260 NATURAL SCIENCE [October 



affinity of the sponges with Choanoflagellata. The general trend of 

 the discussion certainly seemed to favour the newer view. 



On Wednesday morning the problem for discussion was the 

 Origin of the Mammalia, opened by Professors Seeley and Osborn, 

 and continued by Marsh, Sedgwick, Hubrecht, and Haeckel. The 

 main question round which the discussion ranged was whether the 

 mammals had descended from the reptiles, instead of from the 

 amphibia, as is now generally taught in text-books in accordance 

 with Huxley's teaching. Professor Seeley's speech was a clear com- 

 parison of the osteology of the anomodont reptiles with that of mam- 

 mals. He showed that all the supposed mammalian characters are 

 also found among the extinct anomodonts, which have completely 

 broken down the distinction between reptiles and mammals. Pro- 

 fessor Osborn began by deducing the probable characters of the an- 

 cestral mammal from certain general considerations. He agreed with 

 Seeley as to the origin of mammals from reptiles, but preferred to 

 regard the former as descended from a third, as yet undiscovered, 

 group of anomodonts, instead of going back to the Devonian or 

 Silurian for some common ancestor of mammals and anomodonts. 

 Marsh expressed no positive opinion on the main question, but 

 insisted on the fact that the reptiles and mammals are still separated 

 by four important osteological characters. He adduced strong reasons 

 for considering that the resemblances between mammals and reptiles 

 adduced by Professor Seeley may be explained as a case of parallel 

 adaptation, the same characters having been independently acquired. 

 Sedgwick made an effective speech protesting that embryological 

 evidence will not help in the solution of such a remote question as 

 that under discussion, as it gives no indication of the polydactyle 

 stage of the ancestral horse, the toothed stage of birds, or the limbed 

 stage of snakes, though the existence of those stages is not doubted 

 by any one. Professor Hubrecht did his best to defend embryology 

 from this emphatic statement of its limitations, and Haeckel, strangely 

 conservative, still upheld the origin of all placental mammals from 

 the marsupials. But this view was generally scouted, and the dis- 

 cussion seemed to strengthen the case for the reptilian ancestry of 

 the mammals. 



The principal feature in the Friday morning's proceedings was 

 Haeckel's discourse on the Descent of Man. The previous day's 

 discussion anticipated much that he intended to say, so he did not 

 read his paper, and until that is printed it is not possible to estimate 

 the scientific value of his contribution. His speech was popular, 

 and Haeckel received an ovation at its close. 



The afternoon meetings were devoted to papers of more technical 

 character and exhibitions in the museum. The papers were of very 

 unequal value. A few were advertisements of forthcoming works, 



