284 EVOLUTION, OLD AND NEW. 



I take it that Lamarck is here attempting to express 

 what Mr. Charles Darwin has rendered much more 

 clearly in the following excellent passage : — 



"It should always be borne in mind what sort of 



intermediate forms must, on the theory [what theory ?], 



have formerly existed. I have found it difficult when 



looking at any two species to avoid picturing to myself 



forms direetly intermediate between them. But this is 



a wholly false view ; we should always look for forms 



intermediate between each species and a common but 



unknown progenitor ; and the progenitor will generally 



have differed in some respects from all its modified 



descendants. To give a simple illustration: the fantail 



and pouter pigeons are both descended from the rock 



pigeon. If we possessed all the intermediate varieties 



which have ever existed, we should have an extremely 



close series, between both and the rock pigeon ; but 



we should have no varieties directly intermediate 



between the fantail and the pouter; none, for 



instance, combining a tail somewhat expanded with a 



crop somewhat enlarged, the characteristic features of 



these two breeds. These two breeds, moreover, have 



become so much modified that, if we had no historical 



or indirect evidence regarding their origin, it would not 



have been possible to have determined, from a mere 



comparison of their structure with that of the rock 



entre elles de mani^re & foimer une idticulation. Gette id^e qui a 

 paxu sublime ii quelqnes modemes, est ^videmment une erreui, et, sans 

 dottte, elle se dissipera d^s qu'on aura des connaissanceB plus piofondes 

 et plus g^n^rales de I'organisation, et surtout lorsqu'on distinguera ce 

 qui appaitient & I'influenoe des lieux d'habitation et des habitudes 

 contraot^es, de ce qui i^sulte des progiis plus ou moins avanc^s dans 

 la composition ou le perfectionnement de roiganisation," — (p. 120). 



