the post about prevailing attitudes of the time is correct.

I'm not sure exactly what the quoted stmt. above was meant to convey by Darwin. It may have been a difference in civilization only, but most historians have thought it was meant as a racist stmt., respecting innate abilities. Remember, while Darwin was alive, no one knew anything about genetics -- they just knew there was something, somewhere that caused certain characteristics to be passed down from parents to progeny in humans and other animals, as well as plants.

Even Mendel's work was lost to history until after 1900 (he published in a very obscure journal - Rumanian, I think).

interestingly, Darwin seemed to break out of any such racism towards the end of his life.