FERTILISATION AND THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES. 837 



unconsciously and slowly, but more efficiently, seems to have 

 been the predominant Power." * 



If thus the variations of floral sti'uctures can be reasonably 

 referred directly to extei-nal agencies, and we may speak of each 

 as a cause instead of using the abstract expresssion " natural 

 selection," there still remains the question, What has brought 

 into existence the primary flowers themselves, which insects 

 have subsequently modified into their present conditions ? 



The Origin of Flowers. — There are good reasons for 

 regarding Gymnosperms — both from their extreme antiquity, 

 as well as from points of structure showing affinity with 

 the higher Cryptogams ; such, for example, as the Lycopodl- 

 acece — as standing in some sort of way intermediate between 

 the latter and Dicotyledons. Yet the connecting links are 

 much wanted on both sides of them. As far as Coniferce 

 and Cycadece can help us, we are strongly led to believe that 

 they were primitively, just as they are now, anemophilous 

 and diclinous ; though the subdioecious (?) WehvitscMa has 

 points of structure which seem to indicate its being a 

 degraded state of an hermaphrodite plant. This remarkable 

 monotypic genus is, however, too isolated and unique to afford 

 any safe point of departure on the road to Dicotyledons, so 

 that with regard to the latter we are still driven to specu- 

 lation alone. 



If, then, we are right in assuming Gymnosperms to 

 have been always diclinous, and Dicotyledons to have arisen 

 from some member of that group, then it is presumable that 

 the first were diclinous, perhaps dioecious, and anemophilous 

 as well. The general opinion seems to be that they were 

 dioecious; and Mr. Darwin thought that monoecism was the 

 next step, and thence hermaphroditism was ultimately 

 reached. 



* Origin of Species, 6th ed., p. 31. 

 31 



