understood I quote instances of such variation from Professor Huxley: Reaumur, a famous French naturalist, in an essay on variation, relates a remarkable case of spontaneous variation which came under his observation in the person of a Maltese, of the name of Gratio Kelleia, who was born with six fingers upon each hand, and the like number of toes upon each of his feet. His parents, of course, were ordinary five-fingered persons. This was a case then of "spontaneous generation;" and subsequent circumstances in connection with this case prove there is a tendency in nature to perpetuate these variations. Gratio Kelleia married, when he was twenty-two years of age, an ordinary five-fingered lady. The result of that marriage was four children. The first, Salvator, had six fingers and six toes, like the father; the second, George, had five fingers and toes; but one of them was deformed, showing a tendency to variation; the third, Andre, had five fingers and five toes perfect; the fourth, a girl, Marie, had five fingers and five toes, but her thumbs were deformed, showing a tendency towards the sixth. These children grew up and when they came to adult years married, and of course it happened that they all married five-fingered and five-toed persons. Now let us see what happened. Salvator had four children, they were two boys, a girl and another boy: the first two boys and the girl were six-fingered and six-toed, like their grandfather; the fourth child had only five fingers and five toes. George had four children. There were two girls with six fingers and six toes; there was one girl with six fingers and five toes on the right side, and five fingers and five toes on the other; the fourth, a boy, had five fingers and five toes. The third son of Gratio Kelleia, Andre, it will be remembered, was perfectly well formed, and he had many children whose hands and feet were regularly developed. Marie, the last, whose thumbs were deformed, married a man with five fingers and toes: they had four children; the first was born with six toes, but the other children were normal.