800 Fluctuations 



strike out new imitative changes. These are 

 again submitted to the sifting tests, and the fre- 

 quent repetition of this process is considered 

 to give a good explanation of the manifold, 

 highly complicated, and admirable structures 

 which strike the beginner as the only real adap- 

 tations in nature. 



Exactly in the same way artificial selection 

 isolates and preserves some elementary species, 

 while it destroys others. Of course the time is 

 not sufficient to secure new mutations, or at 

 least these are only rare at present, and 

 their occurrence is doubtful in historic periods. 

 Apart from this unavoidable difference the 

 analogy between natural and artificial selection 

 appears to me to be very striking. 



This form of selection may be termed selec- 

 tion between species. Opposed to it stands the 

 selection within the elementary species or va- 

 riety. It has of late alone come to be known as 

 selection, though in reality it does not deserve 

 this distinction. I have already detailed the 

 historical evidence which gives preference to 

 selection between species. The process can best 

 be designated by the name of intra-specific se- 

 lection, if it is understood that the term intra- 

 specific is meant to apply to the conception of 

 small or elementary species. 



I do not wish to propose new terms, but 



