234 CROSSING AND CLOSE-INTERBREEDING. 



done, with full impunity, and with the hearty con- 

 currence of the scientific world, — deduce a law of in- 

 definite progress, from what the very terms of his 

 problem show, to be but instances of regain of de- 

 velopments previously lost; who founds his theoiy 

 upon an "innate tendency," or upon ignorance; and, 

 who, throughout all of his works, makes his ignorance 

 enact the role of positive factors, may well, and con- 

 fidently, count upon the implicit reception of any 

 absurdity which he may see fit to devise, to hide the 

 inconsistencies of his hypothesis. 



All of the exceptions, here taken, to Darwin's "law 

 of nature," as applying to close-interbreeding, obtain, 

 ■mutatis mutandis, with equal force, when urged against 

 the other phase of his "law," which applies to Cross- 

 ing. The same variations in the quantity of the ef- 

 fects, from the same degree of crossing, are observ- 

 able. 



When each, of two individuals paired, has much to 

 contribute, to the offspring, which the other lacks, the 

 good, resulting from such cross, is great. Where each 

 has but little to contribute, which the other lacks, the 

 good resulting is small. If but one of the parents has 

 any characters to contribute to the offspring, which the 

 other lacks, the increase of good, in the offspring, will 

 be such only, relatively to the parent whose deficiencies 

 were supplied, and which had naught to give, but what 

 the other parent also gave. When good results to the 

 offspring, relatively to both parents, as it generally does ; 

 it is because, defective parts in either, are supplied, 

 by positive parts in the other, — through each of the 



