EVOLUTION 255 



lution attained its vogue that it is now rarely seen in 

 polite society, but it did great service in its time. Permit 

 me on this occasion to draw attention to another analogy, 

 to the curious similarity that exists between the progress 

 of human invention and the evolution of organic species. 

 From the great kingdom of locomotive machines a lowly 

 stirp arose known as the " hobby horse " ; it lingered on 

 unregarded for a while, and then was superseded by a new 

 species technically called the " bone-shaker." This gained 

 a place in the world, multiplied rapidly, and became repre- 

 sented by a great number of individuals ; as it multiplied 

 it gave rise, by a process called " variation," to a number 

 of related forms, such as the " ordinary bicycle," the 

 "extraordinary," and the "kangaroo"; many of these 

 species of machine exhibited a decided advance in organi- 

 sation upon their ancestor ; a process of selection then 

 set in, the fittest types survived, the unfit became extinct; 

 the good qualities, which had secured this success in life, 

 were handed down by a process of inheritance ; variation 

 of these successful types produced others still more success- 

 ful, and selection, always operative, continually weeded 

 out the less fit, till one sole survivor now remains ; the sum- 

 mit of evolution is reached in the genus "bicycle," species 

 "safety," variety "pneumatic"! Just such a kind of 

 succession may be traced in the series of animal remains 

 preserved in stratified deposits. A few simple forms appear, 

 drag on a low r ly existence for a while, and then unexpec- 

 tedly blossom out into an infinitude of varieties ; with 

 lapse of time these become thinned out, but organisation 

 all the time advancing, there results at last some happily- 

 endowed form, which supplants the inferior competitors, 

 and becomes lord nnd master of creation. 



In the case of the machine we think we know the 

 causes of variation and inheritance, we attribute them to 

 the action of the human mind. In the case of the organic 



