THE INTERPRETER 10 I 



Whatever may be the objections to his views, 

 certainly all other theories are absolutely out of court. 1 



But doubting, as was his wont, " whatever could 

 be doubted," he was not satisfied that the evidence 

 was in all respects complete. He held that full proof 

 would be obtained only when experiments in selective 

 breeding from a common stock resulted in the pro- 

 duction of varieties more or less infertile with one 

 another. In his article on the " Origin of Species " 

 in the Westminster Review of April, i860, he says: — 



After much consideration, and with assuredly no 

 bias against Mr. Darwin's views, it is our clear con- 

 viction that, as the evidence stands, it is not absolutely 

 proven that a group of animals, having all the char- 

 acters exhibited by species in nature, has ever been 

 originated by selection, whether artificial or natural. 

 Groups having the morphological character of species 

 — distinct and permanent races, in fact — have been so 

 produced over and over again ; but there is no posi- 

 tive evidence at present that any group of animals 

 has, by variation and selective breeding, given rise to 

 another group which was even in the least degree in- 

 fertile with the first. Mr. Darwin is perfectly aware 

 of this weak point, and brings forward a number of 

 ingenious and important arguments to diminish the 

 force of the objection. We admit the value of these 

 arguments to their fullest extent — nay, we will go so 

 far as to express our belief that experiments conducted 

 by a skilful physiologist (" instead of by a mere breeder," 

 he adds in a letter to Darwin 2 ), would very probably 

 obtain the desired production of mutually more or 



1 Coll. Essays, ii. p. 467. 2 1. 195 J and cf - ib -> 2 39- 



