210 TEAR-BOOK OP FACTS. 



in all fundamental respects; that no new kind of difficulty comes in with this 

 theory, i.e., none with which the philosophical naturalist is not already familiar. 

 It is merely the old problem as to how persistence of type and morphological 

 conformity are to be reconciled with special design (with the advantage ofoj 

 the only scientific, though hypothetical, solution of the question), along with the 

 wider philosophical questii n, ;i^ to what is the relation between orderly natural 

 events and inteUigent efficient cause, or Di\ ine agency. In respect to which, we 

 have only to adopt Professor Bowen's own philosophy of causation, — viz., "That 

 the natural no less than the supernatural, the continuance no less than the 

 creation of existence, the origin 01 an individual, as well as the origin of a species 

 or a genus, can be explained only by the direct action of an intelligent cause," — 

 and all special difficulty in harmonizing a theory of the derivation of .species with 

 the doctrine of linal causes will vanish. 



At the Royal Institution, on Feb. 6, Professor Huxley (who at 

 the Oxford meeting subsequently appeared as the champion of Mr. 

 Darwin's theory) read a paper " On Species and Races, and their 

 Origin." After some preliminary remarks, in the course of which 

 the speaker expressed his obligation for the liberality with which 

 Mr. Darwin had allowed him to have access to a Lugo portion of the 

 MSS. of his forthcoming work, the phenomena of species in general 

 were considered — the horse being taken as a familiar example. The 

 distinctions between this and other closely allied species, such as the 

 asses and zebras, were considered, and they were shown to be of 

 two kinds, structural or morphological, and functional or physiologi- 

 cal. Under the former head were ranged the callosities on the inner 

 side of the fore and hind limbs of the horse — its bushy tail, its 

 peculiar larynx, its short ears, and broad hoofs: under the latter 

 head, the fact that the offspring of the horse with any of the allied 

 species is a hybrid, incapable of propagation with another mule, was 

 particularly mentioned. Leaving open the question whether the 

 physiological distinction just mentioned is, or is not, a universal 

 character of species, it is indubitable that it obtains between 

 many Bpecies, and therefore has to be account I for by any 

 theory of their origin. The species Eqwu eaballtu, tints sepa- 

 rated from all Others, is the centre round which a number of 

 other remarkable phenomena are grouped. It is intimately allied 

 in Btruoture with three other members ol the existing creation, the 

 tapir, and the rhinoceros; and less strait, though still 

 definite bonds of union connect it with every livii Going 



1 can be traced into the Pliocene formation, 



and perhaps it existed earlier still ; but in the new< r Miocene of 

 Germany it is replaced by the bippotherium, an animal very like a 

 true cijuus, but having the two rndimental toes in 

 vol'. pod, thou li small. Further back in time, in tb 

 neither equ as nor hippotherinm b .. nor rhinoceros, 



tapirus, ot byres ; but instead of tl pilar animal, the paleo- 



therium, which exhibit! certain point blance with each 



«,f the foui sni ra, is found. The speaki r pointe l oul that 



I not justify us in considering the paheothe- 

 rium as a i Used type, any more thai iblanoe 



of a father to bi justifii i d 



more Itype than theirs. The geographical distribution of 



