2 SCIENCE PROGRESS: 
by Professor Weismann in favour of the non-transmission 
of acquired characters. The deep significance of the 
passages in question had been observed by Dr. Maurice 
Davis, J.P., who brought them under the notice of his son- 
in-law, Professor Meldola. 
In response to Professor Meldola’s invitation to prepare 
an account of this most interesting contribution to the 
history of evolution, I read the work carefully and soon 
found that other important ideas are anticipated in it. 
Thus, Prichard apprehended with perfect clearness that 
domesticated races of animals and plants have been pro- 
duced by the selection of man and not by favourable sur- 
roundings, careful training or cultivation. He believed 
in the possibility of organic evolution and supported it by 
excellent arguments which still have the strongest weight 
to-day. He even recognised the operation of natural 
selection although he assigned to it a subordinate 7dd.. 
The most important anticipation is, however, the masterly 
discussion on the transmission of acquired characters, 
a discussion in which the distinction between acquired 
and inherent or congenital characters is clearly drawn, and 
many of the most difficult cases are fully argued out, the 
conclusions reached being those independently arrived at 
by Professor Weismann over half a century later. 
It is very remarkable that all this should have passed, 
as I believe, unnoticed. The neglect can only be explained 
by supposing that this particular edition was never consulted, 
but that Darwin and others always went to later editions of 
the same work. I shall be able to show that Prichard was 
not very confident in the strength of his own conclusions 
and, so far as I have consulted his later editions and works, 
I find reason for the belief that his convictions weakened still 
further. Indeed strong indications of uncertainty are to 
be found in the second edition itself, although they are con- 
fined to the later sections, and do not appear in close 
proximity to the important conclusions which they never- 
theless affect. 
It is certain that if Darwin had read this second edition 
he would have given Prichard a high place in the account 
