240 Obituary — Charles JDancin. 



Briefly summarized, the proj)Ositions submitted by its author are as 

 follows : — More organisms perish than survive. No two individuals 

 are exactly alike. Individual peculiarities are transmissible. Those 

 individuals whose peculiarities bring them into close adaptation with 

 their surroundings survive and transmit them to their offspring. 

 The survival of the fittest thus tends to maintain an equilibrium 

 between or'ganisms and their surroundings. The environment of 

 every group of organisms is steadily changing. Every group of 

 organisms must therefore change in average character under penalty 

 of extinction. A change set up in one part of an organism necessitates 

 changes in another part. These changes are complicated by the law, 

 that structures are nourished in proportion to their use, and the 

 changes thus set up must alter the character of any group of organisms. 

 These propositions being granted, Darwin simply asks us to believe 

 that, since the appearance of life, time enough has elapsed to produce 

 all the variation of species now seen. His subsequent works have had 

 for their object the supplying the data on which he founded his con- 

 clusions. A treatise on •' The Fertilisation of Orchids," published in 

 18G2, was followed by " Domesticated Animals and Cultivated Plants ; 

 or the Principles of Variation, Inheritance, Eeversion, Crossing, 

 Interbreeding, and Selection, under Domestication," in 1867. In 

 1871 he published the " Descent of Man and Selection in Eelation 

 to Sex," two volumes, a new edition of which was published in 1874, 

 in one volume, with large additions. Also, " The Expression of the 

 Emotions in Man and Animals," published in 1873 ; " Insectivorous 

 Plants and Climbing Plants," in 1875; "The Effects of Cross and 

 Self Fei'tilisation in the Animal Kingdom," in 1876 ; " Different 

 Forms of Flowers in Plants of the same Species," in 1877 ; the 

 " Movement of Plants," in 1880, a continuation of his investigations 

 on the movement and habits of climbing plants ; and in October 

 last, " The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of 

 Worms." 



As a matter of course, Charles Darwin was a member of most of 

 the leading scientific societies, both at home and abroad. He had 

 also obtained the Eoyal and Copley Medals from the Eoj'al Society, 

 and the Wollaston Palladium Medal from the Geological Society, 

 and had lately received many high distinctions, including the 

 Prussian Order " Pour le Merite " in 1871, degrees from the 

 Dutch University of Leyden in 1875, and from that of Cambridge 

 (LL.D.) in 1877, the corresponding membership of the French 

 Academy in 1875, and also the corresponding membership of the 

 Academy of Vienna. 



In 1831 he married his cousin, Miss Emma Wedgwood, who 

 survives him ; he also leaves a family of five sons and two daughters.^ 



DR. JOHN LYCETT. 



We regret to record the death of this excellent geologist, and 

 hope to give some notice of his work next month. 



1 Most of the facts here stated appeared in the Morning Post, April 21, 1882. 



