The Evolutionist at Large

The Evolutionist at Large By Grant Allen Mr. Allen finds illustrations of the theory of evolution in common things of every-day occurrence. 'Sitting on this little rounded boss of gneiss beside the path which cuts obliquely through the meadow, I am e ... Read more

The Evolutionist at Large By Grant Allen Mr. Allen finds illustrations of the theory of evolution in common things of every-day occurrence. 'Sitting on this little rounded boss of gneiss beside the path which cuts obliquely through the meadow, I am engaged in watching a brigade of ants out on foraging duty, and intent on securing for the nest three whole segments of a deceased earthworm. They look for all the world like those busy companies one sees in the Egyptian wall-paintings, dragging home a huge granite colossus by sheer force of bone and sinew. Every muscle in their tiny bodies is strained to the utmost as they prise themselves laboriously against the great boulders which strew the path, and which are known to our Brobdingnagian intelligence as grains of sand. Besides the workers themselves, a whole battalion of stragglers runs to and fro upon the broad line which leads to the head-quarters of the community. The province of these stragglers, who seem so busy doing nothing, probably consists in keeping communications open, and encouraging the sturdy pullers by occasional relays of fresh workmen.  Less