Proofs of Evolution. 309 



nizes with its nest, while its unfettered mate in gay attire 

 soars happily around. But the valiant crow needs no pro- 

 tection, and so is " black as crows can be." Those female 

 birds and insects which serve as prey for their enemies are 

 inconspicuous in color, while their mates are dressed in tine 

 raiment. That curious little insect, the walking-stick, 

 looks precisely like a brown twig broken from a tree ; others 

 resemble the leaves of plants which grow in their neighbor- 

 hood. Some animals feign or mimic death to escape such 

 foes as devour only what they kill. Others, again, resem- 

 ble a more ferocious animal, and thus secure immunity from 

 attack. 



Not all creatures, however, are thus protected, especially 

 of the domestic class. But why should safety by imitation 

 be accorded to some and not to all animals, if all things 

 were created out of hand? Some are left defenceless; 

 others are aided in concealment. Every animal has his foe, 

 and must battle for his life. This, from the point of view 

 of special creation, does not look like eternal and even- 

 handed justice. It looks, rather, like a logical result of 

 the operation of Mr. Darwin's great principles of Natural 

 and Sexual Selection. 



SPONTANEOUS GENERATION. 



There are two classes of scientific travelers, who go back 

 on the Evolution road happily together, until they reach 

 the point of Spontaneous Generation, and there they part 

 company with none too friendly voice. The one with theo- 

 logical views insists that the germ-cells were created, just 

 as he once used to think Adam was created. The other 

 maintains that this speck of protoplasm was formed by 

 chemical and electrical action, and other natural means, 

 operating under once favorable conditions on the primitive 

 slime ; and that from these primordial cells all succeeding 

 life has sprung. In other words, he believes that the life- 

 principle is resident in matter itself, needing only vivifying 

 conditions to make it active. Why our theological friend 

 need diverge at all is not clear. If simply the power and 

 wisdom of a Creator are in question, there should be no 

 disagreement ; for it is certainly a greater display of Crea- 

 tive skill to make an all-pervading law than to make out of 

 hand a few germ-cells. It is greater to evolve a principle 



