374 THE SURVIVAL OF THE UNLIKE. [xXIII. 



present needs. The greatest difficulty, perhaps, is to 

 distinguish them and to bring them properly before 

 the public. 



It may here be said, also, that the chance of a 

 new variety to succeed, other things being equal, is 

 in direct ratio to the novelty of its characteristics ; 

 that is, the variety which differs most widely from 

 all other varieties finds the field of least competition, 

 or least impediment to its progress. This same 

 principle pertains under wholly natural conditions. 

 That organism spreads most rapidly which differs 

 most widely from all its fellows. This principle has 

 been called by Darwin the divergence of character. 

 Any new character or combination of characters in 

 any organism, gives such organism an immense 

 advantage because it is enabled' to occupy places of 

 least struggle. The Lucretia dewberry, for instance, 

 was introduced rapidly because it found no similar 

 plant with which to compete ; but every succeeding 

 variety of dewberry will encounter difficulties, and 

 these difficulties will increase with the augmentation 

 of varieties. The new Japanese plums are now 

 spreading rapidly. Varieties of early introduction, 

 because of their wide distribution, are very difficult 

 to dislodge by later and even superior varieties. We 

 all know how hard it was to give up the Isabella 

 grape, the Lawton blackberry, the Houghton goose- 

 berry, the Red Dutch and White Dutch currants and 

 the Wilson strawberry. There are, no doubt, va- 

 rieties of apples superior to Baldwin and Ben Davis 

 among the three thousiand American kinds, and native 

 plums superior in all points to the Wild Goose. Per- 

 haps the merits of these obscure varieties have not 



