456 Ever-sporting Varieties 



very first evolution of tlie young organs within 

 the buds. Iris, and Lactuca Scariola or the 

 prickly lettuce, and many other plants afford 

 similar instances. As the definitive decision 

 must be made in these cases long before the di- 

 rect influence of the conditions which would 

 make the change useful is felt, it is hardly con- 

 ceivable how they could be ascribed to this 

 cause. 



It is universally known that many plants 

 show deviating features when very young, and 

 that these often remind us of the characters of 

 their probable ancestors. Many plants that 

 must have been derived from their nearest sys- 

 tematic relatives, chiefly by reductions, are 

 constantly betraying this relation by a repeti- 

 tion of the ancestral marks during their 

 youth. 



There can be hardly a doubt that the general 

 law of natural selection prevails in such cases 

 as it does in others. Or stated otherwise, it is 

 very probable, that in most cases the atavistic 

 characters have been retained during youth 

 because of their temporary usefulness. Un- 

 fortunately, our knowledge of utility of quali- 

 ties is as yet very incomplete. Here we must 

 assume that what is ordinarily spared by nat- 

 ural selection is to be considered as useful. 



