THE CREATION OF SPECIES 



stands to-day unchallenged in its broad essentials. 

 It is the one only explanation of the development of 

 races that adequately explains the known facts. It 

 is essential that this should be stated clearly, because 

 we hear a great deal nowadays of sundry schools of 

 evolutionists who appear to be disputing the Dar- 

 winian principles. It is therefore not superfluous to 

 assure the general reader that, in so far as these 

 various disputants speak with any measure of author- 

 ity, their disputes concern details as to the evolu- 

 tionary processes, and do not put in jeopardy the 

 fundamental Darwinian conceptions. 



The name of Darwin stands to-day as it has stood 

 for half a century, supreme and unchallenged, as that 

 of the champion and expounder of the most impor- 

 tant biological doctrine that has ever been put for- 

 ward in the history of science. 



There are certain very important details, however, 

 regarding which the recent observers have explained 

 and interpreted the Darwinian doctrine. The most 

 striking of these has led to the introduction of the 

 theory of so-called evolution by mutation. 



The import of this theory is simply that the 

 "spontaneous" variations through which favored 

 races are produced may be of a much more pro- 

 nounced character than had generally been assumed. 

 The immediate followers of Darwin had generally 

 thought of the variations between individuals of a 

 species as being very slight in degree, so that the 

 cumulative effect of many slight variations, extend- 

 ing over multitudes of generations, would be neces- 

 sary to produce a radically new type of animal or 



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