CREATION BY LAW. 239 



and specific distinctions between the Humming 

 Birds are mainly of two kinds, — ist, Differences in 

 the form of essential organs, such as the bill and 

 the wings ; 2d, Differences in those parts of the 

 plumage which are purely ornamental. Now, of 

 these two kinds of variation, the only one on 

 which the law of Natural Selection has any bearing 

 at all, is the first. And on that kind of variation, 

 the only bearing which Natural Selection has is 

 this — that if any Humming Bird were born with 

 a new form of bill, or a new form of wing, which 

 enabled it to feed better and to range farther, then, 

 that improved bill and wing would naturally tend 

 to be perpetuated by ordinary generation. This is 

 unquestionably true ; but it really does not touch 

 the facts of the case. The bills and wings of the 

 different genera do not differ from each other in 

 respect of any comparative advantage of this kind, 

 but simply in respect to variety corresponding 

 with the variety of certain vegetable Forms. One 

 form of bill is as good as another, but some forms 

 are adapted to some special class of flower. Some 

 bills, for example, are formed of enormous length, 

 specially adapted to obtain access to the nectar 



