( 281 ) 



CHAPTER XV. 



MISCELLANEA. — EKVIVAL OF GEOLOGICAL WORK. — THE VIVISECTION 

 QUESTION. — HONOURS. 



In 1874 a second edition of his Coral Beefs was published, 

 which need not specially concern us. It was not until some 

 time afterwards that the criticisms of my father's theory 

 appeared, which have attracted a good deal of attention. 



The following interesting account of the subject is taken 

 from Professor's Judd's "Critical Introduction" to Messrs. 

 Ward, Lock and Co's. edition of Coral Beefs and Volcanic 

 Islands, dc. * 



" The first serious note of dissent to the generally accepted 

 theory was heard in 1863, when a distinguished German 

 naturalist, Dr. Karl Semper, declared that his study of the 

 Pelew Islands showed that uninterrupted subsidence could 

 not have been going on in that region. Dr. Semper 's objec- 

 tions were very carefully considered by Mr. Darwin, and a 

 reply to them appeared in the second and revised edition of his 

 Coral Beefs, which was published in 1874. With characteristic 

 frankness and freedom from prejudices, Darwin admitted that 

 the facts brought forward by Dr. Semper proved that in certain 

 specified cases, subsidence could not have played the chief 

 part in originating the peculiar forms of the coral islands. 

 But while making this admission, he firmly maintained that 

 exceptional cases, like those described in the Pelew Islands, 

 were not sufficient to invalidate the theory of subsidence as 

 applied to the widely spread atolls, encircling reefs, and 

 barrier-reefs of the Pacific and Indian Cceans. It is worthy of 

 note that to the end of his life Darwin maintained a friendly 

 correspondence with Semper concerning the points on which 

 they were at issue. 



"After the appearance of Semper's work, Dr. J. J. Rein 

 published an account of the Bermudas, in which he opposed 

 the interpretation of the structure of the islands given by 



* The Minerva Library of Famous Boohs, 1890, edited by G. T. 

 Bettany. 



