Proceedings, xxxv 



by the unity of type which runs through allied forms however 

 diflferent in external form ; thus the whale and the giraffe possess 

 the same number of cervical vertebrae in spite of the different 

 length of their necks ; also by the existence of rudimentary 

 organs, derived from ancestors in whom they were of functional 

 importance. Examples are the rudimentary concealed hind 

 limbs of the whale and the python, the teeth of foetal whales, 

 and the eyes of blind fish. Examples of such organs in man are 

 the fold of skin at the inner angle of the eye, which represents 

 the membrana nictitans or third eyelid of lower animals ; the 

 muscles of the external ear and scalp, which in only a few 

 persons are under voluntary control ; the coccyx, or bony rudi- 

 ment of the tail, more prominent in the foetus ; and the appendix 

 vermiformis cceci, which in the lower mammalia performs the 

 function of a supplementary digestion. The hair on the human 

 body sloped downward as in the anthropoid apes, doubtless in 

 order to throw off the rain ; and in the human foatus hair was 

 more general over the surface of the body. New-born infants 

 possessed a remarkable prehensile power in the arms, and the 

 soles of their feet faced inwards, the great toe projecting at an 

 angle from the others, presenting an approach to the hinder 

 limbs of apes. 



3.^ — Embryological study showed that the history of develop- 

 ment of the individual recapitulated that of the species. Thus 

 the tadpole of a frog passed from the egg through forms resembling 

 a fish, and a tailed water breathing amphibian 'to the tailless air 

 breathing adult frog. The germ cells are similar in all classes 

 of animals, but their development proceeds to different lengths in 

 different species. The progress is from the more general to the 

 more special ; different forms in their development proceeding 

 for a greater or less distance along a common path, and then 

 branching off. 



4. — Palaeontology also shows a gradually ascending scale of 

 life in the fossils preserved in the rocks, though the geological 

 record is very imperfect, and there are many missing links, 

 which, however, are gradually being supplied. 



The meetings of May 10th and December 19th were open 

 ones, ladies as well as gentlemen being invited to attend. 



The monthly conversational meetings have not been well 

 attended. During the past year the day on which the ordinary 

 meetings of the Club are held has been altered from the second 

 Wednesday to the third Tuesday in each month. It having been 

 represented to the Committee that many members were prevented 

 from attending the meetings of the Club, by their clashing with 

 the meetings of several learned societies and other engagements 



