LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON. 7 



environments. The author then touched upon blended and 

 alternative inheritance ; fluctuations and mutations ; differences 

 between Artificial and Natural Selection ; and differences in the 

 mode of reproduction of sexual and non-sexual characters. The 

 mode of reproduction of mutation tends to resemble that of 

 sexual characters ; when conjugation occurs there is an appearance 

 of alternative inheritance as regards both sexual characters and 

 mutations, but it is an appearance only. The evidence is plain 

 that there is only alternative reproduction combined with latency 

 of one alternative and patency of the other, and actual blending 

 between the patent character of one individual and the latent 

 character of the other, therefore blending is universal. This 

 tendency owing to the predominance and prepotency of retro- 

 gressive characters tends to cause retrogression on cessation of 

 selection, and this is the function of sex. 



The President having invited discussion, the following speakers 

 took part : — Mr. A. O. Walker, Mr. J. T. Cunningham (visitor), 

 Mr. A. D. Darbishire (visitor), Dr. "W. T. Caiman, Mr. G. P. 

 Mudge (visitor), Prof. Dendy, Sir E. Ray Lankester, and Prof. 

 Poulton, Dr. Archdall Eeid briefly replying. 



January 16th, 1908. 

 Prof. W. A. Herdman, P.R.S., President, in the Chair. 



The Minutes of the General Meeting of the 19th December, 

 1907, were read and confirmed. 



The Eev. Dr. Joseph Barker, Mr. Charles Francis Massy 

 Swynnerton, and Mr. Henry Atkinson were admitted Pellows. 



Miss May Evelina Bainbridge, B.Sc, Mr. Walter Barratt? 

 Mr. Frederick James Chittenden, Mr. Walter Edward Collinge, 

 M.Sc, F.E.S., Mr. Arthur William Hill, M.A. (Cantab.), and 

 Mr. Joseph Hubert Priestley, B.Sc. (Lond.), were elected Fellows. 



Mr. A. P. Young exhibited a series of lantern-slides to show 

 various stages of soil-denudation and forest destruction in the 

 Tyrol. 



The slides from photographs taken in two valleys, one north of 

 the Brenner Pass, the Navistal, near Innsbruck, and one south of 

 the Pass, the Schalderertal, near Brixen, illustrated various limits, 

 commencing near the upper limit of the vine cultivation at about 

 700 m. to the snow limit at about 2800 m. 



Great waste of soil is caused in forest land by the simultaneous 

 felling of trees over single plots of ground, and in the higher 

 levels by the encroachments of grazing animals. One effect of 

 this waste is the recession, not only of the ti'ee line, but also of 

 the limit of continuous forests, which is generally considered as 

 distinct from the tree line. 



Waste of soil in high-level pastures was also attributed to the 



