26 DARWIN'S THEORY. 



tinct species. Occasionally, when any individuals of 

 any variety, develop some new feature, not known to 

 any of the other varieties, they are taken from the 

 variety within which they have been before classed, and 

 placed within a new category, or variety, carefully 

 mated, and the accretions of growth, in the new direc- 

 tion, thereby preserved, accumulated, and fixed to a 

 certain persistency of type. 



In this way, by Man's care and selection, has been 

 occasioned, and rendered possible, the great amount of 

 variation, which domestication has to show ; as, also, 

 the great divergence of character there seen. To 

 Darwin's course, in pursuing the analogy of variation 

 into the domain of nature,^ objection would have been 

 taken ; for, as it would have been said, even if varia- 

 tions did take place under nature, the improvements 

 could not have gone on accumulating to any extent, or 

 effecting any great divergence: of character ; by reason 

 of the fact, that these results: have been attained, under 

 domestication, only because Man's selection has guided 

 and fostered the irregular, and feeble action of varia- 

 tion. 



To this, Darwin rejoins, by stating that there is, and 

 has been, in full and constant ' operation, under nature, 

 a process precisely analogous to Man's selection — a 

 process to the full as efficient, and quite competent 

 (given, a requisite allowance of time) to effect similar, 

 great results. This process is Darwin's much -vaunted 

 principle of Natural Selection. 



This Natural Selection, or power of nature to select 

 the best of the individuals, of any species, for purposes 



