260 NATURAL SCIENCE [October 
affinity of the sponges with Choanoflagellata. The general trend of 
the discussion certainly seemed to favour the newer view. 
On Wednesday morning the problem for discussion was the 
Origin of the Mammalia, opened by Professors Seeley and Osborn, 
and continued by Marsh, Sedgwick, Hubrecht, and Haeckel. The 
main question round which the discussion ranged was whether the 
mammals had descended from the reptiles, instead of from the 
amphibia, as is now generally taught in text-books in accordance 
with Huxley’s teaching. Professor Seeley’s speech was a clear com- 
parison of the osteology of the anomodont reptiles with that of mam- 
mals. He showed that all the supposed mammalian characters are 
also found among the extinct anomodonts, which have completely 
broken down the distinction between reptiles and mammals. Pro- 
fessor Osborn began by deducing the probable characters of the an- 
cestral mammal from certain general considerations. He agreed with 
Seeley as to the origin of mammals from reptiles, but preferred to 
regard the former as descended from a third, as yet undiscovered, 
group of anomodonts, instead of going back to the Devonian or 
Silurian for some common ancestor of mammals and anomodonts. 
Marsh expressed no positive opinion on the main question, but 
insisted on the fact that the reptiles and mammals are still separated 
by four important osteological characters. He adduced strong reasons 
for considering that the resemblances between mammals and reptiles 
adduced by Professor Seeley may be explained as a case of parallel 
adaptation, the same characters having been independently acquired. 
Sedgwick made an effective speech protesting that embryological 
evidence will not help in the solution of such a remote question as 
that under discussion, as it gives no indication of the polydactyle 
stage of the ancestral horse, the toothed stage of birds, or the limbed 
stage of snakes, though the existence of those stages is not doubted 
by any one. Professor Hubrecht did his best to defend embryology 
from this einphatic statement of its limitations, and Haeckel, strangely 
conservative, still upheld the origin of all placental mammals from 
the marsupials. But this view was generally scouted, and the dis- 
cussion seemed to strengthen the case for the reptilian ancestry of 
the mammals. 
The principal feature in the Friday morning’s proceedings was 
Haeckel’s discourse on the Descent of Man. The previous day’s 
discussion anticipated much that he intended to say, so he did not 
read his paper, and until that is printed it is not possible to estimate 
the scientific value of his contribution. His speech was popular, 
and Haeckel received an ovation at its close. 
The afternoon meetings were devoted to papers of more technical 
character and exhibitions in the museum. The papers were of very 
unequal value. A few were advertisements of forthcoming works, 
