THE DARWINIAN THEORY 



As a commentary upon these exultant 

 words of an astronomer, written in 1892, 

 we would merely cite a sentence from a 

 communication by the eminent botanist, 

 Sir Thistleton Dyer, F.R.S., to the lead- 

 ing English scientific journal Nature., July 

 30, 1896. " The Darwinian theory of Or- 

 ganic Evolution seems hardly to have a 

 convinced supporter left [in England] ex- 

 cept Mr. Alfred R. Wallace and myself! " 

 (Dyer). This communication was writ- 

 ten after a prolonged discussion just held 

 at the Linnean Society, in which many of 

 the leading English biologists took part, 

 with the result of revealing a state of opin- 

 ion among those gentlemen which Mr. 

 Dyer pathetically laments. Of course Mr. 

 Dyer does not mean that there are no 

 Darwinians surviving in England but 

 Mr. Wallace and himself. Instead of 

 that, the public highways especially are 

 crowded with individuals with Sir Robert 

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