28 A NEW THEORY OF EVOLUTION. 



posed of mixed races, and that neither their 

 fertility nor vitality is impaired. But as we 

 have seen in the cross-breeding of cattle, 

 Nature has her own effectual automatic 

 methods of maintaining purity of race. 



The history of the offspring of mixed 

 marriages would, we believe, show that un- 

 less they married into a pure race the stock 

 soon became extinct. We know of no stat- 

 istics on this deeply interesting question, but 

 examples will probably occur to the reader. 



The inscrutable feeling of aversion between 

 human races (race-hatred) must tend, perhaps 

 unconsciously, to prevent mixed marriages, 

 and so to maintain purity of race. May 

 not this purpose account for the existence 

 of this mysterious feeling not only in the 

 human race, but also among lower animals ? 



A race that lives in an alien country, like 

 the Jews or Gipsies, and intermarries only 

 with its own people, remains pure ; but 

 usually a minority becomes absorbed in the 

 majority, or otherwise disappears, although 

 examples of atavism will occur even after 

 several generations. 



Notable examples of the Saxon type may 

 still be seen in Tipperary, where a colony 

 of Cromwell's Ironsides settled nearly three 

 centuries ago. 



