274 CARNEGIE INSTITUTION 



United States will probably limit its marine work to what the Fish 

 Commission can do with the Albatross, and, with the exception of 

 some occasional outside work, the Fish Commission is hardly in con- 

 dition to do more than attend to the problems that they have in 

 hand. 



On the termination of the expedition the steamer could do some 

 physical and chemical work into deep water, either off the Atlantic 

 or Pacific coast, in connection with a well equipped chemical labora- 

 tory on shore and finish accurately what can only be done roughly on 

 board ship. 



Yours truly, A. Agassiz. 



BIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT STATION FOR STUDYING 



EVOLUTION 



By RoswKiviw H. Johnson 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Need of Experimental Study of Evolution 274 



Why Such Study ^ as Hardly Begun 275 



Advantages of an Experiment Station 275 



Problems to be Solved 276 



Equipment and Cost 278 



Location and Grounds 279 



Maintenance 279 



Time 279 



Letter of Commendation from Dr. David S. Jordan 280 



Need of Experimental Study of Evolution. 



Our knowledge of the processes of evolution has been greatly re- 

 tarded by lack of experimental investigation. Nearly all of the 

 post-Darwinian writing has been either largely deductive or else 

 upon the variation of individuals at a particular time and place, 

 i. e., static. Evolution, above all other things, requires dynamic 

 studies. Much dispute centers around such observation because of 

 various causes which may have been operative. Experiment alone 

 admits exclusion of possible interfering elements. The various 

 points in dispute are nearly all capable of decisive experimental test- 

 ing ; for instance, selective life values of different variations, inherit- 

 ance of acquired characteristics, environmental alterability of the 

 germ-plasm ; modification preventing death under adverse condi- 



