THE STRUGGLE FOE EXISTENCE. 89 



struggle among the many millions exposed to 

 its effects ? The question, in presence of the 

 sheep, would be ludicrous, and common-sense 

 asks, How could beneficial variation be ex- 

 pected from depletion and exhaustion, to 

 which the struggle for existence invariably 

 tends? The flock-master will tell you that the 

 fittest of the survivors is not equal, in any re- 

 spect, to the unfittest in the flock five years ago, 

 and that the sheep born during the struggle 

 will never equal the old flock ; for bitter ex- 

 perience has taught him that an animal that 

 has suffered from unfavourable conditions in 

 its youth will never, however carefully pro- 

 tected afterwards, become a fine specimen of 

 its breed. The finest animals are produced 

 only by continuous careful protection from 

 their birth upwards. 



If beneficial variation did in some 

 mysterious manner arise, its possessor would 

 no doubt, in the struggle for existence, 

 probably outlive its fellows. But there must 

 first be the beneficial variation, and of such 

 there is no evidence. Mr Bateson in his work 

 * On Materials for Variation ' does not record 

 among deviations from a normal type what 

 we call accidents in the loom of life, or mon- 

 strosities a single example of beneficial 

 variation ; and, considering the exhaustive 



