ORGANIC SELECTION 281 



the absence of pigment cells in tissues deprived of 

 light, or the furrow due to the pressure of a shell 

 whorl. In fact, the clearest examples of character 

 transmission belong to this very class of useless char- 

 acters, and most naturally so, for in the case of useful 

 adaptations, it is often difficult to draw the line be- 

 tween what is due to the influence of the environment 

 or to the mode of life and what has been fostered by 

 natural selection. 



Finally, if innate variations are too insignificant at 

 first to present any advantage and if ontogenetic 

 adaptation is the main factor in the definitive consti- 

 tution of individuals, ontogenetic adaptation must be 

 operative in all individuals whether they do or do not 

 present innate variations. It is very doubtful whether 

 the supplementary action exercised by germinal selec- 

 tion would suffice to insure the survival of some indi- 

 viduals in preference to others, for otherwise no fur- 

 ther factor would be necessary. 



The theory of organic selection reveals an interest- 

 ing intellectual tendency. It modernises the idea of 

 selection by recognising the important part played by 

 environmental action. No effort, however, to recon- 

 cile Darwinism and Lamarckism will avail unless it 

 leads to an entirely new conclusion or brings in an en- 

 tirely new factor. 



