But this simply proves that they were living under a temporarily favourable environment, and that the real struggle for existence, in their case, had not yet taken place.

We must surely admit that, when the pinch came, and when perfectly formed stoats were dying for want of food, the one-footed animal, referred to by Mr.Mivart, would be among the first to succumb; and the same remark will apply to his abnormally toothed hares and rheumatic monkeys, which might, nevertheless, get on very well under favourable conditions.

The struggle for existence, under which all animals and plants have been developed, is intermittent, and exceedingly irregular in its incidence and severity.

It is most severe and fatal to the young; but when an animal has once reached maturity, and especially when it has gained experience by several years of an eventful existence, it may be able to maintain itself under conditions which would be fatal to a young and inexperienced creature of the same species.

The examples adduced by Mr.
Mivart do not, therefore, in any way impugn the hardness of nature as a taskmaster, or the extreme severity of the recurring struggle for existence.