Chap. V. 
COEEELATION OF GROWTH. 
147 
seeds which were a little better fitted to be wafted 
further, might get an advantage over those producing 
seed less fitted for dispersal; and this process could not 
possibly go on in fruit which did not open. 
The elder Geoffrey and Goethe propounded, at about 
the same period, their law of compensation or balance- 
ment of growth ; or, as Goethe expressed it, in order 
to spend on one side, nature is forced to economise on 
the other side.’’ I think this holds true to a certain ex¬ 
tent with our domestic productions : if nourishment flows 
to one part or organ in excess, it rarely flows, at least in 
excess, to another part; thus it is difficult to get a cow 
to give much milk and to fatten readily. The same va¬ 
rieties of the cabbage do no"^ yield abundant and nutri¬ 
tious foliage and a copious supply of oil-bearing seeds. 
When the seeds in our fruits become atrophied, the fruit 
itself gains largely in size and quality. In our poultry, 
a large tuft of feathers on the head is generally accom¬ 
panied by a diminished comb, and a large beard by 
diminished wattles. With species in a state of nature 
it can hardly be maintained that the law is of universal 
application; but many good observers, more especially 
botanists, believe in its truth. I will not, however, here 
give any instances, for I see hardly any way of distin¬ 
guishing between the effects, on the one hand, of a part 
being largely developed through natural selection and 
another and adjoining part being reduced by this same 
process or by disuse, and, on the other hand, the actual 
withdrawal of nutriment from one part owing to the 
excess of growth in another and adjoining part. 
I suspect, also, that some of the cases of compensation 
which have been advanced, and likewise some other 
facts, may be merged under a more general principle, 
namely, that natural selection is continually trying to 
economise in every part of the organisation. If under 
H 2 
