7 o 



cies to which each belonged, and, in all proba 

 bility, would feel that he was forced to 

 attribute the relationship to evolution, pre 

 cisely as he does in the present instance. 

 Nevertheless, not only was there no room 

 for the intervention of evolution at all not 

 even room for the difference of genus or 

 species; for in spite of their "wonderful dif 

 ferences," they were offspring of the same par 

 ent. We should think Father Wasmann would 

 endeavor to clear up this inexplicable fact be 

 fore deriving any proofs even indirect and 

 and merely probable ones from the "charac 

 teristic marks " or morphological structure of 

 beings in the lower world of life. 



Add to this that, as Darwin has said, "no 

 one quite understands what is exactly meant 

 by the term species;" that we are profoundly 

 ignorant of the laws of variation, their extent 

 and efficacy; that it is naturalists themselves 

 who have drawn the lines between species and 

 species not always with the greatest accuracy ; 

 and it will be easy enough to account for 

 the results of Father Wasmann's observations, 

 we fancy, without an appeal to evolution. We 



