1899] THE WSCOrE OF NATORAL SELECTION 129 
and in this gradual transition there must be, as I endeavoured to 
prove in my answer to the last objection, an alteration in the line of 
functional activity of the parts, and that, owing to this fact, a tissue 
that was necessary in the earlier stages, became less and less so as 
specialisation advanced, the whole tendency of the specialising organism 
being continually and increasingly against the earlier, less specialised, 
stages. It will thus happen that every structure which is becoming 
useless owing to its deficient specialisation, whether in the history of 
the race or the individual, will have two adverse sets of conditions to 
contend with—one defective elimination of its own tissue products, 
owing to its becoming increasingly removed from the growing organismal 
specialisation of food products, while secondly, for this same reason, 
its own food supply will become less and less suitable. This theory 
would apply equally to germinal and somatic development and atrophy 
of structure; there would thus, through the alteration of functional 
activity of the whole organism, be brought about elimination of all 
structures not in the line of evolution, and therefore organismal 
selection alone, if this theory is sound, would be able to explain the 
complete disappearance of rudiments, the various forms of develop- 
ment and atrophy, without calling to its aid climatic inheritance, 
panmixia, and germinal or any other form of particular selection. 
The only two other important objections against the principle of 
selection are (1) those cases where it is assumed that automatism 
produced by habit has become hereditary (instinctive),’ an assumption 
which an examination of the facts does not appear to warrant, and 
(2), those cases which are supposed to be examples of experimental 
demonstration of acquired inheritance. 
In the best known of these experiments, particularly those per- 
formed by Brown-Séquard, we have certain facts which appear to show 
that under very exceptional conditions somatic injuries may affect 
germinal structures. Assuming that reliance may be placed on this 
interpretation of these experiments, an interpretation which future 
facts might conceivably negative, there are other facts associated with 
the relation of environment, alcohol, etc., to crime and insanity which 
would seem to offer some slight confirmation of this view. If further 
investigation proved the possibility of somatic responses affecting 
occasionally the germinal structures, it would only affect any theory of 
heredity which was based on the assumption that somatic and ger- 
minal elements were completely isolated. The purely selectionist 
position would remain intact unless direct climatic accommodation could 
be also proved to be a factor of importance. The objections to the 
selectionist theory do not appear, therefore, when examined, to be valid. 
1 See Lloyd Morgan’s ‘‘Comparative Psychology” and ‘‘ Habit and Instinct,” and 
Mr. E. L. Thorndike’s experiments. 
(To be continued.) 
9—wnaAt. sc.—voL. xv. NO. 90. 
