36 EXPERIMENTAL EVOLUTION LECT. 



rudiments of the hind-limbs, when both are totally 

 useless ? Innumerable questions of the same sort 

 might be and have been asked ; but no satisfactory 

 answer has yet been given by any creationist. 



We may consider as belonging remotely to embry- 

 ology, some pathological proofs of evolution of which 

 a passing word may be said. I refer to those many 

 cases, well known to the pathologist, of tumours, of 

 fistulae, and of various malformations in many parts 

 of the body, which are congenital, and are seen in the 

 child from the moment of his birth, and cannot be 

 ascribed to any disease or accident. Some of these 

 cases are most curious and interesting to the evolu- 

 tionist. A great number of them have been recently 

 collected in an important work published by Professor 

 Lannelongue and V. Menard, under the title of 

 Affections Congenitalesl In the first volume of this 

 work the only one yet published the authors deal 

 with the congenital malformations of the head and 

 neck, and, to those who are not familiar with the evolu- 

 tionary theory, it may seem astounding that such or 

 such malformation of the neck or ears is due to the 

 persistence of the fish or amphibian stage of develop- 

 ment of these parts. Such is the case, however, and 



1 Affections Congenitales, vol. i. Tctc ct Con, Maladies des Bour- 

 geons de FEmbryon, des Arcs brancliiaux et de leurs Fentes, Paris : 

 Asselin et Houzeau. 1891. 



