SPECIFIC CHARACTERS, 22$ 



Quite similar in their import are structures which 

 are simply ornamental. For ornament in itself 

 natural selection has no room. To be selected, a 

 variation must be useful. The only chance for the 

 development of ornament in the Darwinian hypothe- 

 sis is by sexual selection. Among some animals, 

 particularly birds, the most vigorous females select 

 for their mates the most beautiful males, and this 

 would, of course, enhance the beauty. But many 

 of the most ornamental structures are met with 

 among animals where this sort of selection is impos- 

 sible. Some mollusks are among the most beautiful 

 organisms in existence, the delicacy of the tints of 

 the shell and the beauty of the sculpturing being 

 exquisite ; but sexual selection is impossible here, 

 for the animals are mutually hermaphrodite. And, 

 indeed, their sensory organs are so imperfect that it 

 is impossible for them to see the beauty of their 

 own shells, to say nothing of appreciating it. More- 

 over, many of them keep their shell entirely covered 

 during life by the mantle, and the ornamental feat- 

 ures only appear after death. Such features can 

 only be regarded as due to the laws of growth, which 

 regulate the absorption of nutriment in such a man- 

 ner as to produce certain results, some of which 

 appear to us as beautiful. Indeed, beauty is only a 

 subjective feature, depending not on the object, but 

 upon the observer. Why many animals possess 

 features which seem beautiful to us, we do not 

 know; but it is not simply for the sake of being 

 beautiful, and it is equally certain that it is not due 

 either to natural or sexual selection. 



