However the
selection takes place, the individual so selected will have an
opportunity to transmit his character, in the higher degree in which he
possesses it, to his descendants. In this way it was supposed by Darwin
that a large proportion of the ornamental characters of living creatures
were produced: the tail of the peacock, the mane of the lion, and even
the gorgeous coloring of many insects and butterflies. In the early
years of Darwinism, the theory of sexual selection was pushed to what
now seems an unjustifiable extent. Experiment has often failed to
demonstrate any sexual selection, in species where speculation supposed
it to exist. And even if sexual selection, conscious or unconscious,
could be demonstrated in the lower animals, yet the small percentage of
unmated individuals indicates that its importance in evolution could not
be very great.[96]
[Illustration: HOW BEAUTY AIDS A GIRL'S CHANCE OF MARRIAGE
FIG. 32.--Graph showing the marriage rate of graduates of a
normal school, correlated with their facial attractiveness as graded by
estimates. The column of figures at the left-hand side shows the
percentage of girls who married. Of the prettiest girls (those graded 80
or over), 70% married.
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