88 Heredity and Social Progress 



between the environment and the organism 

 that it was forced to seek a new adjustment. 

 Use follows growth instead of preceding it, 

 as current doctrines assert. 



So much for one side of the problem; on 

 the other side the dwarfing or disappearance of 

 organs must be accounted for. And now we 

 must look to the emotions. The shocks to 

 the system reduce the parts affected by the 

 discordant nervous discharges, and they are 

 thrown back into their earlier state to grow 

 again, if they are to be re-formed. Regenera- 

 tion is usually possible, although growth may 

 be inconsiderable if other parts of the system 

 are making urgent demands for fresh nutrition. 

 Organs disappear or are much dwarfed, while 

 the new parts grow and absorb the unappropri- 

 ated nutriment. The discordant shocks affect 

 the parts least supplied with nerves, and trim 

 them down. The nerves have direction, and 

 give form to the organism by the gradual re- 

 duction of parts without them. 



The reduction and alterations made by 

 these forces transform beings, and cause organs 

 to disappear or to be modified. To them must 



