famih'. He has twice croi=ksed the Atlan- 

 tic, and survived the extremes of heat and 

 cold during exhibition. This bird is bow 

 on view at the London Zoological Gar- 

 dens. This ring-dove hybrid was m.ate.d 

 tT a blue homer when six months old, 

 but it was not until 1902 that any eggs 

 were fertile. During last year I bred 

 three handsome birds from this cros/.? — 

 one proved to be a hen. The note of the 

 ring-dove hybrids'^young is unlike that of 

 any known species, though its geotures 

 when paying court to its mate res^emble 

 the Eri*^ish wild dove. Before leaving 

 England the female bird had already 

 laid her second clutch of eggs. In 18^ I 

 reared a healthy hybrid from the wi!d 

 male stock dove and the wild wood pigeon. 

 In hybridising the African turtle, I mated 

 the female wild bird to a crossbred 

 almond tumbler. Their offspring were 

 ferixie inter se. The collared dove rear- 

 ed healthy offspring with the magpie 

 pigeon, and the blue rock produced fer- 

 tile young with the wild stock dove hen. 

 His Excellency said Mr. Podmore had 

 Is id very carefully before theim, in a 

 scieoitiiic — and, he would like to add, 

 modest — manner the results of very im- 

 portant experiments that he had carried 

 out with the view of proving the ultimate 

 tendency of the Darwdnian theory. Mr. 

 Podmore had also given them an insight 

 into the very broad problems that under- 

 laid the consequences of those experiments 

 if they were proved, and wiiile frankly 

 accepting Mr, Podmore's purely scientific 

 attack upon what he aptly designated the 

 ""creative system, '^ he thought there were 

 eome considerations which should be laid 

 "before the Society in defence of that crea- 

 tive system. Mr. Podmore had pointed 

 out that if there was no such a thing as 

 species, and if every type was a vague 

 transition from one variety to another, 

 then, of course, the descent was very 

 eimiJle between the vague cell of pro- 

 toplasm and the modern development of 

 the genus homo. Mr. Podmore, however, 

 himself gave them strong openings 

 against his own reeearches, by indicating 

 doubts whether the experiments he him- 

 eelf had carried out were, in fact, between 

 speciee, or merely between- varieties. If 

 the experiments Mr. Podmore had carried 

 cut were merely as between varieties, his 

 theory fell to the ground by the hypothe- 

 sis upon which it was built. It was well 

 known that among the lower fonns of life 

 crosses had been obtained, not merely be- 

 tween what were recognised as species, 

 but even between different genera, especi- 

 ally as between the winged insects and 

 the lower forms of life to be foiind in 

 water. So there was nothing very new in 

 the class of facte proved Ijy Mr. Pod- 

 more's experiments, exceDting that he 

 had worked & stage higher, above the 



region of botany and that of the lower 

 animals, i.e., among birds. There, however, 

 he was still tar below the regKjn or ciosses 

 among the higher animals. Where pre- 

 vious crosscts had been obtained, they had 

 ceased to be fertile after a few genera- 

 tions. Mr. Podmore was yet unable to be' I 

 them the retsult of hie varieties after a 

 certain numVjer of generations. In con- 

 clusion, it seemed to him (the speaker) 

 that all these experiments which Mr. Pod- 

 more had 60 ably, scientifically, and dis- 

 intereetedly carried out, analj-sed in the 

 manner in whic^h men of eminent genius 

 and ecientific research, like Darwin, had 

 already speculated for hundred® and thou- 

 sands of yeans — still left us just exactly 

 where we were 2,000 years ago. They had 

 all failed, notwithstanding all re- 

 searches so far, to put even the thin end 

 of the wedge into the creative system as 

 we had been brought ud to believe it. He 

 ventured nevertheless to thank Mr. Pod- 

 more for the additional proofs he had 

 offered, as they showed, if anything, the 

 weakness of the attack upon the strength 

 of an impregnable fortre&s. 



Mr. Podmore disclaimed any in- 

 tention of attacking the creative 

 system, and thought he had clearly ex- 

 plained that; he must have been mis- 

 understood. His work tended in no way 

 to upset the creative system ; but every- 

 bcdy who had studied zoology understood 

 the muddle and confusion of classifica- 

 tions, and what was attempted was to try 

 8.nd prove what was especially fixed 

 variety, so that there might be uniformity 

 throughout the scientific world, and 

 muddle cease. The great thing was to try 

 to find truths recognising that, in doing 

 SO; there was a power above us "Who would 

 reward us with new light. (Applause.) 



Mr. R. M. Johnston and Mr. A. O. 

 Green warmly commended Mr. Pod- 

 more's paper and his work. 



Army Signalling. 

 Major r. T. Hayter, R.A.A., D.A.A.Q.. 



gave an exceedingly interesting and in- 

 structive addrees on army signalling, 

 with the aid of diagrams explanatory of 

 various methods of army organieation. 

 and a fine lot of army apparatus belong- 

 ing to the Defence Department, and of 

 the very latetst make and efficiency. He 

 was assisted in his demonstrations by 

 Master Gunner O'Eourke, who is account- 

 ed an exceedingly smart and efficient offi- 

 cer at this kind of work (having been 

 trained with the Eoyal Field Artillery) 

 Major Hayter explained how the intelli- 

 gence and other army departments are 

 worked. Without accurate and sgeedy 

 circulation of orders and information in 

 an army during war there must be 

 diaaeter.' For instance, the Japanese in 



