NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 17 



veloping ear, the plant's own tassel having been cut awaj^ some- 

 time previous. After a short time this set of male flowers was 

 removed, and a panicle of male flowers from a white variety' was 

 introduced to the same bottle in order to alford it the opportunity 

 of operating on the same female flowers. The result was the ear 

 now presented. The base of each grain was of the yellow flint 

 corn, but the upper half of the white variety. 



Those who opposed the facts of evolution by continually cau- 

 tioning its advocates against giving way to "imagination." and 

 " brilliant speculations," he thought might be profitably benefited 

 by their own suggestions. There was comparatively little to sus- 

 tain the idea of reversion, but fancied resemblance and this re- 

 semblance not the result of a comparison of two facts side by 

 side; but a fact on one hand compared with memory, and often 

 the distant and vague memory of another long in the past. At 

 any rate, in these experiments of Mr. Arnold, there was the test 

 applied to guard against any objection of either reversion or 

 evolution, which, though not absolutely perfect, was as near so as 

 the vast mass of human experience was; and the result was he 

 tJiought no escape from the conclusion, not only that there was 

 an immediate influence on the seed and the whole fruit struL-ture 

 by the application of strange pollen; but the still more important 

 fact, hardly before more than sus{)ected, that one ovule could re- 

 ceive and be affected by the pollen of two distinct parents, and 

 this too after some time had elapsed between the first and second 

 impregnation. 



January 28. 



The President, Dr. Ruschenberger, in the chair. 



Twenty-seven members present. 



The following gentlemen were elected members : Charles Sin- 

 nickson, Chas. I. Yorke, Jr., John S. Sinnickson, M.D., Armon 

 D. Trimble, and Howard N. Potts. 



The following standing committees were elected for the year 

 1873: 



Anthropology. Comparative Anatomy. 



J. Aitken Meigs, Harrison Allen, 



Henry S. Schell, J. If. McQuillen, 



J. F. Richardson. Jos. Leid}-, 



Henr}^ C. Chapman. 



