A critical examination of some of the principal arguments for and against Darwinism / by James Maclaren.

  • MacLaren, James
Date:
1876
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A critical examination of some of the principal arguments for and against Darwinism / by James Maclaren. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    suppose that variations liave not occurred among the productions of New Zealand to the same extent as among those of Europe, and thus natural selection has not had so good an opportunity of improving them. This is cer- tainl}^ a strong point in favour of Mr Darwin’s theory, for the number of the species of plants and animals endemic to New Zealand is much less than that of those found in any equal area in Europe, and of course they do afford a less field for the occurrence of variation and natural selection. Still there are some points connected with this subject which require notice. Plants can- not continue to grow with vigour for a length of time in the same ground: agriculturalist^ find this, and change their crops. The same thing occurs in nature: when a forest is destroyed by fire or wind, a different species of tree appears from that which was destroyed. It is uncertain whether this arises from the exhaustion of tliose peculiar qualities of the soil which are essential to the welfare of the particular plant, or whether there is a secretion from the roots of plants which in time makes the soil uncongenial to them. The species
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