94 THE PRINCIPLES OF HEREDITY 



than the inferior parent. This form of germinal selection, 

 according to Dr. Beard, is much more powerful in adapting 

 species to their environments than that Natural Selection of 

 individuals which Darwin outlined. " What it (i. e. Natural 

 Selection) would do, that, and far more than that, Nature 

 brings about in a more efficient way by selecting in the 

 germ-cell which of two characters or qualities, the greater or 

 lesser, shall be taken." The assumption, apparently made 

 by Dr. Beard that the environment is the same for the 

 germ-plasm as it is for the species, and that it selects biophors 

 or pangenes (representing qualities) in a way similar to, but 

 more certain, than the way in which Darwin supposed it 

 selects individuals is, to say the least, tremendously improb- 

 able. He gives no concrete examples, but let us take one. 

 Suppose antelopes are preyed upon by lions ; then certain 

 qualities depending on a multitude of structures speed, 

 wariness, etc. will undergo evolution in the species. Ac- 

 cording to Darwin this will result from the elimination of 

 unfit individuals. According to Dr. Beard, it will result from 

 the elimination of unfit biophors in the germ-cells of those 

 individuals which are not captured by the lions (i. e. those 

 who have offspring), and which are, therefore, not affected 

 by this element in the environment. But why the fit 

 biophors rather than the unfit are chosen is not explained. 

 Even were this theory of germinal selection true, it would 

 not, by itself, suffice to explain progressive evolution. The 

 child would not progress beyond the most favoured parent. 

 Dr. Beard surmounts the difficulty by supposing that the 

 environment acting directly on the biophors is the cause of 

 variations. " As living entities they must be influenced by 

 the total environment, nutrition, climate, disease, toxins, etc. 

 To all these influences they will react. The effect of all the 

 factors will be a different one on the differently constituted 

 characters. Some it will favour, and these will flourish and 

 increase in importance. Others will be unfavourably in- 

 fluenced or neglected, and these will diminish." It is 

 evident that every objection raised in the present work 

 against the hypothesis that variations are due to the direct 

 action of the environment applies in full to Dr. Beard's 

 theory. 1 



1 See Chapters IV. and XII. 



