498 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. I. No. 18. 



deavored to clear up the genera with what 

 appears to be considerable success. Palseon- 

 tologists everywhere are placed under a 

 great debt both to the author for his most 

 timely review of these forms and to the 

 Argentine Government for the liberal style 

 in which these Memoirs have been pub- 

 lished. 



VARIATION IN CRABS. 



The English monthly, Natural Science, 

 under its recent change of publishers, has 

 not lost any of the vigor which has charac- 

 terized it since its establishment three years 

 ago, and contiaues to be one of the most 

 interesting of the reviews of progress in 

 biology and geology which come before us. 

 The general editorial attitude is that of 

 entire independence of all traditional theo- 

 ries and authorities. There is shown no 

 bias in the present evolution controversy, 

 either towards the Darwinian or the La- 

 marckian side, but an impartial considera- 

 tion of each. In the April number are some 

 comments upon the recent discussion in the 

 Eoyal Society of the facts brought out by 

 Professor "W. T. Weldon's extensive statis- 

 tical investigation of variations in the shore 

 crabs, from which we take the following: 

 "Although Professor Weldon did not say 

 so, it must have occurred to manj' listeners 

 that this first result of statistical inquiry 

 npon variation was iu direct contradiction to 

 those who asserted that variation is not a 

 matter of ' chance,' but has its course in de- 

 termined directions His results have 



already established the importance of these 

 methods, and we cannot doubt that wher- 

 ever the methods are applied with discrim- 

 ination equally important results will be 



obtaiued Pending such inquiry, he 



may be taken to have shown that there is 

 a relation between selection and minute 

 variation, not that selection operates upon 

 minute variations." 



It seems to us too early even to make such 

 guarded inductions as these from these re- 



searches, for their significance is very largely 

 diminished, if not completelj^ destroyed by 

 our absence of a knowledge of the condi- 

 tions under which these seven thousand^ 

 crabs developed. If the variations were 

 due to congenital tendencies then their se- 

 lection has a bearing upon the evolution 

 problem, but if the variations were due to 

 varying conditions of development, as is 

 more than probable in a large percentage of 

 cases, their selection has no bearing what- 

 ever upon the evolution problem. This is 

 the uncertaiuty which vitiates this method, 

 and is strangely overlooked hy the editors 

 of Natural Science as well as by others. 

 ]!^ono the less, this investigation is a step 

 in the right direction towards a sound in- 

 ductive basis for the solution of this most 

 pressing biological problem of the day. 



REGRESSION AND ORGANIC STABILITY. 



Mr. Francis Galton (42 Eutland Gate, 

 London W.) would be glad to receive infor- 

 mation regarding : 



(1) Instances of such stronglj' marked 

 peculiarities, whether in form, in color or 

 ia habit, as have occasionally appeared in a 

 single or in a few individuals among a brood; 

 but no record is wanted of monstrosities, or 

 of such other characteristics as are clearly 

 inconsistent with health and vigor. 



(2) Instances in which any one of the 

 above peculiarities has appeared in the 

 broods of different parents. In replying to 

 this question, it will be hardly worth while 

 to record the sudden appearance of either 

 albinism or melanism, as both are well 

 known to be of frequent occurrence. 



(3) Instances in which an j'^ of these pecu- 

 liarly characterised individuals have trans- 

 mitted their peculiarities, hereditarily, to 

 one or more generations. Especial mention 

 should be made whether the peculiarity was 

 in any case transmitted in all its original 

 intensity, and numerical data would be par- 

 ticularly acceptable, that showed the fre- 



