CREATION BY LAW. 25 I 



the female of every other, as the male is from the 

 male of every other. If, therefore, each new 

 variety were not born in couples, and if the 

 divergence of Form were not thus secured in the 

 organisation of both the sexes, it would fail to be 

 established, or would exhibit for a time the pheno- 

 mena of mixture, and terminate in reversion to the 

 original type. Now here again we have the em- 

 phatic declaration of Mr Gould, that among the 

 thousands of specimens which have passed through 

 his hands, from all the genera of this great family, 

 he has never seen one case of mixture or hybridism 

 between any two Species, however nearly allied. 

 But this passage is so important, that I quote it 

 entire. " It might be thought by some persons 

 that four hundred species of birds so diminutive 

 in size, and of one family, could scarcely be dis- 

 tinguished from each other ; but .any one who 

 studies the subject, will soon perceive that such 

 is not the case. Even the females, which assimi- 

 late more closely to each other than the males, 

 can be separated with perfect certainty ; nay, even 

 a tail-feather will be sufficient for a person well 

 versed in the subject to say to what genus and 



