THE FACTORS OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION. 25 



that there is not plenty of it. Inattention and reluctant 

 attention lead to the ignoring of facts which really exist in 

 abundance ; as is well illustrated in the case of pre-historic 

 implements. Biassed by the current belief that no traces 

 of man were to be found on the Earth s surface, save in 

 certain superficial formations of very recent date, geologists 

 and anthropologists not only neglected to seek such traces, 

 but for a long time continued to pooh-pooh those who said 

 they had found them. When M. Boucher de Perthes at 

 length succeeded in drawing the eyes of scientific men to 

 the flint implements discovered by him in the quarternary 

 deposits of the Somme valley; and when geologists and 

 anthropologists had thus been convinced that evidences 

 of human existence were to be found in formations of 

 considerable age, and thereafter began to search for them ; 

 they found plenty of them all over the world. Or again, 

 to take an instance closely germane to the matter, we may 

 recall the fact that the contemptuous attitude towards 

 the hypothesis of organic evolution which naturalists in 

 general maintained before the publication of Mr. Darwin s 

 work, prevented them from seeing the multitudinous facts 

 by_ which^ it_ia^.^upp.orted. Similarly, it is very possible 

 that their alienation from the belief that there is a trans- / 

 mission of those changes of structure which are produced 

 by changes of action, makes naturalists slight the evidence 

 which supports that belief and refuse to occupy themselves 

 in seeking further evidence. 



If it be asked how it happens that there have been 

 recorded multitudinous instances of variations fortuitously 

 arising and re-appearing in offspring, while there have not 

 been recorded instances of the transmission of changes 

 functionally produced, there are three replies. The first 

 is that changes of the one class are many of them con 

 spicuous, while those of the other class are nearly all 

 inconspicuous. If a child is born with six fingers, the 

 anomaly is not simply obvious but so startling as to attract 



