, as well as of others which I need not wait to mention,
certain advocates of special creation have sought to take refuge in
another hypothesis--namely, that species which present a markedly
discontinuous range may have had a corresponding number of different
centres of creation, the same specific type having been turned down, so
to speak, on widely separated areas. But to me it seems that this
explanation presents even greater difficulty than the other. If it is
difficult to say why the Divinity should have chosen to create new
species of plants on the Alps on so precisely the same pattern as the
old, much more would it be difficult to say why, in addition to these
new species, he should also have created again the old species which he
had already placed in the Arctic regions.

* * * * *

So much, then, for discontinuity of distribution. The next general fact
to be adduced is, that there is no constant correlation between habitats
and animals or plants suited to live upon them. Of course all the
animals and plants living upon any given area are well suited to live
upon that area; for otherwise they could not be there. But the point now
is, that besides the area on which they do live, there are usually many
other areas in different parts of the globe where they might have lived
equally well--as is proved by the fact that when transported by man they
thrive as well, or even better, than in their native country. Therefore,
upon the supposition that all species were separately created in the
countries where they are respectively found, we must conclude that they
were created in only some of the places where they might equally well
have lived. Probably there is at most but a small percentage either of
plants or animals which would not thrive in some place, or places, on
the earth's surface other than that in which they occur; and hence we
must say that one of the objects of special creation--if this be the
true theory--was that of depositing species in only some among the
several parts of the earth's surface equally well suited to support
them.

Now, I do not contend that this fact in itself raises any difficulty
against the theory of special creation. But I do think that a very
serious difficulty is raised when to this fact we add another--namely,
that on every biological region we encounter species related to other
species in genera, and usually also genera related to other genera in
fami