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most powerful arguments in its favour. It is to-day 

 almost universally accepted as a solution of all biologi- 

 cal problems. It has come to be regarded with almost 

 superstitious reverence as the master-key which is able 

 to open the doors of all the passages which lead to the 

 secret chambers of Nature. So great is our confi- 

 dence in the powers of this master-key that we have 

 even neglected to put it to the test in some cases. It 

 has succeeded in very many instances, we therefore 

 assume that it must be successful in all. It has un- 

 locked the main doors, hence we deem it unnecessary 

 to try it with smaller ones. 



In other words, zoological science is in danger of 

 stagnation. I admit that much useful work is being 

 accomplished. Never before were so many workers in 

 the field. A mass of new facts is accumulating. Daily, 

 fresh contributions are added to our zoological know- 

 ledge. But each worker restricts himself to one small 

 portion of the field, so that the main theory has made 

 but little progress. 



It is time that there was a fresh stocktaking ; that 

 the new facts discovered were co-ordinated, and their 

 relations to one another and to the main theory studied. 

 At present the tendency is to attribute almost super- 

 natural powers to natural selection, to believe that it is 

 the key to every biological problem. 



If we ask why an animal is of such-and-such a colour, 

 we are told natural selection has given the creature its 

 colour as being that best suited to its needs. If we say 

 that we fail to see how that particular colour is more 

 useful to the animal than every other, we are told that 



