After considering many facts in connection with the brains of rabbits, Darwin announced that this most complicated and important organ in an animal is subject to the law of decrease in size from disuse. We have very interesting illustrations of the effects of “use” and “disuse” in causing somatogenetic variations, in the differences between domestic ducks and the wild ones from which they have been undoubtedly derived. The wild duck, which must constantly be on the alert for enemies, and uses its wings so much more extensively and its legs comparatively less than the domestic duck, is a much more intelligent fowl than the stupid, well-protected domestic one. The wings of the wild duck are stronger and its legs shorter than those of the barnyard duck. It has been shown that in the wild duck the brain is nearly twice as heavy in proportion to the body as it is in the comparatively imbecile domestic duck. Many other useful illustrations of disuse, such as the cattle and goats in India, that have dependent ears; also cats in China, and horses in parts of Russia, whose ears are dependent, could be referred to. Use and disuse are included among the factors of environment, because by those terms we mean certain _groups of body-cells that are functionally active or inactive_; for body-cells on any theory of modified pangenesis constitute an exceedingly important environment of the germ-cells. The surrounding conditions (environment) of an animal or plant having the power to cause variations in the living creature by affecting its germ-cells or its body-cells, the _environment_ may be spoken of as _blastogenetic_ and _somatogenetic_. Whether it is a fact or not that somatic variations can induce corresponding variations in the germ-cells, and thus be transmitted by heredity, it is certainly true that all heritages must come through the germ-cells. For this reason, it is clearly seen that so far as evolution is concerned the germ-cells are the factors of fundamental importance in organisms. Therefore, we may repeat that environment is the sum-total of the conditions of life that affect the germ-cells directly or indirectly. ACQUIRED CHARACTERS.