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that therefore Andrew Knight was wrong in stating that individuals 

 were perishable. Now, with regard to the first position, that "spe- 

 cies are eternal," we take the liberty of stating that this assertion 

 requires modification. We are well aware how great and how just is 

 the reputation of him from whom the assertion has been borrowed. 

 Linneus, in his ' Philosophia Botanica,' says : — 



" Species tot numeramus, quot diversse formae in principio sunt 

 creatse. 



" Species tot sunt, quot diversas formas ab initio produxit Infini- 

 tum Ens ; quse formae, secundum generationis inditas leges, produx- 

 ere plures, at sibi semper similes. Ergo species tot sunt, quot diversae 

 formae s, structurae hodienum occurrunt. 



" Oratio de Telluris hahitahilis mcremento, Ups. et Leyd. edita, 

 consequentias plurimas super hoc argumentum edocuit." * 



And, again, with reference to the " Iris creeping round the world," 

 he continues : — 



" Radix extenditur in herbam inque infinitum, usque dum apice 

 rumpantur integumenta in florem, formantque semen contiguum, ulti- 

 mum terminum vegetationis ; Hoc semen cadit, prognascitur, et in 

 diverso loco quasi plantam continuat ; hinc simillimam sobolem pro- 

 ducit, uti Arbor ramum, Ramus gemmam. Gemma herbam ; ergo Con- 

 tinuatio est Generatio plantarum." 



Linneus appears to have been taken as an absolute authority, and 

 his idea of the species now extant having existed from the beginning 

 to have been adopted without the slightest modification. But the 

 question must arise, in the mind of every one capable of a moment's 

 reflection. Is this assertion true ? We think not. Geologists have 

 shown that the earth has undergone no changes but those which are 

 still in progress ; and yet we believe the Megatherium, the Mylo- 

 don, the Pterodactylus, did once exist, and do not now exist. 

 We believe, also, that all the plants of the coal -strata did once 

 exist, and do not now exist. We believe, also, that thousands of 

 species exist now which did not exist with the plants of the coal- 

 strata ; and we ground this opinion on the fact, that no traces of 

 such recent species exist in the strata to which we refer ; and those 

 strata are imperishable records of what did once exist ; and we find 

 no evidence to show that any extraordinary convulsion caused their 

 destruction ; indeed, we know their destruction was neither sudden 



* A translation of this ' Oratio' will be found in Sir J. E. Smith's 'Tracts on 

 Natural History.' 



