Sept. 20, 1888J 



NA TURE 



491 



In 1872, Mr. Gulick sent me his paper on "Diversity of 

 Evolution under One Set of External Conditions," requesting 

 me, if I thought fit, to communicate it to the Linnean Society. 

 As the paper contained a body of very interesting facts observed 

 by the author, I had no hesitation in recommending it's accept- 

 ance by the Society, although I did not agree with the conclusions 

 Mr. Gulick drew from his facts. 



Last year Mr. Gulick sent me the manuscript of his present 

 paper, informing me that it was the result of long-continued study 

 of the subject, and asking me to forward it to the Linnean Society. 

 I did so, writing to the Secretary that T had not read the 

 paper through, and did not undertake the responsibility of 

 recommending it for acceptance. 



Having now read the paper in print, I find very little in it 

 that I can agree with. I can discover in it no additional facts 

 beyond those which were set before us in the former paper 

 sixeen years ago, while there is an enormous body of theoretical 

 statements, many of which seem to me erroneous, and a highly 

 complex classification of the conditions under which the separa- 

 tion or isolation of individuals of a species takes place, with a 

 new and cumbrous terminology, neither of which, in my opinion, 

 adds to our knowledge or comprehension of the matter at issue. 



As in almost every page of this long paper I find statements 

 which seem to me to be either disputable or positively erroneous, 

 any extended criticism of it is out of the question ; but I wish to 

 call attention to one or two points of vital importance. Mr. Gulick's 

 alleged discovery is, "the law of cumulative divergence through 

 cumulative segregation " (p. 212). He maintains that any initial 

 variation, if isolated by any of the causes he has enumerated, but 

 remaining under identically the same environment, will increase 

 till it becomes in time a specific or even a generic divergence, 

 and this without any action whatever of natural selection. Now 

 if this is a fact it is a mo^t important and fundamental fact, equal 

 in its far-reaching significance to natural selection itself. I 

 accordingly read the paper with continual expectation of finding 

 some evidence of this momentous principle, but in vain. There 

 is a most elaborate discussion and endless refined subdivisions cf 

 the varied modes in which the individuals constituting a species 

 may be kept apart and prevented from intercrossing, but no 

 attempt whatever to prove that the result of such complete or 

 partial isolation is " cumulative divergence." The only passage 

 which may perhaps be considered such an attempt at proof is 

 that on p. 219, where he supposes an experiment to be made, 

 and then gives us what he thinks " experienced breeders" will 

 assure us would be the result. In this experiment, however, 

 there is to be constant selection and reassortment of each brood, 

 yet he asserts that "there is no selection in the sense in which 

 natural selection is selection " ; by which he appears to mean that 

 the selection is by " separation " not by "extermination." This, 

 however, seems to me to be a distinction without a difference. 



Again, in the various illustrations of how " cumulative segre- 

 gation "is brought about, natural selection must always come 

 into play — as in the case of a change in digestive powers, and 

 consequent adoption of a different food (p. 223), leading to par- 

 tial isolation ; and such cases are exactly what is contemplated 

 by Darwin in his brief statement of the effects of "divergence of 

 character" ("Origin," pp. 86-90), while the concurrence of 

 "isolation " as a factor is fully recognized at pp. 81-83 of the 

 same work (6th edition). 



It appears to me that throughout his paper Mr. Gulick omits 

 the consideration of the inevitable agency of natural selection, 

 arising from the fact of only a very small proportion of the off- 

 spring produced each year possibly surviving. Thus when, at 

 p. 214, he states that " the fact of divergence in any case is not 

 a sufficient ground for assuming that the diverging form has an 

 advantage over the type from which it diverges," he omits from 

 all consideration the fact that at each step of the divergence 

 there was necessarily selection of the fit and the less fit to sur- 

 vive ; and that if, as a fact, the two extremes have survived, and 

 not the intermediate steps which led to one or both of them, it 

 is a proof that both had an advantage over the original less 

 specialized form. Darwin explains this in his section on " Ex- 

 tinction caused by Natural Selection" (p. 85). On the whole, 

 I fail to see that Mr. Gulick has established any new principle, 

 either as a substitute for, or in addition to, natural selection as 

 set forth by Darwin. Others, however, may think differently ; 

 and I shall be glad if any naturalists who have studied Darwin's 

 works will point out, definitely, in what way this paper extends 

 our knowledge of the mode in which species have originated. 



