THE 



AMERICAN NATURALIST 



Vol. LI. Aagu^t, 10 n No. 



Bl()(llAK'A('TKi.\S AS Si:i>AllABLE UNITS OF 

 ( JKG A XU ^ STJJ I CTURE 



HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN 

 IXTKODUCTIOX 



As to the term ''character," iu the commonly accepted 

 sense of zoology and botany, it has long been known that 

 different characters, large and small, exhibit different 

 rates of ovohitio7i aiid are in tliis sense "separable" or 

 "independent." \vliil(> in aiiotlicr sense it has long been 

 known that cx-ery diaracler of ;in or.u-anism is correlated 

 or coordinated witli every otlier cliai acter in function and 

 adaptation. ( )nr general knowledge of character separa- 

 bility (for the want of a better English term) has been 

 more than confirmed by researches based upon the great 

 discovery of Mendel, namely, that many large as well as 

 minute characters which are closely associated or even 

 blended in the adult organism are very sharply separated 

 from each other in the germ plasm, in such a manner that 

 they may entirely aj)pear or disajipear in the crossing, or 

 hybridization of >|i(^ci<'<. snl>-r>ecie>. varieties, races, no 

 less than of individual-. 'Wm- tiieoretic separability in 

 heredity of tlie o-erniiiial ••.lelenniner>" or "factors" of 

 characters is in full accord with the scvtM-al aspects of 

 separability in <'voliition iM-e\ i(»iisly oh-crN-ed in paleon- 

 tology, enil)ryoh)i>'y and indivi.lual de\eh>i)ni(Mit. 



The purpose of this synot.<i< i< to rt'view and bring 

 together soine of the iiot.'wonhy phenomena of character 

 separabilit> a< conii'a-lcd with tho-e of int erdo {>endence, 

 cooperation, coia'elat ion and eo()rdination. 



449 



