DARWIN'S NATURAL SELECTION 53 



struggle for existence begins. Number two sees 

 no danger as yet and number three has things 

 all his own way. But with short-necked num- 

 ber one, a tragedy has begun. Every day now 

 sees the food further out of his reach and even 

 number two is obliged to reach out for his 

 supply. The breeding time is approaching but 

 the longer necked and therefore well-fed and 

 vigourous females will have nothing to do with 

 this wobbley starving creature, and the longer 

 necked, well-fed males shun the short-necked 

 starving females. If the starving ones mate, 

 the mother dies before giving birth to off- 

 spring, or she cannot get nourishment enough 

 to rear her progeny ; in either case there is no 

 effective succession. So the longer-necked 

 are the fittest and they survive. Thus does 

 nature "select" one by the negative process of 

 destroying the rest, in about the same way as 

 a man "selects" one puppy in a litter by 

 drowning the rest. 



In the case of the puppies we may say 

 "artificial selection ;" in the case of the giraffe 

 it is "natural selection." And this theory, 

 simple as it may seem here, revolutionized 

 Biology. 



It is worthy of note that "natural" selec- 

 tion has many advantages over "artificial" 

 selection. The breeder may be mistaken; 



