EDITOR'S PREFACE 



This book is the result of a wish to obtain the judg- 

 ment of leading scientific scholars of the English-speaking 

 world concerning our present knowledge of how living 

 things in Nature come about, — to obtain actual evidence 

 of Nature's method of creation. 



Each of the writers gives an independent record of 

 research in his own particular field, striving to do so in 

 language that all may understand and appreciate. 



AH these scientists of the organic world, though study- 

 ing from many different points of view, find that creation 

 is a gradual process of transformation, or evolution, each 

 condition the outcome of things preceding, according to 

 natural laws. 



Nature shows nothing finished and perfect in the begin- 

 ning; she shows orderly divergence and an advance from 

 lower to higher levels of creation. 



The book does not attempt to explain the origin of 

 life, or to determine the causes that lie behind the changes 

 in living things from age to age. It attempts to show that 

 there are changes and to describe how they come about. 



The revelation of creation by evolution which comes 

 to us through science widens and exalts our outlook on 

 life and our religious faith, and these papers have been 

 assembled in the hope tlmt they may lead to a more 

 general understanding of Nature and Nature's Way. 



To those who have set forth for the reader the hard- 

 won results of their life's research I tender my sincere 

 thanks and deep appreciation. 



Frances Mason. 



[vii] 



