18th AND 19th century scientists Pt 12

1898 TO 1949
Bumpus’ Sparrows (1898). Herman Bumpus was a
34 The Evolution Cruncher
zoologist at Brown University. During the winter of 1898,
by accident he carried out one of the only field experiments
in natural selection. One cold morning, finding
136 stunned house sparrows on the ground, he tried to nurse
them back to health. Of the total, 72 revived and 64 died.
He weighed and carefully measured all of them, and found
that those closest to the average survived best.

This frequently quoted research study is another evidence that the
animal or plant closest to the original species is the most
hardy. Sub-species variations will not be as hardy, and
evolution entirely across species (if the DNA code would
permit it) would therefore be too weakened to survive
(*R. Milner, Encyclopedia of Evolution, 1990, p. 61).
*Hugo deVries (1848-1935) was a Dutch botanist and
one of the three men who, in 1900, rediscovered Mendel’s
paper on the law of heredity.

One day while working with primroses, deVries
thought he had discovered a new species. This made
headlines. He actually had found a new variety (sub-species)
of the primrose, but deVries conjectured that perhaps
his “new species” had suddenly sprung into existence
as a “mutation.” He theorized that new species
“saltated” (leaped), that is, continually spring into existence.
His idea is called the saltation theory.

This was a new idea; and, during the first half of the
20th century, many evolutionary biologists, finding absolutely
no evidence supporting “natural selection,”
switched from natural selection (“Darwinism”) to mutations
(“neo-Darwinism”) as the mechanism by which
the theorized cross-species changes occurred.
Later in this book, we will discover that mutations cannot
produce evolution either, for they are always harmful.
In addition, decades of experimentation have revealed they
never produce new species.

In order to prove the mutation theory, deVries and other
researchers immediately began experimentation on fruit
flies; and it has continued ever since—but totally without
success in producing new species.
Brief History of Evolutionary Theory 35
Ironically, deVries’ saltation theory was based on
an observational error. In 1914 *Edward Jeffries discovered
that deVries’ primrose was just a new variety, not
a new species.

Decades later, it was discovered that most plant varieties
are produced by variations in gene factors, rarely by
mutations. Those caused by gene variations may be strong
(although not as strong as the average original), but those
varieties produced by mutations are always weak and
have a poor survival rate. See chapter 10, Mutations, for
much, much more on the mutation problem.
*Walter S. Sutton and *T. Boveri (1902)
http://www.bible-tube.com/creatures-that-defy-evolution-1.php
http://www.bible-tube.com/hovind-2-garden-of-eden-more.php
http://www.bible-tube.com/hovind-2-garden-of-eden-more.php