128 Retrograde Varieties 



are referred is not a really existing form, but is 

 the abstraction of the common type of all, just 

 as it is in the case of a genus or of a family. 



Summarizing the main points of this discus- 

 sion, we find that elementary species are of 

 equal rank and together build up the collective 

 or systematic ideal species. Varieties on the 

 other hand are derived from a real, and com- 

 monly, still existing type. 



I hope that I have succeeded in showing that 

 the difference between elementary species, or, as 

 they are often called, smaller or subspecies, on 

 the one hand, and varieties on the other is quite 

 a marked one. However, in order to recognize 

 this principle it is necessary to limit the term 

 variety to those propagating themselves by 

 seed and are of pure and not of hybrid origin. 



But the principle as stated here, does not in- 

 volve an absolute contrast between two groups 

 of characters. It is more a difference in our 

 knowledge and appreciation of them than a dif- 

 ference in the things themselves. The characters 

 of elementary species are, as a rule, new to us, 

 while those of varieties are old and familiar. 

 It seems to me that this is the essential point. 



And what is it that makes us familiar with 

 them? Obviously the continuous recurrence of 

 the same changes, because by a constant repeti- 

 tion they must of course lose their novelty. 



