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supposed to have been created independently, have 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869
possess 1872

the species of the genus have 1859 1860 1861 1866 1869
possessed 1872

On the ordinary view of each species having been independently created, why should
the
the
specific
charac- ters,
characters,
or those by which the species of the same genus differ from each other, be more variable than
the
the
generic characters in which they all agree? Why, for instance, should the colour of a flower be more likely to vary in any one species of a genus, if the other
species
species,
supposed to have been created independently, have differently coloured flowers, than if all the species of the genus have the same coloured flowers? If species are only well-marked varieties, of which the characters have become in a high degree permanent, we can understand this fact; for they have already varied since they branched off from a common progenitor in certain characters, by which they have come to be specifically distinct from each other;
and
....
therefore these same characters would be more likely
still
again
to
be variable
vary
than the generic characters which have been inherited without change for an
immense
enormous
period. It is inexplicable on the theory of creation why a part developed in a very unusual manner in
any
any
one species
alone of
of
a genus, and therefore, as we may naturally infer, of great importance to
the
that
species, should be eminently liable to variation; but, on
my
our
view, this part has
undergone,
undergone
since the several species branched off from a common progenitor, an unusual amount of variability and modification, and therefore we might expect
this
the
part generally to be still variable. But a part may be developed in the most unusual manner, like the wing of a bat, and yet not be more variable than any other structure, if the part be common to many subordinate forms, that is, if it has been inherited for a very long period; for in this case it will have been rendered constant by long-continued natural selection.
Glancing at instincts, marvellous as some are, they