264 APPENDIX D 



Arten, incipient species u. s. w. andererseits, soil den 

 Gegenstand unseres dritten Kapitels bilden.' 



[' Within the domain of individual variability selection 

 leads to the origin of races, but, in considering this question, 

 as we have already seen, this latter word [races] is used in 

 a different sense to that employed in Anthropology. The 

 essential characteristics of this so-called improved race, on 

 the one hand, and of, on the other hand, varieties, sub- 

 species, elementary species, incipient species, &c., &c., will 

 constitute the subject-matter of my third chapter.'] 



I would ask how it is possible for races to arise 

 or to be improved by the selection of individual 

 variations (or fluctuations) if it be supposed that 

 those latter are non-transmissible by heredity. 



The German of the latter part of the passage 

 quoted on pp. 263-4 is not very clearly expressed. 

 My friends who are experienced in the rendering 

 of German into English have generally found 

 themselves puzzled by it, at any rate on a first 

 reading. Professor A. A. Macdonell tells me 

 that the obscurity is due to the use of ' mit ' for 

 ' und der '. At the same time he is sure that the 

 ' einerseits ' and ' andererseits ' express a contrast 

 which is unintentionally softened down by the 

 use of ' mit '. This conclusion, based on purely 

 linguistic grounds, is confirmed by a consideration 

 of the subject-matter ; for every student of de 

 Vries knows that all the forms in the category 

 beginning ' Varietaten ' are explained by him as 

 'mutations', and are as a matter of fact in many 

 parts of his works sharply contrasted with the 

 products derived by selection from ' fluctuations '. 



