Photo: Becker and Alaas. 



PROFESSOR WILLIAM BATESON, F.R.S. 



One of the most distinguished of the experimental evolutionists, he 

 has made fundamental contributions to our knowledge of Mendelian 

 heredity and of variation. He has confirmed Mendel's theory and 

 added important elaborations. He has shown that discontinuous 

 variation or mutation is of frequent occurrence. He was President 

 of the British Association on its visit to Australia in 1914. 



Photo. Rischgits Collection. 



GREGOR MENDEL, ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE 

 SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF HEREDITY 



Gregor Johann Mendel (1822-84), the son of well-to-do peasants in 

 Silesia, became a priest in 1847, studied physics and natural science at 

 Vienna, from 1851 to 1853. eventually became Abbot of Brunn. In 

 the garden of the monastery he made experiments with peas, hawk- 

 weeds, and bees; and published in 1865 what must be regarded as one 

 of the greatest of biological discoveries. It was practically lost sight 

 of till 1900. Regarding "Mendel's Law." Professor Bateson says- 

 " The experiments which led to this advance in knowledge are worthy 

 to rank with those that laid the foundation of the atomic laws of 

 chemistry." 



