Some years ago a cotton-planter in Georgia observed that the
leaves on one of his plants was unlike the usual leaf; it was
divided as if into fingers. So far nature had gone. The planter
added his intelligence. He concluded that such a divided leaf
would let in more sunshine on the cotton; also such a leaf would
not be comfortable for caterpillars. So he searched out one or
two of these peculiar plants, transplanted them to a field by
themselves. As they propagated, he plucked up those with the old
leaf, cultivated those with the new, and now these new cotton
plants, finer than the old, free from caterpillars, are spread
through many regions. That is human selection, based on natural
selection, securing the fruits of evolution. It is just as
applicable to man as to vegetation. A better man may be bred as
well as a better kind of cotton.--MONCURE D. CONWAY,
The Monist.
(2855)
=Selection Justified=--See TRIUMPH BY SELECTION.
=Self-abnegation=--See MODESTY.