THE PRIMORDIA 65 



irregular objects. MENDEL discovered very important 

 principles of heredity by the investigation of a few compara- 

 tively simple facts. The rules which he laid down are to-day 

 a guiding principle among the diversity of the phenomena of 

 hybridization. 



There seems to exist, in the mind of many biologists, a pro- 

 pensity to study problems which are INSOLUBLE in the present 

 state of science. Our methods are not adequate for these diffi- 

 culties. 



In the present state of our knowledge the application of the 

 quantitative method to complicated embryological subjects 

 would be premature and result very probably in waste of 

 labour and disappointment. 



