The Power That Preserves | My Web Site Page 316 Chapter 01 Page 06

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The Saas chronicler, indeed, avers that the chapels were not built till 1709--a statement apparently corroborated by a date now visible on one chapel; but we must remember that the chronicler did not write until a century or so later than 1709, and though, indeed, his statement may have been taken from the lost earlier manuscript of 1738, we know nothing about this either one way or the other. The writer may have gone by the still existing 1709 on the Ascension chapel, whereas this date may in fact have referred to a restoration, and not to an original construction. There is nothing, as I have said, in the choice of the chapel on which the date appears, to suggest that it was intended to govern the others. I have explained that the work is isolated and exotic. It is by one in whom Flemish and Italian influences are alike equally predominant; by one who was saturated with Tabachetti's Varallo work, and who can improve upon it, but over whom the other Varallo sculptors have no power. The style of the work is of the sixteenth and not of the eighteenth century--with a few obvious exceptions that suit the year 1709 exceedingly well. Against such considerations as these, a statement made at the beginning of this century referring to a century earlier, and a promiscuous date upon one chapel, can carry but little weight. I shall assume, therefore, henceforward, that we have here groups designed in a plastic material by Tabachetti, and reproduced in wood by the best local wood-sculptor available, with the exception of a few figures cut by the artist himself.

Thus we have here the origin of a new character, arising from small beginnings, at least in _S. tiliae_, in which species the coloured stripes are a normal specific character. In the other species, _S. populi_ and _S. ocellata_, we find the beginnings of the same variation, in one more rarely than in the other, and we can imagine that, in the course of time, in these two species, coloured lines over the oblique stripes will arise. In any case these spots are the elements of variation, out of which coloured lines _may_ be evolved, if they are combined in this direction through the agency of natural selection. In _S. populi_ the spots are often small, but sometimes it seems as though several had united to form large spots. Whether a process of selection in this direction will arise in _S. populi_ and _S. ocellata_, or whether it is now going on cannot be determined, since we cannot tell in advance what biological value the marking might have for these two species. It is conceivable that the spots may have no selection-value as far as these species are concerned, and may therefore disappear again in the course of phylogeny, or, on the other hand, that they may be changed in another direction, for instance towards imitation of the rust-red fungoid patches on poplar and willow leaves. In any case we may regard the smallest spots as the initial stages of variation, the larger as a cumulative summation of these. Therefore either these initial stages must already possess selection-value, or, as I said before: _There must be some other reason for their cumulative summation_. I should like to give one more example, in which we can infer, though we cannot directly observe, the initial stages.

When the assays are finished, it is the duty of the assistant to clean the apparatus (with reagents, if necessary), and to put the vessels in the place set apart for them. Flasks are best kept inverted on a rack, so that they may be dry and clean by the next morning. Berlin crucibles must be cleaned and ignited. The amount of apparatus employed should be as little as is feasible. The assay should be carried out as much as possible in the same flask. The bench must be clean, and altogether free from apparatus not in actual use. Crucibles and dishes in which weighings are made should be marked with numbers or letters; and their weights recorded, together with the date of weighing, in a small ledger, which is kept in the drawer of the balance. By this means a record of the "wear" of each piece of apparatus is obtained, and, what is more important, much weighing is saved, and increased confidence is gained. The weight of each piece of apparatus need not be taken daily. It will be seen from the record in the book and a knowledge of the use it has been put to how often a checking of the weight is necessary. The entries are made in black lead as follows:--

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