104 SPECIES NOT 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE "Law of Variation" is the title of Mr. 

 Darwin's fifth chapter, and lie commences it by 

 repudiating the charge that he has been advocating 

 the doctrine of chances as the cause of variation. 

 He considers the change as one produced by u an 

 alteration" of the reproductive system, to which 

 the parents or their remote ancestors have been 

 subjected. In other words, we are "profoundly 

 ignorant" of the whole subject. 



It is however eminently necessary to Mr. Dar- 

 win's theory, that the I: no ten causes of variation 

 should have little influence the vnknoirn mnrli. 

 Therefore the eifects of climate, food, etc., Mr. 

 Darwin considers slight. But surely cabbages, 

 celery, the potato, asparagus, cucumbers, various 

 fruits, all our cultivated flowers and domestic 

 animals can be brought in strong array against, 

 him. Here we see before our eyes every day the 

 effect follow its cause with perfect uniformity. 

 Mr. Darwin prefers however his "selection" or 

 unknown cause to those which are obvious as 

 daylight. 



Use and Disuse are also dealt with by Mr. 

 Darwin, and here he treads upon ground already 

 occupied and used up by Lamarck. He thinks that 

 birds which are found in oceanic islands in a nearlv 



