XX PEOCEEDINGS OF THE 



have the smallest possible aptitude for deviating in new directions, 

 which does not seem quite consonant with the general law of un- 

 limited divergence relied on by Darwin and Hooker. But these are 

 minor points, and do not interfere with the great weight we shordd 

 attach to Sir Charles's authority, and the eagerness with which we 

 look for the decision he has come to on this great question. This is 

 not -very easy to ascertain ; but the impression conveyed is, that he 

 is generally convinced of the derivative origin of the present species, 

 although he may leave it an open question whether there may not 

 be exceptions, especially with regard to man. That Professor Huxley 

 has no scruples in accepting the theory without any exception is 

 evident from the perusal of his ' Lectures on our Knowledge of the 

 Causes of the Phenomena of Organic Nature.' 



Dr. J. D, Hooker is well known to have fully adopted Mr. Dar- 

 win's views. His general proficiency in physical sciences, added to 

 great natural powers of observation, enabled him to derive peculiar 

 advantage from the means of investigation afi'orded to him during his 

 expeditions to the southern hemisphere and to the Himalayan re- 

 gions, and to give a right direction to his laborious studies at home. 

 His admirable essay on the Flora of Austraha, bearing much upon 

 the present question, and that on the Arctic Flora written in a great 

 measure in direct reference to it, carry therefore deservedly very great 

 weight, and must be studied by all who apply themselves to it. My 

 most intimate acquaintance with him from his childhood enables me 

 fully to appreciate both his accuracy and his inductive powei's ; and 

 if I do not always agree to all the conclusions he comes to, it is be- 

 cause I think that, like Mr. Darwin himself, his generalizations 

 sometimes go beyond what is strictly justified by the premises, even 

 when the facts rehed upon, which are themselves generalizations, are 

 sujSiciently established. 



M. A. DeCandolle's interesting paper, entitled ' Etude sur I'Espece,' 

 from the Bibliotheque Universelle of Nov. 1862, shows that the 

 study of the characters of a large group of very variable but very 

 conspicuous plants, both recent and fossil, inclines him towards the 

 adoption in a great measure of the hypothesis of a derivative origin. 

 As, however, he does not admit the idea of a physiological species 

 less indefinite in its hmits than, nor even as definite as, those higher 

 groups which I have been accustomed to consider as arbitrary, I can- 

 not well trace out the line of reasoning he must have pursued. 



Mr. H. W. Bates undertook with Mr. Wallace an expedition to the 

 Amazons, of which one of the express objects was to collect facts 

 towards solving the problem of the origin of species," and re- 



