56 



many years ago — so many that I have forgotten the exact date — Dr. Jor- 

 dan presented a discussion on "Fishing all the way from the Amazon to 

 Greenland," and he said that the number of vertebra; in the fishes of the 

 same species always increases with the latitude in which the fish is 

 caught. He suggested that he knew no reason for it unless perhaps it is 

 that life expresses itself in more' vigorous terms at the pole than at the 

 equator. But Prof. T. C. Mendenhall offered a theory that was received 

 with much applause, and that everyone thought was right. He said the 

 North always had more backbone than the South, anyway. (Laughter). 

 So that is one question we have settled. 



I remember also that twenty-four years ago our botanist presented to 

 us what he was pleased to call a very important question. Several others 

 have been presented that were more or less important, but this was 

 really important, and it was. in general terms, the development of life 

 from the Plasmodium to the oak. He referred to the fact that mush- 

 rooms — I tried to get his exact words, but we did not publish in those 

 days, so this is as I remember it — that mushrooms "are degenerates, mere 

 driftwood cast up by the waves of life's ocean." Incidentally this idea 

 was illustrated by another journey parallel to it. from the Amoeba by way 

 of the ascidian to man. In the discussion which followed, our zoologist 

 arose and said the ascidians "are degenerates, mere driftwood east up by 

 the waves of life's ocean;'' so the status of the mushroom and the 

 ascidian was settled. 



We really took up some serious questions. I remember that Professor 

 Waldo in a wide discussion of mathematical questions, had a good deal to 

 say about parabolas, hyperbolas, asymtotes and other similar things; Pro- 

 fessor Neff then followed with a paper dealing with the refinements of 

 organic chemistry; which he illustrated with what appeared to be colored 

 chalk ; all of us were lost some of the time and some of us were lost all 

 the time for some hours. This was followed by a glowing vision of crea- 

 tion from a Darwinian standpoint. It was an interesting occasion ; we 

 all understood and took on a benevolent expression. But the many things 

 we used to teach that are discarded now were useful in their day. Car- 

 lyle says somewhere that the present time is "child and heir of all the 

 past and parent of all the future." and I could not help thinking this 

 morning when Prof. Coulter was talking, that as one after another these 

 theories have been set aside, there has been a reason for the existence of 



