894 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XI. No.:284. 



be cumulative, being increased in amount 

 by the continued action of the conditions. 

 They would be non-adaptive, their nature 

 depending on the constitution of the repro- 

 ductive cells and having no functional rela- 

 tion to the original stimulus. 



As possible examples of such variation, 

 I may recall those variations referred to by 

 Darvcin as ' fluctuating variations which 

 sooner or later become constant through the 

 nature of the organism and of the sur- 

 rounding conditions, but not through nat- 

 ural selection ' (' Origin,' ed. 6, p. 176) ; to 

 the variations in turkeys and ducks which 

 take place as the result of domestication 

 ('Variation,' 2, p. 250) ; to those varia- 

 tions which Darwin had in his mind when 

 he wrote the following sentence (' Origin,' 

 p. 72) : " There can be little doubt that 

 the tendency to vary in the same manner 

 has often been so strong that all the in- 

 dividuals of the same species have been 

 similarly modified without the aid of selec- 

 tion." 



It is, however, as I have said, extremely 

 doubtful if variations of this kind really 

 occur. The appearance of them may be 

 caused by the combination of the two other 

 kinds of variation. In all cases which might 

 be cited in support of their occurrence, 

 there are the following doubtful elements : 

 (1) no clear statement as to whether the 

 variations showed themselves in the indi- 

 viduals first acted upon ; (2) no history of 

 the organisms when transported back to the 

 old conditions. 



Moreover, a general consideration of the 

 facts of the case renders it improbable that 

 such similar and definite genetic variations 

 should often occur at any rate in sexual re- 

 production. For although the efifect upon 

 the reproductive organs may possibly be 

 almost the same in nearly all the individ- 

 uals acted upon, it must not be forgotten 

 that the reproductive elements have to 

 combine in the act of conjugation, and that 



it is the essence of this act to produce pro- 

 ducts which differ in every case. 



Adam Sedgwick. 



Cawbeidge Univeesity. 



( To he Concluded. ) 



TEE LANGUAGE OF HAWAII. 



II. 

 V. — SPECIAL PECULIARITIES. 



Volubility. — The language of Hawaii is 

 extremely voluble. The comparative ease 

 with which the same ideas may be re- 

 peatedly expressed in a different form, and 

 apparently as new material, is shown by 

 the following incident which happened dur- 

 ing my visit. 



Owing to the mixed composition of the 

 Hawaiian legislature, it is necessary to 

 employ continually two languages. All 

 speeches in English ai'e immediately trans- 

 lated into Kanaka, and vice versa. On this 

 occasion the interpreter innocently exposed 

 a fundamental characteristic of the native 

 tongue in replying to a member. An Haw- 

 aiian had spoken possibly ten minutes since 

 his last words were translated. A friend, 

 anxious that nothing of importance should 

 be lost, asked why the interpreter did not 

 perform his duty and give the English- 

 speaking members the benefit of the words 

 just uttered. The reply was: "He has 

 said nothing fresh yet." The speaker had 

 simply repeated in new phraseology the 

 substance of his previous remarks, and so 

 skillfully was it done that the friend, 

 although somewhat conversant with the 

 tongue, was misled by Kanaka volubility. 



Here we have a distinguished feature in 

 Polynesian methods of thought. By its 

 very simplicity, its lack of generic terms, 

 and its flexibility, the Hawaiian tongue is 

 capable of almost endless expression of the 

 simplest ideas. As we trace the growth of 

 the language, influenced by the peculiar 

 environment and temperament of the peo- 



