xlii THE DARWIN CENTENARY. [Februarys, 



did in establishing the theory of organic evolution, and this year 

 marks not only the centenary of the birth of Darwin, but also the 

 semicentennial of the publication of his greatest book, the " Origin 

 of Species," which did more to establish that theory than any other 

 book ever published. But it should not be forgotten that the world 

 is indebted to him for much besides this. Darwin was one of the 

 last of the great naturalists. He was the most painstaking and 

 accurate observer and experimenter and he contributed largely to 

 knowledge in several branches of science. He was a geologist 

 of note and his works on volcanic islands and on the origin of coral 

 islands alone would have given him a high place among geologists. 

 He was a distinguished botanist and his studies on the fertiliza- 

 tion of orchids, cross and self fertilization in the vegetable kingdom, 

 insectivorous plants, climbing plants and the power of movement 

 in plants, laid broad and deep the foundations for the study of 

 physiological processes. He was a great zoologist, as his volumes 

 on the zoology of the expedition of the " Beagle," on recent and 

 fossil Cirripedia, on the activities of earthworms, and on the varia- 

 tions of animals and plants, testify. His work on the " Descent of 

 Man " shows the value of his contributions to the science of anthro- 

 pology, and I have been told by psychologists that his volume on 

 the " Expression of the Emotions " is one of the best and most 

 fundamental of all works on this subject. Altogether he published 

 twenty-two books (thirty-three, counting second and subsequent 

 editions) and eighty-two papers and contributions. These state- 

 ments indicate how broad was his mind, and how much of fact 

 he contributed to science. 



H. 



Undoubtedly Darwin's most distinctive and important contribu- 

 tion to organic evolution is his theory of natural selection, or what 

 has been generously, but unfortunately named " Darwinism." 

 Although this was the chief corner stone in Darwin's evolutionary 

 philosophy, it was not the only stone in that structure, as is the 

 case with some of his followers. Darwin was broader than " Dar- 

 winism." He recognized more than this one factor of evolution, 

 though he always believed natural selection to be the chief one. 



