, ii. 431. "Did He
cause the frame and mental qualities of the dog to vary in order that a
breed might be formed of indomitable ferocity, with jaws fitted to pin
down the bull for man's brutal sport?"
[64] _See_ Wallace, _Quarterly Journ. of Sci._, 1867, pp. 477-8. He
imagined an observer examining a great river system, and finding
everywhere adaptations which reveal the design of the Creator. "He would
see special adaptations to the wants of man in the broad, quiet,
navigable rivers, through fertile alluvial plains, that would support a
large population, while the rocky streams and mountain torrents were
confined to those sterile regions suitable for a small population of
shepherds and herdsmen."
[65] At p. 485 Wallace deals with Fleeming Jenkin's review in the _North
British Review_, 1867. The review strives to show that there are strict
limitations to variation, since the most rigorous and long-continued
selection does not indefinitely increase such a quality as the fleetness
of a racehorse. On this Wallace remarks that the argument "fails to meet
the real question," which is not whether indefinite change is possible,
but "whether such differences as do occur in nature could have been
produced by the accumulation of variations by selection.
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