vii.] EPIPHYTES DUE TO RESPONSE 59 



have any "fitness or correspondence to the 

 changed conditions which have produced them " 

 (Lankester). But, what are the chances that 

 these admirable adaptations to an epiphytal life 

 should arise only whenever and wherever the 

 seeds of terrestrial species happened to be blown 

 up to, and lodge upon, the boughs of trees ? 

 Epiphytal characters are never known to appear 

 even if only to perish as being inadaptive to 

 live on the ground. Surely the probabilities 

 alone would be immensely greater that the 

 adaptations arose in response to the " conditions 

 which have produced them." Is not the theory 

 introducing a needless difficulty ; especially since 

 response with adaptations is provable in so many 

 cases as to be recognisable as a natural law ? 



I have here gone into considerable detail in 

 regard to epiphytes, and shall do so again in 

 discussing parasites and saprophytes ; because I 

 want the reader to see that as point is added 

 to point, the difficulties of Darwinism become 

 cumulative, till at last the theory becomes 

 unthinkable ; while, on the other hand, adapta- 

 tion by response, coupled with the heredity of 

 all the numerous points of structure, as well 

 as the capabilities or functions, is the only and 

 easy interpretation of all the phenomena pre- 

 sented by these curious plants. 



PARASITIC AND SAPROPHYTIC PLANTS. These 



