240 Darwin, and after Darwin. 



But this allusion to Great Britain introduces us to 

 another point. It will have been observed that, 

 unlike oceanic islands remote from mainlands, Great 

 Britain is well furnished both with reptiles (including 

 amphibia) and mammals. For there is no instance of 

 any oceanic island situated at more than 300 miles 

 from a continent where any single species of the 

 whole class of mammals is to be found, excepting 

 species of the only order which is able to fly namely, 

 the bats. And the same has to be said of frogs, toads, 

 and newts, whose spawn is quickly killed by contact 

 with sea-water, and therefore could never have reached 

 remote islands in a living state. Hence, on evolu- 

 tionary principles, it is quite intelligible why oceanic 

 islands should not present any species of mammals or 

 batrachians peculiar or otherwise,- save such species 

 of mammals as are able to fly. But on the theory 

 of special creation we can assign no reason why, 

 notwithstanding the extraordinary profusion of unique 

 types of other kinds which we have seen to occur on 

 oceanic islands, the Deity should have made this 

 curious exception to the detriment of all frogs, toads, 

 newts, and mammals, save only such as are able to fly. 

 Or, if any one should go so far to save a desperate 

 hypothesis as to maintain that there must have been 

 some hidden reason why batrachians and quadrupeds 

 were not specially created on oceanic islands, I may 

 mention another small but in this relation a most 

 significant fact. This is that on some of these 

 islands there occur certain peculiar species of plants, 

 the seeds of which are provided with numerous tiny 

 hooks, obviously and beautifully adapted like those 

 on the seeds of allied plants elsewhere to catch the 



