124 NATURAL INHERITANCE. [CHAP.
accommodation. Evolution may produce an altogether new type of vessel that shall be more efficient than the old one, but when a particular type of vessel has become adapted to its functions through long experience it is not possible to produce a mere variety of its type that shall
have increased efficiency in some one particular without detriment to the rest. So it is with animals.
Variability in Fraternities.-Human Fraternities are far too small to admit of their Q being satisfactorily measured by the direct method. We are obliged to have recourse to indirect methods, of which no less than four are available. I shall apply each of them to both the Special and to the R.F.F. data ; this will give 8 separate estimates of its value, which in the meantime will be called b. The four methods are as follow
First method ; by Fraternities each containing the same number of persons:-Let me begin by saying that I had already found in the large Fraternities of Sweet Peas, that the sizes of individuals of whom they consisted were normally distributed, and that their Q was independent of the size, or of the Stature as we may phrase it, of the Mid-Fraternity. We have also seen that the Q is practically the same in all Co-fraternities of men. Therefore it is reasonable to expect that it will also be found to be the same in all their Fraternities, though owing to their small size we cannot assure ourselves of the fact by direct evidence. We will assume this to be the case for the present ; it will be seen that the results justify the assumption.
