INTRODUCTION 



THE death of the eminent botanist ROBERT BROWN on the 

 10th June, 1858, deprived the Linnean Society of a Vice- 

 President and Councillor. Out of respect to its former 

 President the subsequent meeting on the 17th June separated 

 after formal business only had been transacted. 



The vacancy thus caused had, by the Bye-Laws then in 

 force, to be filled up within three calendar months, and the 

 Council decided to call a Special General Meeting for this 

 purpose, on the 1st July, 1858, rather than to bring the 

 Fellows together again in September. The papers which 

 had been set for being read on the 17th June, but abandoned, 

 were again placed on the agenda. 



As narrated by Sir Joseph Hooker on pp. 1216 of the 

 succeeding account of the Celebration, opportunity was 

 taken to bring forward the papers by Mr. DARWIN and 

 Dr. WALLACE, which are here reprinted from the Journal of 

 the Society, thus introducing these novel views, in advance 

 of the ' Origin of Species.' 



The first indication of public interest in the fiftieth 

 anniversary of the reading of the Darwin- Wallace papers, 



