380 THE SELF-FERTILIZATION OF PLANTS. 



arrest each crystal, at a different stage, in its process 

 of reintegrating its lost edge ? 



Of the three processes, by which lessened fertility is 

 regained, reversion by means of slight accretions of 

 growth, is one. The evidence from Darwin, on this 

 point, — namely, of increased fertility, concomitant upon 

 the development of structure by means directly of Re- 

 version, — is not abundant; for two reasons. The one 

 is, that Darwin, not being conscious, — or seeming not to 

 be, — of the connection between the two, has not made 

 it a subject of close observation; and, direct Reversion, 

 not being abrupt, as Reversion, of course, is in Cross- 

 ing, the resulting gain, in fertility, has just been noticed 

 by Darwin, and left without further remark. 



He says (p. 2 1 2, Vol. ii, Animals and Plants, &c.) : 

 "Domestication, as a general rule, increases the pro- 

 lificness of animals and plants." 



Another reason is, that the gain, in fertility, which 

 should ensue from the improvement, or reversion, oc- 

 curring under domestication, is quite frequently pre- 

 cluded by man's vitiating the proportion, through 

 pushing the development of one or two characters 

 only, to an extreme point. This, as we have before 

 frequently observed, is often worse, in its effects, than 

 was the comparatively uniform degeneration which 

 obtained, before Man bestowed care upon the indi- 

 viduals. Another reason is that Man suppresses and 

 reduces organs, as he has done with the Pigv These 

 are the reasons, why the result required by the theory 

 of reversion, and noticed by Darwin, obtains, as he 

 says, "as a general rule" only. 



