FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   >>  
ts itself is that the Hyena must be asexual, or the process will be wholly without analogy in the world of Agamogenesis. But passing over this difficulty, and supposing a male and female Dog to be produced at the same time from the Hyaena stock, the progeny of the pair, if the analogy of the simpler kinds of Agamogenesis [4] is to be followed, should be a litter, not of puppies, but of young Hyenas. For the Agamogenetic series is always, as we have seen, A: B: A: B, etc.; whereas, for the production of a new species, the series must be A: B: B: B, etc. The production of new species, or genera, is the extreme permanent divergence from the primitive stock. All known Agamogenetic processes, on the other hand, end in a complete return to the primitive stock. How then is the production of new species to be rendered intelligible by the analogy of Agamogenesis? The other alternative put by Professor Kolliker--the passage of fecundated ova in the course of their development into higher forms--would, if it occurred, be merely an extreme case of variation in the Darwinian sense, greater in degree than, but perfectly similar in kind to, that which occurred when the well-known Ancon Ram was developed from an ordinary Ewe's ovum. Indeed we have always thought that Mr. Darwin has unnecessarily hampered himself by adhering so strictly to his favourite "Natura non facit saltum." We greatly suspect that she does make considerable jumps in the way of variation now and then, and that these saltations give rise to some of the gaps which appear to exist in the series of known forms. Strongly and freely as we have ventured to disagree with Professor Kolliker, we have always done so with regret, and we trust without violating that respect which is due, not only to his scientific eminence and to the careful study which he has devoted to the subject, but to the perfect fairness of his argumentation, and the generous appreciation of the worth of Mr. Darwin's labours which he always displays. It would be satisfactory to be able to say as much for M. Flourens. But the Perpetual Secretary of the French Academy of Sciences deals with Mr. Darwin as the first Napoleon would have treated an "ideologue;" and while displaying a painful weakness of logic and shallowness of information, assumes a tone of authority, which always touches upon the ludicrous, and sometimes passes the limits of good breeding. For example (p. 56):-- "M. Darwin continue
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   >>  



Top keywords:

Darwin

 
series
 
analogy
 

production

 
Agamogenesis
 
species
 
extreme
 

primitive

 

Agamogenetic

 

variation


Kolliker
 
Professor
 

occurred

 
violating
 
regret
 

respect

 
scientific
 

eminence

 

careful

 

considerable


suspect

 

saltum

 

greatly

 

Strongly

 

freely

 

ventured

 

disagree

 
saltations
 
information
 

shallowness


assumes

 

authority

 
weakness
 

ideologue

 

displaying

 

painful

 

touches

 

continue

 

breeding

 
ludicrous

passes

 

limits

 

treated

 

Napoleon

 
labours
 

displays

 

appreciation

 

generous

 

subject

 

perfect