THE MUTATION THEORY 34,} 



Evolution from this point of view has consisted largely in introduc- 

 ing new factors that influence characters already present in the animal 

 or plant. 



Such a view gives us a somewhat different picture of the process of 

 evolution from the old idea of a ferocious struggle between individuals 

 of a species with the survival of the fittest and the annihilation of the 

 less fit. Evolution assumes a more peaceful aspect. New and ad- 

 vantageous characters survive by incorporating themselves into the 

 race, improving it and opening to it new opportunities. In other words, 

 the emphasis may be placed less on the competition between the indi- 

 viduals of a species (because the destruction of the less fit does not in 

 itself lead to anything that is new) than on the appearance of new char- 

 acters and modifications of old characters that become incorporated 

 in the species, for on those depend the evolution of the race. 



