Bramble-bees and Others 



stalwart drillers of side-openings. There Is 

 an opportunity here for immense progress; the 

 insect is on the verge of it and is unable to 

 cross the narrow intervening line. Selection 

 has had ample time to make its choice; and 

 yet, though there be a few successes, the fail- 

 ures exceed them in a very large measure. 

 The race of the strong has not abolished the 

 race of the weak: it remains inferior in num- 

 bers, as doubtless it has been since all time. 

 The law of natural selection impresses me 

 with the vastness of its scope; but, whenever 

 I try to apply it to actual facts, it leaves me 

 whirling in space, with nothing to help me to 

 interpret realities. It is magnificent in theory, 

 but it is a mere gas-bubble in the face of 

 existing conditions. It is majestic, but sterile. 

 Then where is the answer to the riddle of the 

 world? Who knows? Who will ever know? 

 Let us waste no more time in this darkness, 

 which our vain theories will not dispel; let us 

 return to facts, humble facts, the only ground 

 that does not give way under our feet. The 

 Osmia respects her neighbour's cocoon and 

 her scruples are so great that, after vainly 

 trying to slip between that cocoon and the 

 wall, or else to open a lateral outlet, she lets 



31 



