" (p. 297) When it
is remembered that his theory is, that slight variations occurring in an
individual advantageous to it (not to its associates), in the struggle
for life, is perpetuated by inheritance, it is no wonder that the case
of sterile ants gave him so much trouble. Accidental sterility is not
favorable to the individual, and its being made permanent by
inheritance, is out of the question, for the sterile have no
descendants. Yet these sterile females are not degenerations, they are
in general larger and more robust than their associates.
We have thus seen that, according to Mr. Darwin, all the infinite
variety of structure in plants and animals is due to the law of natural
selection. "On the principle of natural selection with divergence of
character," he says, "it does not seem incredible that, from some such
low and intermediate form, both animals and plants have been developed,
and if we admit this, we must likewise admit that all the organized
beings which have ever lived on this earth may be descended from some
one primordial form." (p. 573) We have seen also that he does not
confine his theory to organic structure, but applies it to all the
instincts and all the forms of intelligence manifested by irrational
creatures. Nor does he stop there; he includes man within the sweep of
the same law. "In the distant future I see open fields for far more
important researches.
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