526 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1926 
subsequent mortality of the germ cells. If it be granted that, in the 
course of evolution, changes in the constitution of the chromosomes 
occur, or else in the rearrangement of their elements, as we now have 
demonstrable evidence may occur, there is no difficulty in understand- 
ing why the hybrid is sometimes infertile. On the other hand, the 
origin of such a type from its supposed parent type does present the 
same difficulties as those met with in the case of infertility. It may 
be pointed out that this same difficulty arises whatever point of view 
of evolution is held; it is no greater for the mutation theory than 
for that of natural selection or of Lamarckianism.” # 
“When in 1900 Mendel’s paper (1865) was brought to light and 
confirmed by the results of de Vries, Correns, and Tschermak, Bateson 
at once realized its importance. He was at the time himself engaged 
in a study of the inheritance of discontinuous variation and had 
become familiar with evidence that falls into line with Mendel’s 
interpretation.. He republished (1902) the English translation of 
Mendel’s paper that had been prepared by the Journal of the Royal 
Horticultural Society (1900), and emphasized its far-reaching ap- 
plication. In collaboration with Miss Saunders, Bateson sent in 
his first report of the work to the evolution committee of the Royal 
Society (December 17, 1901), which was published in 1902. In 
this report experiments of Miss Saunders with plants (Lychnis, 
Datura, and Matthiola) and Bateson’s with poultry furnished an 
admirable verification of ‘Mendel’s Law’ and served as a suflicient 
reply in themselves to an inadequate and prejudiced critique of 
Mendel’s results that had appeared in Biometrica. As I have said, 
in the first edition of the ‘ Principles’ in 1902, Bateson took up the 
cudgels in defense of Mendel’s work. His vigorous onslaught (based 
on direct familiarity with the facts in the case) on Weldon’s mis- 
leading review of Mendel’s work made it impossible that the im- 
portance of the new discovery should be overlooked or disregarded. 
‘The study of variation and heredity must be built on statistical 
data, as Mendel knew long ago; but as he also perceived, the ground 
must be prepared by specific experiment. The phenomena of hered- 
ity and variation are specific and give loose and deceptive answers 
to any but specific questions. That is where our exact science will 
begin.’ ‘In our sparse and apathetic community error mostly grows 
unheeded, choking truth. That fate must not befall Mendel now.’ 
“ Between the years 1902 and 1909 further reports to the evolution 
committee were made by Bateson and his collaborators. <A large 
amount of exact information concerning heredity over a wide range 
of animals and plants appears in these reports. They have also a 
special interest to students of genetics. Each stage in the progress 
«Proceedings of the Linnean Society. 
