VARIATIONS, DUE TO REVERSION. 61 



organism of a higher state of development than the 

 type of such species, as now found under nature. Ad- 

 verse conditions entailed the suppression of the char- 

 acters ; and the mere restoration of the favorable con- 

 ditions, secures their re-development. 



The races of each species, under nature, were formed, 

 exclusively, by the varied modification of the one, 

 original, perfect mould of such species. These races 

 are, all, but various degenerations of the one specific 

 type of the given species. By this, it is not meant to 

 imply any " innate tendency " (such as Darwin postu- 

 lates) in organisms, to degenerate. Certain conditions 

 were needed for the full and proportionate development 

 of the characters of each species. The withdrawal of 

 some of those conditions, entailed the reduction and 

 suppression of some of the characters — of those char- 

 acters to which those conditions were immediately 

 correlated. While the conditions remained favorable, 

 the species held its own ; when the conditions changed 

 — when the state of affairs ensued, which Darwin repre- 

 sents in his Struggle for Existence — loss of characters, 

 and loss of size resulted. As these adverse conditions 

 varied in degree, and in kind, in different districts and 

 countries, the degree and the manner in which the 

 individuals became modified, were also different. The 

 structure of each race, became slightly different from 

 that of the other races of the same species ; because 

 the conditions, in one country, wrought a deleterious 

 effect on one organ or character, and the conditions, in 

 the other countries, wrought injury upon other parts of 



the organization. 

 6* 



