Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- Contents
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
- CHAPTER I WHAT ARE “SPECIES” AND WHAT IS MEANT BY THEIR “ORIGIN”
- CHAPTER II THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE
- CHAPTER III THE VARIABILITY OF SPECIES IN A STATE OF NATURE
- CHAPTER IV VARIATION OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS AND CULTIVATED PLANTS
- CHAPTER V NATURAL SELECTION BY VARIATION AND SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
- CHAPTER VI DIFFICULTIES AND OBJECTIONS
- CHAPTER VII ON THE INFERTILITY OF CROSSES BETWEEN DISTINCT SPECIES AND THE USUAL STERILITY OF THEIR HYBRID OFFSPRING
- CHAPTER VIII THE ORIGIN AND USES OF COLOUR IN ANIMALS
- CHAPTER IX WARNING COLORATION AND MIMICRY
- CHAPTER X COLOURS AND ORNAMENTS CHARACTERISTIC OF SEX
- CHAPTER XI THE SPECIAL COLOURS OF PLANTS: THEIR ORIGIN AND PURPOSE
- CHAPTER XII THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ORGANISMS
- CHAPTER XIII THE GEOLOGICAL EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION
- CHAPTER XIV FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS IN RELATION TO VARIATION AND HEREDITY
- CHAPTER XV DARWINISM APPLIED TO MAN
- INDEX
CHAPTER III - THE VARIABILITY OF SPECIES IN A STATE OF NATURE
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 August 2010
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- Contents
- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
- CHAPTER I WHAT ARE “SPECIES” AND WHAT IS MEANT BY THEIR “ORIGIN”
- CHAPTER II THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE
- CHAPTER III THE VARIABILITY OF SPECIES IN A STATE OF NATURE
- CHAPTER IV VARIATION OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS AND CULTIVATED PLANTS
- CHAPTER V NATURAL SELECTION BY VARIATION AND SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
- CHAPTER VI DIFFICULTIES AND OBJECTIONS
- CHAPTER VII ON THE INFERTILITY OF CROSSES BETWEEN DISTINCT SPECIES AND THE USUAL STERILITY OF THEIR HYBRID OFFSPRING
- CHAPTER VIII THE ORIGIN AND USES OF COLOUR IN ANIMALS
- CHAPTER IX WARNING COLORATION AND MIMICRY
- CHAPTER X COLOURS AND ORNAMENTS CHARACTERISTIC OF SEX
- CHAPTER XI THE SPECIAL COLOURS OF PLANTS: THEIR ORIGIN AND PURPOSE
- CHAPTER XII THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ORGANISMS
- CHAPTER XIII THE GEOLOGICAL EVIDENCES OF EVOLUTION
- CHAPTER XIV FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS IN RELATION TO VARIATION AND HEREDITY
- CHAPTER XV DARWINISM APPLIED TO MAN
- INDEX
Summary
The foundation of the Darwinian theory is the variability of species, and it is quite useless to attempt even to understand that theory, much less to appreciate the completeness of the proof of it, unless we first obtain a clear conception of the nature and extent of this variability. The most frequent and the most misleading of the objections to the efficacy of natural selection arise from ignorance of this subject, an ignorance shared by many naturalists, for it is only since Mr. Darwin has taught us their importance that varieties have been systematically collected and recorded; and even now very few collectors or students bestow upon them the attention they deserve. By the older naturalists, indeed, varieties—especially if numerous, small, and of frequent occurrence—were looked upon as an unmitigated nuisance, because they rendered it almost impossible to give precise definitions of species, then considered the chief end of systematic natural history. Hence it was the custom to describe what was supposed to be the “typical form” of species, and most collectors were satisfied if they possessed this typical form in their cabinets. Now, however, a collection is valued in proportion as it contains illustrative specimens of all the varieties that occur in each species, and in some cases these have been carefully described, so that we possess a considerable mass of information on the subject. Utilising this information we will now endeavour to give some idea of the nature and extent of variation in the species of animals and plants.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- DarwinismAn Exposition of the Theory of Natural Selection, with some of its Applications, pp. 41 - 82Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009