Evolutionism and Darwinism. 57 



of the origin of species ? &quot;We have seen that the 

 various races of our domesticated animals and 

 cultivated plants have been formed by man. 

 Nature presents individual differences ; man pre 

 serves those beings whose peculiar modifications 

 are useful or pleasing to him ; these peculiarities 

 are transmitted to offspring, and in transmission 

 through successive generations are accumulated, 

 till forms arise which we call varieties, but which 

 in fact are scarcely distinguishable from genuine 

 species. Domestic races are thus made by man 

 through his power of accumulative selection. But 

 the species of animals and plants in a state of 

 nature cannot be thus produced by man. How, 

 then, do they originate ? Is there any agency 

 analogous to the selection practised by man? 



Man forms domestic races, which are &quot; incipi 

 ent species,&quot; by selecting certain natural variations 

 in organisms and accumulating them by trans 

 mission through successive generations. In the 

 absence of man, could the modifications which 

 are constantly appearing in organic beings be 

 preserved and accumulated ? Darwin affirms 

 they could on one condition that they are bene 

 ficial or directly useful to the creature modified. 

 The demonstration of that process constitutes at 

 once Darwin s solution of the origin of species 



