sort of explanation on the ordinary view of 

 independent creation ; whereas on the view here main- 

 tained, it is obvious that the Galapagos Islands would 

 be likely to receive colonists, whether by occasional 

 means of transport or by formerly continuous land, 

 from America ; and the Cape de Verde Islands from 

 Africa ; and that such colonists would be liable to 

 modification ; — the principle of inheritance still betray- 

 ing their original birthplace. 



Many analogous facts could be given : indeed it is an 

 almost universal rule that the endemic productions of 

 islands are related to those of the nearest continent, or 

 of other near islands. The exceptions are few, and 

 most of them can be explained. Thus the plants of 

 Kerguelen Land, though standing nearer to Africa than 

 to America, are related, and that very closely, as we 

 know from Dr. Hooker's account, to those of America : 

 but on the view that this island has been mainly stocked 

 by seeds brought with earth and stones on icebergs, 

 drifted by the prevailing currents, this anomaly dis- 

 appears. New Zealand in its endemic plants is much 

 more closely related to Australia, the nearest mainland, 

 than to any other region : and this is what might have 

 been expected ; but it is also plainly related to South 

 America, which, although the next nearest continent, 



