ABSTRACT
Evidence of the fact of evolution can be found in most fields of biological study. But facts which give some indication of the genetic mechanisms involved are much fewer. Most of them fall into one of two classes, which demonstrate two important theses. Firstly, those fossils whose evolution can be followed in a continuous series through some considerable period of time give conclusive evidence that evolutionary change can be by gradual transitions, which, moreover, progress in a single direction. Secondly, there is evidence, perhaps not quite so strong, but nevertheless very cogent, that some evolutionary changes can be by sudden and discontinuous jumps. This has emerged most clearly from studies on the distribution of plants.
