286 THE REIGN OF LAW. 



be, turned to use. It is only fair towards the 

 Theory of Creation by Birth, to admit that it 

 does explain the existence of useless organs in 

 a sense in which no other Theory explains them. 

 It w r ould almost be a necessary consequence of 

 Creation by Birth, that there must be stages 

 in which the ultimate use of new Forms could 

 not be yet apparent. And if mere beauty 

 or variety were in themselves objects which 

 Creative Power sets before itself, then, also, . we 

 might expect to meet with modifications of 

 structure having no other apparent use. Both 

 these explanations, however, exclude Mr Darwin's 

 idea of Natural Selection ; because this is a pro- 

 cess which can never operate, except through the 

 agency of actual use and disuse, upon organs 

 already existing and capable of discharging func- 

 tion. The only theory of Creation by Birth which 

 really does afford some explanation of the facts, 

 is a theory which assumes modifications of struc- 

 ture to be entirely independent of the effect of 

 actual use or disuse. Mr Darwin himself candidly 

 admits that in flowers at least the forces of Corre- 

 lated Growth do " modify important structures 



