British Association, 399 



posed by Mr. Darwin may assist us in distinguishing varieties from 

 species. 



Prof. Huxley, having been called on by the Chairman, depre- 

 cated any discussion on the general question of the truth of Mr. 

 Darwin's theory. He felt that a general audience, in which sen- 

 timent would unduly interfere with intellect, was not the public 

 before which such a discussion should be carried on. Dr. Dau- 

 beny had brought forth nothing new to demand or require re- 

 marrk. — Mr. R. Dowden, of Cork, mentioned, first, two instances 

 in which plants had been disseminated by seeds, which could not 

 be effected by buds ; first, in the introduction of Senecio squalida, 

 by the late Rev. AV. Hincks ; and, second, in the diffusion of chi- 

 cory, ill the vicinity of Cork, by the agency of its winged seeds. 

 He related several anecdotes of a monkey, to show that however 

 highly organized the Quadrumana might be, they were very infe- 

 rior in intellectual qualities to the dog, the elephant and other 

 animals. He particularly referred to his monkey being fond of 

 playing with a hammer; but although he liked oysters as food, 

 he never could teach him to break the 03'sters with his hammer 

 as a means of indulging his appetite. — Dr. Wright stated that a 

 friend of his, who had gone out to report on the habits of the 

 gorilla — the highest form of monkey — had observed that the fe- 

 male gorilla took its young to the sea-shore for the purpose of 

 feeding them on oysters, which they broke with great facility. — 

 Prof. Owen wished to approach this subject in the spirit of the 

 philosopher, and expressed his conviction that there were facts by 

 which the public could come to some conclusion with regard to 

 the probabilities of the truth of Mr. Darwin's theory. Whilst 

 giving all praise to Mr. Darwin for the courage with which he 

 had put forth his theory, he felt it must be teste! by facts. As a 

 contribution to the facts by which the theory must be tested, he 

 would refer to the structure of the highest Quadrumana as com- 

 pared with man. Taking the brain of the gorilla, it presented 

 more differences, as compared with the brain of man, than it did 

 when compared with the brains of the very lowest and most pro- 

 blematical form of the Quadrumana. The deficiencies in cerebral 

 structure between the gorilla and man were immense. The pos- 

 terior lobes of the cerebrum in man presented parts which were 

 whoUv absent in the p'orilla. The same remarkable differences of 

 structure were seen in other parts of the body ; yet he would es- 

 pecially refer to the structure of the great toe in man, which was 



