DARWIN'S NATURAL SELECTION 43 



the same authority as, ''the history of the evo- 

 lution of the descent of man, that is, of the 

 evolution of the various animal forms through 

 which, in the course of countless ages, man- 

 kind has gradually passed to its present form/' 



I mention these two sciences together be- 

 cause it is by comparing them that their chief 

 signifiance appears. It is one of the most 

 astonishing discoveries of science and at the 

 same time one of the most convincing proofs 

 of evolution, that the whole process of the 

 development of the human race from the 

 lowest or simplest forms, which constitutes the 

 subject-matter of phylogeny, is reproduced in 

 brief in the development of the embryo of the 

 individual. This remarkable fact Haeckel 

 named "the biogenetic principle." 



Darwin's chief claim however to a pedestal 

 in the hall of fame rests on his discovery of 

 "natural selection." 



During his memorable voyage on "The 

 Beagle" he observed that there was no 

 essential connection between a species' repro- 

 ductive powers and the number of its popula- 

 tion. As this discovery plays an important 

 part in his theory we will let him speak for 

 himself. In his "Journal of Researches" he 

 gives the following case, with his conclusion: 

 "I was surprised to find, on counting the eggs 



