THE STRUGGLE FOE EXISTENCE. 73 



inheritance from distant ancestors are negligible, and 

 selection through very few generations is sufficient to 

 yield a practically pure and constant race. 



As was long ago pointed out by Darwin, the method 

 and results of natural selection are quite comparable to 

 the methods used and the results obtained by man in 

 artificial selection. The wonderful diversity of domestic 

 races of plants and animals, showing all sorts of new 

 developments in size, shape, and colour, in function, 

 habits, and mental qualities, is due to the selection of 

 individual variations in this or that direction. One 

 mutation after another is isolated and bred from, and 

 so almost any desired form is obtained. 



Now it is often maintained that these domestic varie- 

 ties are not of the same value as natural laces ; that if 

 allowed to roam wild, or if selection be relaxed, they re- 

 turn to their original condition, degenerate, or regress. 

 This conclusion is, however, mostly based on misconcep- 

 tions. There is no good reason to believe that domestic 

 races are fundamentally different from or inferior to 

 natural races, either in mode of formation or in con- 

 stancy when formed. If they are generally unable to 

 compete with wild races when let loose, it is because they 

 have not been selected with this end in view. If they 

 appear to degenerate when removed from the care of 

 man, it is because they no longer enjoy the exceptionally 

 favourable conditions of abundant nutrition, protection 

 from enemies, and so forth. Those domestic races which 

 fail in the struggle for existence among wild competitors 

 are like natural species which, when introduced into a 

 new country, fail to establish themselves because the 

 conditions are unsuitable. 



But what, it may be asked, is the effect on domestic 

 races of mere relaxation or cessation of selection ? The 

 race will probably tend to regress, that is to say, to 

 return to the original form from which it was selected. 

 There is true regression and false regression. The latter 



