QUESTIONS 213 



about the origin of short-legged Ancon sheep? Why are these 

 sheep particularly liked by sheep raisers ? Where are they now 

 found ? Describe Mr. Poulton's family of cats. Describe the dif- 

 ferent members of the family of the six-fingered boy. What is 

 meant by polydactylism ? What does brachydactylism mean ? De- 

 scribe the case of the short-fingered family shown in the diagram. 

 What do all these facts prove about any character which begins as 

 a mutation ? What is the difference between an acquired character 

 and a mutation ? If this mutation should give its owner any ad- 

 vantage in the struggle for existence, what would be the effect on 

 succeeding generations ? 



Chapter XII 



Give a few facts about the Hawaiian Islands (see footnote). 

 Describe the different kinds of land shells that were found on these 

 islands in 1852 — their color, size, etc. How long and how wide is 

 the island of Oahu ? What can you say about its mountain range 

 and its valleys ? How many species of the same family of shells 

 did John Gulick find on Oahu alone ? Just where did the different 

 species live ? What can you say about the traveling habits of these 

 snails ? What did John Gulick do that made his collection priceless 

 afterwards ? What does he say about his interest in the location of 

 each shell ? What did he discover about the numbers of species 

 that were close together ? As he gathered his shells and studied, com- 

 pared, and labeled them, what did he notice about those that lived 

 closest together? When he had arranged his shells according to 

 the exact spot they came from, what further did he notice ? What 

 was the first question which he asked himself? What was the 

 second question ? How long afterwards did Dr. Gulick answer his 

 own questions ? How was it that nature acted like a careful breeder 

 on Oahu ? Give the first step in this process ; the second step ; the 

 third step; the fourth step. Just why did each new group of 

 descendants become slightly different from its own immediate 

 ancestors ? To make this plain, give the case of seven birds with 

 beaks of different length. How is the average found (see footnote) ? 

 What can be said about this law of average in connection with snails ? 



