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INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, 

 B. B. Woodward, F.L.S., F.G.S. 



Delivered Sth February, 1907. 



WHAT EVOLUTIONARY PROCESSES DO THE MOLLTJSCA SHOW? 



Ladies and Gentlemen, — 



My first dut}' — and it is also a great pleasure — on succeeding 

 to this presidential chair, is naturally to tender you my sincere thanks 

 for the great honour you have thus conferred upon me in selecting me 

 for the position. When I call to mind the noted naturalists, some, 

 alas ! no longer with us, who have in the past filled the office of 

 president with such ahility and distinction, I feel that, while it is 

 not for me to dispute the wisdom of your choice, a long interval in 

 merit separates him, who now has the honour to address you, from his 

 presidential forhears. Nevertheless, let me assure you that so far as the 

 endeavour to do one's uttermost to advance the best interests of the 

 Society is concerned, no breach of continuity shall be observable. 



As some earnest of this I trust you will accept the fact, that at 

 rather short notice, the mission of addressing you at this Annual 

 Meeting has been taken up by myself. In the natural course of 

 events my predecessor should have given us his swan-song. 



Under these circumstances it seemed best to put before you the 

 results of some recent cogitations on my part as to what evidences 

 exist, if any, of progressive development in the Molluscan phylum. 

 This naturally im|)lies passing in review many well-known points and 

 familiar facts ; but though the beads may be old and the string not 

 altogether new, the rethreading may perhaps prove interesting, and 

 possibly even suggestive, to the members of this Society. 



The extreme plasticity of the Mollusca naturally renders them both 

 peculiarly susceptible and readily responsive to the operation of the 

 two great factors that govern the lives of all animals, namely, the 

 influence on them of their environment, and the necessity laid on one 

 and all of procuring food. The Molluscan mode of life is, in fact, 

 mainly governed by the combined action of these two controlling 

 influences, and in turn becoming itself a potent factor, completes the 

 cycle by reacting on the animal, whicli is thus impelled, so long as 

 similar conditions hold, yet further along a given line of development. 



Owing, however, to the paucity of stable elements to be acted on, 

 continuous progress in any direction has, despite the antiquity of the 

 race, been slow indeed. The total lack of anything like internal 

 framework has militated against any such wonderful progress as 



