34- Darwinism and Deity. 



They have not been produced by manufacture or cre- 

 ation, but by eliminating and perpetuating peculiarities 

 which have naturally appeared in individuals. A horse, 

 a bull, a dog, having some special quality, is carefully 

 mated. The best of his progeny is selected, and care- 

 fully mated. The process is repeated till a new variety 

 is introduced. This variety is not a true species, per- 

 manent and self-perpetuating; but it lasts as a determi- 

 nate variety, as long as the supervening care of man 

 preserves it. Now it is conceivable that some natural 

 cause might operate in the same manner as this care of 

 man, and by operating permanently, produce a perma- 

 nent natural difference, and so create a species. 



Among men, hereditary traits are often noticed. A 

 heavy lower jaw has been a feature of the Hapsburg 

 family for centuries. And it is said that the ladies of a 

 certain English ducal family still are distinguished by 

 the beautiful form of the neck, which they inherited 

 from their ancestor, one of the ladies of the court of 

 Charles II. 



Besides these minute peculiarities, climate, food, and 

 the other conditions of life affect physical traits. When 

 I was in Colorado a few years ago I was told that the 

 chests of persons and of horses that had lived several 

 years at Georgetown, some 9,000 feet above the level 

 of the sea, had become expanded. The necessity or 

 breathing a larger amount of the rarified air of that ele- 

 vated region required larger lungs. And persons who 

 follow a calling requiring especial use of particular 

 muscles or organs find those muscles and organs largely 

 develop; while, on the other hand, parts of the body 

 long disused have a tendency to shrink and diminish. 



