310 THE RECAPITULATION THEORY 



and even to the entire omission of important stages, 

 is well known. The embryo of forms well provided 

 with yolk takes short cuts in its development, jumps 

 irom ~branch to branch of its genealogical tree, 

 instead of climbing steadily upwards. Thus the 

 little West Indian frog, Hylodes, produces eggs 

 which contain a larger amount of food yolk than 

 those of the common English frog. The young 

 Hylodes is consequently enabled to pass through 

 the tadpole stage before hatching, to attain the 

 form of a frog before leaving the egg ; and the 

 tadpole stage is only imperfectly recapitulated, the 

 formation of gills for instance being entirely 

 omitted. 



The influence of food yolk on the development 

 of animals is closely analogous to that of capital in 



human undertakings. A new industry, for example 

 "jhat of Jen-making, has often been started by a 

 man working by hand and alone, making and selling 

 his own wares ; if he succeed in the struggle for 

 existence, "it soon becomes necessary for him to 

 "all in others to assist him, and to subdivide the 

 work ; hand labour is soon superseded by machines, 

 Involving further differentiation of labour ; the 

 earlier machines are replaced by more perfect and 

 more costly ones ; factories are built, agents 

 engaged, and in the end a whole army of work- 

 people employed. In later times a man commencing 

 Ijvith very limited means will start at the 

 level as the original founder, and will have 

 to work his way upwards through much the same 

 stages?^., will repeat the pedigree of the industry. 



