Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection: A Series of EssaysMacmillan and Company, 1870 - 384 pages |
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Page 42
... tints may have occurred , yet those races having colours best adapted to concealment from their enemies would inevitably survive the longest . We have also here an acting cause to account for that balance so often observed in nature ...
... tints may have occurred , yet those races having colours best adapted to concealment from their enemies would inevitably survive the longest . We have also here an acting cause to account for that balance so often observed in nature ...
Page 48
... tints well suited for conceal- ment among grass and fern . But when these rabbits are domesticated , without any ... tint of the bark or leaf it is accustomed to rest on , but the form and veining of the leaf or the exact rugosity of the ...
... tints well suited for conceal- ment among grass and fern . But when these rabbits are domesticated , without any ... tint of the bark or leaf it is accustomed to rest on , but the form and veining of the leaf or the exact rugosity of the ...
Page 49
... tints as may best serve to enable it to es- cape from its enemies or to entrap its prey . Desert animals as a rule are desert - coloured . The lion is a typical example of this , and must be almost in- visible when crouched upon the ...
... tints as may best serve to enable it to es- cape from its enemies or to entrap its prey . Desert animals as a rule are desert - coloured . The lion is a typical example of this , and must be almost in- visible when crouched upon the ...
Page 51
... , and must be quite invisible at times when any light colour would be instantly seen . Owls and goatsuckers are of those dark mottled tints that will assimilate with bark and lichen , and thus E 2 RESEMBLANCES AMONG ANIMALS . 51.
... , and must be quite invisible at times when any light colour would be instantly seen . Owls and goatsuckers are of those dark mottled tints that will assimilate with bark and lichen , and thus E 2 RESEMBLANCES AMONG ANIMALS . 51.
Page 52
... tint which has been so far shown to exist between animals and their habitations is of a somewhat general character ; we will now consider the cases of more special adaptation . If the lion is enabled by his sandy colour readily to ...
... tint which has been so far shown to exist between animals and their habitations is of a somewhat general character ; we will now consider the cases of more special adaptation . If the lion is enabled by his sandy colour readily to ...
Other editions - View all
Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection: A Series of Essays ... Alfred Russel Wallace No preview available - 2018 |
Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection: A Series of Essays Alfred Russel Wallace No preview available - 2016 |
Common terms and phrases
abundant action adapted affinity animals antennæ antitypes appear beautiful become beetles birds Borneo brain brilliant build butterflies carnivora caterpillars causes Celebes changes character closely allied species colour concealed consider conspicuous curious Danaidæ Darwin Diphilus distinct earth eggs epoch evidence exactly existence explained extinct facts faculties favourable female birds flowers genera genus geological geological periods groups habits Heliconidæ imitation increase India individuals inhabiting insects instinct islands Java larvæ Lepidoptera less Malayan male mimic mimicry mode modified Moluccas moths natural selection nectary nest never nidification number of species observations occur organic world Origin of Species Ormenus Pammon Papilio Papilio Ulysses Papilionidæ peculiar period phenomena Polydorus possess present probably produced protection race regions remarkable render resemble result savage sexes sexual sexual selection shown structure Sumatra supposed tail theory of natural Theseus tints tion trees tropical variation varied varieties whole wings
Popular passages
Page 361 - Were our minds and senses so expanded, strengthened, and illuminated, as to enable us to see and feel the very molecules of the brain ; were we capable of following all their motions, all their groupings, all their...
Page 325 - ... to capture or overcome both. Though less capable than most other animals of living on the herbs and the fruits that unaided nature supplies, this wonderful faculty taught him to govern and direct nature to his own benefit, and make her produce food for him, when and where he pleased. From...
Page 368 - God of the Granite and the Rose! Soul of the Sparrow and the Bee! The mighty tide of Being flows Through countless channels, Lord, from thee. It leaps to life in grass and flowers, Through every grade of being runs, Till from Creation's radiant towers Its glory flames in stars and suns.
Page 38 - ... to high numbers, the results come nearer to what theory demands, and, as we approach to an infinity of examples, become strictly accurate. Now the scale on which nature works is so vast— the numbers of individuals and...
Page 26 - One of the strongest arguments which have been adduced to prove the original and permanent distinctness of species is, that varieties produced in a state of domesticity are more or less unstable, and often have a tendency, if left to themselves, to return to the normal form of the parent species; and this instability is considered to be a distinctive peculiarity of all varieties, even of those occurring among wild animals in a state of nature, and to constitute a provision for preserving unchanged...
Page 41 - ... but the view here developed renders such an hypothesis quite unnecessary, by showing that similar results must be produced by the action of principles constantly at work in nature.
Page 39 - ... dangers, in procuring shelter from the inclemency of the seasons, and in providing for the subsistence and safety of its offspring. There is no muscle of its body that is not called into daily and hourly activity ; there is no sense or faculty that is not strengthened by continual exercise. The domestic animal, on the other hand, has food provided for it, is sheltered, and often confined, to guard it against the vicissitudes of the seasons, is carefully secured from the attacks of its natural...
Page 343 - ... prepared in advance, only to be fully utilized as he progresses in civilization. A brain slightly larger than that of the gorilla would, according to the evidence before us, fully have sufficed for the limited mental development of the savage ; and we must therefore admit, that the large brain he actually possesses could never have been solely develope.d by any of those laws of evolution, whose essence is, that they lead to a degree of organization exactly proportionate to the wants of each species,...
Page 336 - And assuredly, there is no mark of degradation about any part of its structure. It is, in fact, a fair average human skull, which might have belonged to a philosopher, or might have contained the thoughtless brains of a savage.
Page iv - Far abler men than myself may confess that they have not that untiring patience in accumulating, and that wonderful skill in using, large masses of facts of the most varied kind...