WEAKNESS OF USE-INHERITANCE. 99 



even have offered its most strenuous opposition, 

 why should it not equally be able to develop used 

 organs or repress disused organs or faculties 

 without the assistance of a rektivjely _weak ally ? 

 Selection evolved the remarkable protective 

 coverings of the armadillo, turtle, crocodile, por- 

 cupine, hedgehog, &c. ; it formed alike the rose 

 and its thorn, the nut and its shell ; it developed 

 the peacock's tail and the deer's antlers, the 

 protective mimicry of various insects and 

 butterflies, and the wonderful instincts of the 

 white ants ; it gave the serpent its deadly 

 poison and the violet its grateful odour ; it 

 painted the gorgeous plumage of the Impeyan 

 pheasant and the beautiful colours and decora- 

 tions of countless birds and insects and flowers. 

 These, and a thousand other achievements, it 

 has evidently accomplished without the help of 

 use-inheritance. Why should it be thought in- 

 capable of reducing a pigeon's wing or enlarging 



H 2 



