Given below are two statements.

Statement I : Hugo de Vries believed in the theory of spontaneous generation.

Statement II : He believed in the concept of mutations, which are large differences arising suddenly in a population.

In light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below.

Statement I is incorrect but statement II is correct. 

Statement I: "Hugo de Vries believed in the theory of spontaneous generation."
Explanation: This statement is incorrect. Spontaneous generation was believed by early Greeks. Hugo de Vries was actually a proponent of mutation theory, which posited that variations in organisms occurred through sudden, large changes called mutations, rather than through gradual and continuous processes like spontaneous generation.

Statement II: "He believed in the concept of mutations, which are large differences arising suddenly in a population."
Explanation: This statement is correct. Hugo de Vries did indeed believe in the concept of mutations, which he proposed as the driving force behind evolutionary change. He argued that mutations were responsible for the sudden appearance of new traits in populations.