ORTHOGENESIS 343 



In his " explanation of death," the same writer tells us: 

 t{ Reproduction is unending growth." But, as we have seen, it 

 is also (normally) more than growth. It is higher-production 

 through elimination, rejuvenescence and symbiogenesis ; i.e., 

 providing the scope for increasing symbiotic " elan," the 

 opportunity for an ever-increasing production of biological 

 values, such, for instance, as "love-foods." 



What experiments and a change of external conditions 

 frequently fail to do is apparent from the following passage: 

 " In thousands of cases, on the other hand, we are unable by 

 changing the external conditions to bring about any change at 

 all in the organism, even of temporary duration the animals 

 or plants perish rather than adapt themselves; we succeed by 

 experiments only in killing them very rapidly." 



Seeing thus how ineffectual a mere change of external 

 conditions frequently is, we are left wondering where after all 

 the real seat of organismal change really lies, and wherein the 

 desiderata of progressive change really consist. 



Prof. Eimer's own conclusion concerning acquired 

 characters stands thus: "Every character which must have 

 been formed through the activity of the organism is an 

 acquired character. All characters, therefore, which have been 

 developed by exertion are acquired, and these characters are 

 inherited from generation to generation." 



With this conclusion I have no fault to find, except that I 

 lay chief stress upon bio-economic, i.e., symbiogenetic activity 

 and its results, and that I attribute to such activity the most 

 permanent effects, which Prof. Eimer, however, does not 

 notice. 



The eminent Orthogenist notes that luxuriance of nutri- 

 tion produces definite changes of form so far as various 

 characters and their correlated parts are concerned: "Hunger 

 causes leanness and feebleness, over-feeding fat and laziness " 

 (which latter condition, of course, is primarily a physiological 

 or pathological rather than a morphological " character "). 

 " It is another question," he continues, " whether specially 



