ii A USELESS ADMISSION 87 



some of the phenomena of organic life. 

 But he specifies one example which 

 makes us doubt whether in his mouth 

 the admission is of any value. The 

 effects of use and disuse on organs are, 

 he says, not accounted for. 1 The 

 example is surely a bad one as any 

 measure, or even as any indication, of 

 the quality and variety of biological 

 facts which altogether outrun the ken of 

 Darwinism. In my opinion, it is no 

 example at all because the phrase 

 Natural Selection is so vague and 

 metaphorical in its implications that it 

 may be made to cover and include quite 

 as good an explanation of the effects 

 of disuse as of a thousand other familiar 

 facts. Organs, when fit and ready for 

 use, are strengthened by healthy exer- 

 cise. Organs, on the other hand, of 

 the same kind, are weakened and 

 i p. 740. 



