THE EVIDENCE OP EVOLUTION. 395 



their occiin-iMico can bo jiivdicted in some cases with enough probability 

 to justify the trial. Color changes in flowers, doubli' flowei-s, regulai- 

 forms from labiate tyi)es. and others ha\e been producetl more or 

 less at w ill in my garden, and under conditions NAdiich allowed of a 

 close scientitic study. The suddemiess of the changes and the per- 

 fection of the display of the new characters from the very beginning 

 wei'c the most striking results. 



These facts, howe\er, only gave an experimental proof of j^henom- 

 cna which were historically known to occui- in horticulture. They 

 thrcM light ui)on the way in which cultivated plants usually produce 

 n(Mv forms, but l)etween them and the real origin of species in nature 

 the old gap evidently remained. 



This gap, however, had to be filled out. Darwin's theory had con- 

 cluded with an analogy, and this analogy had to be replaced by direct 

 observation. 



Success has attended my efforts even on this point. It has brought 

 into my hands a species which has been taken in the very act of pro- 

 ducing neAv forms. This species has now been observed in its wild 

 locality during eighteen years, and it has steadily continued to repeat 

 the phenomenon. I have brought it into my garden, and here, under 

 my very eyes, the production of new species has been going on, rather 

 increasing in rate than diminishing. At once it rendered superfluous 

 all considei-ations and all more or less fantastical explanations, replac- 

 ing them by simple fact. It opened the way for further investiga- 

 tions, giving nearly certainty of a future discovery of analogous proc- 

 esses. Whether it is the type of the production of species in nature 

 or oidy one of a more or less large group of types can not j^et be 

 decided, but this is of no imjwrtance in the present state of the sub- 

 ject. The fact is that it has become possible to see species originate, 

 and that this origin is sudden and obeys distinct laws. 



The species which yielded these important results is an American 

 plant. It is a native of the United States, and nearly allied to some 

 of the most common and most beautiful among the wild flowering 

 plants of this country. It is an evening primrose, and by a strange 

 but fortunate coincidence bears the name of the great French founder 

 of the theory of evolution. It is called '' Lamarck's evening primrose," 

 and produces crowns of large and bright yellow flowers, which have 

 even secured it a place among our beloved garden plants. 



The most interesting result which the observation and culture of 

 this plant haA'e brought to light is a fact which is in direct opposition 

 to the current belief. Ordinarily it is assumed that new species arise 

 by a series of changes, in which all the individuals of a locality are 

 equally concerned. The whole group is supposed to be modified in a 

 distinct direction by the agency of the environmental forces. All 

 individuals from time to time intercross, and are thereby assumed to 



