The President's Address. Bij H. C. Sorby, FM.S., &c. 121 



gemmule theory could scarcely have been maintained, since the 

 possible number of gemmules that could have been present in the 

 germinal vesicle or spermatozoa would not have been adequate to 

 explain the various facts of inheritance. 



Conclusion. 



As I have pointed out in the course of my remarks, there is 

 still unfortunately very much doubt respecting many most im- 

 portant questions connected with this subject, and therefore my 

 conclusions can be looked upon only as a first attempt to apply 

 a physical kind of argument to various biological speculations. 

 Even if our present knowledge is inadequate to make this attempt 

 satisfactory, I trust that what I have said will be sufiicient to 

 show the need of a more complete study of the various questions 

 to wliich I have directed attention. I hope myself to study them 

 much more fully as soon as circumstances will permit. Such an 

 inquiry at all events serves to show how very little is yet known 

 respecting some of the most important facts connected with the 

 phenomena of life, and perhaps there is no more fruitful source of 

 knowledge than to see and feel how little is accurately known, and 

 how much remains to be learned. 



K 2 



