3G0 Professor Flower [May 25, 



^YEEKLY EVENING MEETING, 



Friday, May 25, 1SS3. 



William Six^ttiswoope, Esi^. M.A. D.C.L. Pros. K.S. 

 Viee-President iu the Chair. 



Pkofessok W. H. Flowek, LL.D. F.E.S. P^.S. ttc. 



On Whahs, Past ami Prcscniy and their Probable Orujin. 



Few natural groups presout so many remarkable, yery obyious, and 

 easily appreoiate^i illustnitions of seyeral of the most important 

 general laws which appear to haye determined the structure of animal 

 bodies, as those selected for my lecture this eyening. We shall find 

 the etfects of the two op^x^sing forces — that of heredity or conforma- 

 tion to ancestn^l chanicters, and that of adaptation to changed en- 

 yironment, whether broujiht about by the method of natural selection 

 or otlierwise — distinctly written in almost eyery part of their structure. 

 Scarcely anywhere in the animal kinsjdom do we see so many cases of 

 tiie persistence of rmlimentary and app\rently useless organs, those 

 maryellous and sugirestiye phenomena which at one time seemed 

 hopeless enigmas, causing despair to those who trieii to unrayel their 

 meaning, looked upon as mere will-o'-the-wisps, but now eagerly 

 welcomevl as beacons of true light, cj\sting illuminating beams upon 

 the dark and otherwise impenetrable paths through which the 

 organism has trayelled on its way to reach the goal of its present 

 condition of existence. 



It is eliiefly to these rudimentary organs of the Cetaeea and to 

 what we may learn from them that I propose to call your attention. 

 In each c-ase the question may well be asked, granted that they are, 

 as they appear to be, useless, or nearly so, to their present possessors, 

 insignidcant, imperfect, in fact rudimentarit. as compared with the 

 corresponding or homologous parts of other animals, are they sur- 

 yiyals, remnants of a past condition, become useless owing to change 

 of circumstances and enyironment, and undergoing the process of 

 ^gradual degeneration, preparatory to their final remoyol from an 

 oriranism to which they are only, in howeyer small a desTree, an incum- 

 bronce, or are they incipient structures, beginnings of what may in 

 future become functional and important parts of the economy ? These 

 questions will call for an attempt at least at solution in each case as 

 we proceed. 



Before entering upon details, it will be necessary to giye some 

 general idea of the position, limits;, and principal modifications of the 

 group of animals from which the special illustrations will be drawn. 

 The term ~ whale "^ is commonly but yaguely applied to all the larger 



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