ACTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT 193 



Such cases clearly prove the immense influence of the environ- 

 ment in determining the character of the organism. If we admit 

 that inherited tendencies also owe their origin in the first instance 

 to the action of the environment on previous generations, it is 

 difficult to avoid the conclusion that every organism is ultimately 

 indebted for all its characters to the action of external stimuli 

 upon responsive protoplasm. 



