d; the weak perish in the attempt.

Supposing that all the Osmiae possessed the necessary strength of jaw as
well as the instinct for this sideward boring, it is clear that egress
from each cell through a special window would be much more advantageous
than egress through the common door. The Bee could attend to his release
as soon as he was hatched, instead of postponing it until after the
emancipation of those who come before him; he would thus escape long
waits, which too often prove fatal. In point of fact, it is no uncommon
thing to find bramble-stalks in which several Osmiae have died in their
cells, because the upper storeys were not vacated in time. Yes, there
would be a precious advantage in that lateral opening, which would not
leave each occupant at the mercy of his environment: many die that would
not die. All the Osmiae, when compelled by circumstances, resort to this
supreme method; all have the instinct for lateral boring; but very few
are able to carry the work through. Only the favourites of fate succeed,
those more generously endowed with strength and perseverance.

If the famous law of natural selection, which is said to govern and
transform the world, had any sure foundation; if really the fittest
removed the less fit from the scene; if the future were to the
strongest, to the most industrious, surely the race of Osmiae, which
has been perforating bramble-stumps for ages, should by this time have
allowed its weaker members, who go on obstinately using the common
outlet, to die out and should have replaced them, down to the very last
one, by the stalwart drillers of side-openings. There is an opportunity
here for immense progress; the insect is on the verge of it and is
unable to cross the narrow intervening line. Selection has had ample
time to make its choice; and yet, though there be a few successes, the
failures exceed them in very large measure. The race of the strong has
not abolished the race of the weak: it remains inferior in numbers,
as doubtless it has been since all time. The law of natural selection
impresses me with the vastness of its scope; but, whenever I try to
apply it to actual facts, it leaves me whirling in space, with nothing
to help me to interpret realities. It is magnificent in theory, but it
is a mere gas-bubble in the face of existing conditions. It is majestic,
but sterile. Then where is the answer to the riddle of the world? Who
knows? Who will ever know?

Let us waste n