84 THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES 



treme states; an<l these are then degraded to the rank 

 of varieties. 



Some few naturalists maintain that animals never pre- 

 sent varieties; but then these same naturalists rank the 

 slightest difference as of specific value; and when the 

 same identical form is met with in two distant countries, 

 or in two geological formations, they believe that two dis- 

 tinct species are hidden under the same dress. The term 

 species thus comes to be a mere useless abstraction, im- 

 plying and assuming a separate act of creation. It is 

 certain that many forms, considered by highly-competent 

 judges to be varieties, resemble species so completely in 

 character that they have been thus ranked by other 

 highly-competent judges. But to discuss whether they 

 ought to be called species or varieties, before any defini- 

 tion of these terms has been generally accepted, is vainly 

 to beat the air. 



Many of the cases of strongly-marked varieties or 

 doubtful species well deserve consideration; for several 

 interesting lines of argument, from geographical distri- 

 bution, analogical variation, hybridism, etc., have been 

 brought to bear in the attempt to determine their rank; 

 but space does not here permit me to discuss them. 

 Close investigation, in many cases, will no doubt bring 

 naturalists to agree how to rank doubtful forms. Yet it 

 must be confessed that it is in the best known countries 

 that we find the greatest number of them. I have been 

 struck with the fact that if any animal or plant in a state 

 of nature be highly useful to man, or from any cause 

 closely attracts his attention, varieties of it will almost 

 universally be found recorded. These varieties, moreover, 

 will often be ranked by some authors as species. Look 



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