572 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[September 



walls common in that section of country. This 

 fact suggested to Mr. Wrigh t an d h is n eighbors 

 the idea that if a breed could be propa- 

 gated, certain advantages would be secured, 

 especially the certainty of confining the 

 flock within the pasture ranges. This ob- 

 ject seemed to furnish reasons for attempt- 

 ing to carry it into practice. The attempt 

 was successful, and there arose a new variety 

 of sheep, which became for a short period 

 quite widely distributed in Vermont and 

 Massachusetts. About this time, however, 

 the merinoes were introduced, and as this 

 breed was much more orderly, and less dis- 

 posed to ramble than the old long-legged 

 sheep, and was moreover much more valua- 

 ble than either the long or short-legged, the 

 latter was neglected and soon disappeared. 



Now, the manner in which this short, 

 bow-legged sheep appeared, has a very sig- 

 nificant bearing upon the Darwinian hy- 

 pothesis. This hypothesis sets forth the 

 doctrine, that breeds or varieties, and finally 

 species, originate in principles wtrch its au- 

 thor calls natural selection and a struggle for 

 existence. I leave the reader to make out 

 the meaning and import of the phrases the 

 best he can, as we have not time and space 

 to illustrate them. It is important, how- 

 ever, to say that the changes induced by 

 struggle for existence, and through the ope- 

 ration of which an existing type is changed, 

 first to a variety, and finally to a species, 

 are extremely slow, and upon this fact the 

 doctrine mainly hinges. It is maintained 

 that a prolonged exercise of the faculties 

 concerned is necessary before a distinct de- 

 parture from the original type becomes 

 visible. Let us now see how this doctrine 

 tallies with what we know of the origin of 

 varieties. The bow-legged sheep of Seth 

 Wright came into existence at once; and so 

 constant is this fact, that wherever and when- 

 ever varieties have appeared, the parentage 

 is ushered upon the stage unexpectedly. 

 The progenitor of the five-fingered race 

 of men was born five-fingered, so that 

 whenever varieties marked by changes of 

 form or qualities originate, they are not 

 the result of the slow operation of causes, 

 such as are implied by the term, struggles for 

 existence. They are sudden and unexpected 

 developments. If so, this fact strikes at 

 the root of this fanciful Darwinian hypothe- 

 sis. There are no struggles prior to the 

 fact; but the struggle for existence comes 

 afterward, and herein has Darwin erred in 



placing his cause before the fact; whereas, 

 the struggle, if any, has to be maintained 

 after the variety appears. This is very 

 clearly seen in Seth Wright's sheep. It 

 was ushered into the world without the 

 struggles contended for, and the moment 

 man ceased to bring his knowledge of 

 causes to bear upon its preservation, it be- 

 came extinct. Even the varieties of pigeons 

 which Darwin employs to illustrate his 

 doctrine, are all originally sudden develop- 

 ments. The fan tail pigeon did not acquire 

 its tail by a gradual metamorphosis, or ad- 

 ditions; it was hatched a fantail, and it has 

 been preserved a fantail by influences which 

 man has brought to bear upon it. Darwin's 

 principles, implied in the terms, natural 

 selection and the struggle for existence, are 

 totally different from the modes pursued by 

 man for the improvement and perfection of 

 breeds. The Bakewell sheep, the Durham 

 short-horns, are called varieties among sheep 

 and cattle. They stand out somewhat 

 separate and distinct from the breeds of the 

 classes to which they belong, and man has 

 been instrumental in thus isolating them; 

 nevertheless, the parents of these breeds 

 possessed an individuality at birth, and it 

 was entirely independent of selection or 

 struggles. We do not propose to consider 

 at this time other reasons and arguments 

 equally fatal to Darwin's views of the origin 

 of species; it is sufficient to show, that all 

 of our knowledge of the subject goes to dis- 

 prove the assumption, that prolonged periods 

 have anything to do with the origin of 

 varieties. What is true of the animal is 

 equally true of the vegetable kingdom. 

 Time is not an element of change; is not 

 called for in the developments of breeds or 

 kinds; they spring up at once, and are pre- 

 served by the fostering care of man, and 

 without his knowledge would generally 

 perish with the individual. — N. Y. Ob- 

 server. 



From the Farmer and Planter. 



Domestic Economy, Recipes, &c. 



An Excellent Liniment. — Take the whites 

 of two eggs, beaten to a froth, a wineglass 

 of vinegar, a wineglass spirits of turpentine, 

 and a wineglass of alcohol, beating it all the 

 time. This liniment must be put together 

 in the order mentioned above, or it will not 

 be thoroughly incorporated. We find this 



