36 



I believe that I may argue as I please in the teeth of this r vet, 

 but if a brother naturalist gives an argument from it, that munot 

 be allowed for a moment, " though it must be confessed that we 

 cannot understand, except by vague hypothesis, several facts with 

 regard to the sterility of hybrids. Nor do I pretend that the 

 foregoing remarks go to the root of the matter. No explanation 

 is offered why an organism, when placed under unnatural conditions, 

 is rendered sterile." I said so before, and I say so again. In 

 other words, I stumble at the threshold when pretending to 

 explain the origin of species, and am hopelessly lost in the 

 labyrinth of error in which I have involved myself. 



I believe that the sterility of hybrids " could not possibly be of 

 any advantage to them ;" but as I hold that Natural Selection has 

 done everything that has been done in nature, or almost every- 

 thing, and all for the good of the creatures, you may ask me if 

 sterility did not originate by Natural Selection, by what other 

 means was it introduced ? But for this I must refer you to any 

 other person who may be able to answer the question, for I am 

 not. 



I believe that Natural Selection had no hand in sterility, for it 

 could be of no advantage to any creature, and yet sterility is a 

 law of Nature. This, it is not for me to explain. I must leave 

 it for Nature and Natural Selection to settle that question between 

 them. Let them tell you if they can. They have my free leave. 



I believe, I say that sterility " could not possibly be of 

 advantage to animals," but for all that I have laid it down 

 (emphatically) that the sterility of the worker bees " has been 

 advantageous to the community." You may call this blowing 

 hot and cold, but that is my affair. 



I believe that all varieties of dogs are " descended from several 

 wild species," though naturalists think otherwise ; but as they 

 differ from me, they must be wrong, for I must be right. 



I believe that though they all breed together now without 

 sterility, yet it was not so at first. This may be apetitio principii, 

 but so let it be. 



I believe that " new races of animals and plants are produced 

 under domestication ;" but I do not allow this to be the case with 



