84 THE THEORIES OF EVOLUTION 



/ what advantage could the individuals in which it has 

 been reduced to this weight possess over those in 

 which the same bone would weigh a little more, say, 

 two ounces? When we remember how insignificant 

 the saving in food thus effected is, relatively to the 

 total bulk of the body, we realise that mere natural 



^ selection could not have accomplished such results. It 

 would be even more absurd to imagine that such a 

 slight advantage could ever become a question of life 

 or death to the animal. Herbert Spencer concludes 

 from this that disuse of organs and hereditary trans- 

 mission of gradual retrogression alone can give a rea- 

 sonable interpretation of such phenomena. 2 



Another objection closely related to the preceding 

 one had already been formulated in Darwin's days. 

 Certain characters cannot be useful to the animal 

 nor be subject to selection until they are com- 

 pletely developed or have at least reached a certain 

 degree of development. For instance, it would little 

 avail an animal living in the Polar regions to present 

 a little white spot or a hide a trifle lighter in shade; 

 in order to escape detection easily, the animal should 



v be completely white. This holds true in all cases of 



^protective colouring and mimicry; in their incipient 



stages, when no deceptive resemblance is noticeable as 



yet, such modifications render no service to the ani- 



2 A Rejoinder to Professor Weismann. Contemporary Review, Dec, 

 1893. 