Alfred R. Wallace. 



The Death of Clausius. 



I do not know by what unfortunate accident it happened 

 that I did not hear of the death of the great Clausius until after 

 the meeting of the British Association. I write this in order to 

 explain how I neglected to express the sorrow of the scientific 

 world in Britain in the loss, and our sympathy with the scientific 

 world in Germany. It is not the part of a young disciple like 

 mc to eulogize the giants of the passing generation, but I regret 

 greatly that any appearance of want of appreciation of the 

 labours of o:ie of the most brilliant lights of the nineteenth 

 century should attach to British science owing to my silence. 



Geo. Fkas. Fitzgerald. 



Trinity College, Dublin, September 15. 



The March Storms. 



The accounts of March storms in England which reach us 

 lead me to think that it would be interesting to note the follow- 

 ing. On March 13, barometers in Western Australia had fallen 

 suddenly o - 20 inch ; the cyclone passed rapidly eastward along the 

 south coast of Australia. On the 15th we had a heavy gale of 

 wind at Sydney ; the anemometer showed 55 miles an hour. 

 Lake George was so disturbed that the observer was wind-bound 

 in the small house which holds the recording machine for several 

 days, and the tidal register at Sydney shows considerable dis- 

 turbance like earthquake-waves during the 15th, 16th, and 17th. 

 On the 15th the level of the Sydney transit instrument was 

 found to have changed suddenly since the 14th, o''7, the western 

 pier having fallen. A tidal wave reached New Guinea and 

 New Britain on the 13th ; at the latter place it is supposed 

 to have risen 40 feet. H. C. Russell. 



Sydney Observatory, July 26. 



INTERNA TIONAL ME TEOROLOG Y. 



THE! International Meteorological Committee held a 

 -*- meeting at Zurich, in the Polytechnikum, from the 

 3rd to the 5th of this month. All the members were 

 present. The most important point on which action was 

 taken was the subject of future meetings to beheld instead 

 of Meteorological Congresses organized by diplomatic 

 means. The following was the resolution adopted : — 



" The Committee, in view of the circumstance that the 

 assembling of an international meeting, of the same 

 character as the Congresses of Vienna and Rome, presents 

 great difficulties, considers that the commission it received 

 at Rome is exhausted, and that it ought to dissolve itself. 



" At the same time, in order to continue the relations 

 between the different meteorological organizations, which 

 have been productive of such good results during a series 

 of years, the Committee appoints a small bureau with the 

 duty of using its best endeavours to bring about, at some 

 convenient time, an international meetingof representatives 

 of the different Meteorological Services." 



By a subsequent resolution the bureau was made to 

 consist of the President and Secretary of the Committee 

 (Prof. Wild and Mr. Scott). 



Among other matters on which action was taken may 

 be mentioned : — 



Cloud Classification. — It was decided that the proposals 

 of Messrs. Hilclebrandsson and Abercromby were not ripe 

 enough to be recommended for general adoption. 



Meteorological I /formation from Travellers. — On the 

 motion of Dr. Hann certain rules were laid down, to be 

 recommended to all Geographical Societies, &c, as to the 

 conditions which must be observed in order to render 

 published records of meteorological observations of any 

 real service to meteorology. These relate to instruments 

 and their corrections, exposure, methods of calculation, 

 &c, &c. 



The Committee finally dissolved itself. 



Robt. H. Scott. 



Meteorological Office, September 19. 



