202 PRESENT-DAY RATIONALISM 



often impossible ; nor ts t'^ neede/f -whenever inductive evidence 

 is abundant. 



It fully accounts for the numerous " representative" plants 

 and animals, as the " ericoidal " or heath-like forms so abun- 

 dant in South Africa and South-West Australia, the " cupres- 

 soidal " or cypress-like trees and shrubs and even herbs, as of 

 junipers, Alpine veronicas of New Zealand, and our own lyco- 

 podiums. The " junceous " type is seen in the rush-like forms 

 which betray many marsh plants, and the " muscoidal " of 

 Arctic and Antarctic, as well as of very high Alpine forms of 

 moss-like plants.^ 



In conclusion, then, I would say that I understand by 

 heredity — (i) that offspring, as a rule, resemble their parents 

 in every important feature, a/ways allowing for " individual " 

 but trivial and inconstant variations. 



(2) When the seed or even bulbs of ])lants are sown in 

 some surroundings, markedly different from their native habi- 

 tats, they usually «/ once begin to vary, often in all parts, 

 from the wild types. If many seeds of the same kind are 

 sown tkey all vary alike or " definitely " in all main particu- 

 lars, and not "indefinitely," to use Darwin's term and as he 

 supposed to be the case. Still, they may always show individual 

 variations of no importance, i.e., from a classificatory point of 

 view. 



In five or six generations the new and " acquired char- 

 acters " become relatively " fixed " ; so that they will subse- 

 quently be reproduced by seeds, even when the surrounding 

 conditions, which first incited the protoplasm to bring about 

 these adaptive modifications, no longer exist. 



Hence I maintain that "acquired characters " are heredi- 

 tary. Thanks to this, not only do so large a number of " races " 

 in flowers and vegetal^les " come true " by seed under cultiva- 

 tion, but Evolution in Nature could not exist without it. 



I deal mainly with plants, as that is my special province, 



* See my paper on " Mimetic Resemblances in Animals and Plants," 

 Natural Science, February, 1899, p. 121. 



