414 THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 



The annual meeting of the British Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science was held last September at Glasgow, and 

 has certainly not fallen short of any of its predecessors in the in- 

 teresting character of the addresses and papers read. The Presi- 

 dent, Professor Andrews, of Belfast, gave an inaugiu-al address of 

 great length, full of sound and comprehensive views, with special 

 reference to the subject of scientific education. The presidents of 

 the various sections also delivered addresses, and to one of these 

 — that of Alfred Russell Wallace, President of the Biological S c- 

 tion — I am desirous of calling special attention. His address deals 

 at great length, and in a most iuteresting and instructive way, 

 with three subjects — 1st. The influence of locality, or of some 

 unknown local causes in determining the coloui's of insects, and, 

 to a less extent, of birds ; 2nd. The way in which certain pecu- 

 liarities in the distribution of plants may have been brought 

 about by their dependence on insects ; 3rd. The present state of 

 our knowledge as to the antiquity and early history of mankind. 

 Upon this last subject Mr. Wallace makes some admissions which, 

 coming from a man who has always been in the van of the Evolu- 

 tion movement, are rather remarkable. 



After pointing out that no evidence has ever been found of an 

 approximation in the skull of man to that of the ape tribe, and 

 that the oldest known crania — those from the Engis and Cro- 

 magnon caves — show no marks of degradation, but are fair 

 average human skulls, he says : — " The conclusion which I 

 think we must arrive at is that, if man has been developed from a 

 common ancestor with all existing apes, and by no other agencies 

 but such as have affected their development, then he must have 

 existed in something approaching his present form during the 

 tertiary period — and not merely existed, but predominated in 

 numbers wherever suitable conditions prevailed. If, then, con- 

 tinued researches in all j)arts of Europe and Asia fail to bring to 

 light any proofs of his presence, it will be at least a presumption 

 that he came into existence at a much later date, and by a much 



