president's address. 297 



a tangible evidence of benefit to the Club resulting from the ar- 

 rangements for joint publication between the two Societies. 



In general Natural History literature the past twelve months 

 have produced no single work of very supreme importance.* 

 We in England have been kept alive by a running fire of contro- 

 versial writing, chiefly in the pages of " Nature," on the subjects 

 of Spontaneous Generation, Mimicry, and other topics connected 

 with the Origin of Species ; and at least two works of considera- 

 ble interest have appeared independently— Wallace's "Contri- 

 butions to the Theory of Natural Selection," and St. Greorge 

 Mivart's " Genesis of Species." Respecting these we shall pre- 

 sently have a few remarks to offer. On the Continent scientific 

 research has been for the time paralyzed by the hideous war 

 which has laid waste one of earth's fairest and most productive 

 regions : instead of the peaceful triumphs of mind over matter 

 we have seen a reign of terror, a rule of blood and iron, a " fur- 

 nace of affliction" from which indeed we may hope that France 

 will emerge purified and strengthened, but which in the mean- 

 time has both for conquerors and conquered, dried up the foun- 

 tain heads of philosophy and science. Yet with the din of rival 

 armies sounding in our ears, and notwithstanding the absorbing 

 interest of that terrific struggle, those countries which, like our 

 own, have happily held aloof from the strife, were still able to 

 extend government aid to works of science, notably to the eclipse 

 expeditions of December last, and to the Mediterranean dredging 

 expedition. The latter possesses a particular interest for our 

 Club, the excellent commander and staff of the "Porcupine" 

 being either fellow-members or otherwise well known to many 

 amongst us. The cruise of 1870 cannot, however, be pronounced 

 so interesting in its zoological results as that of the previous 

 year. The time allowed was shorter, the weather less favour- 

 able, and the areas examined as a whole much less productive. 

 Nevertheless many organisms of great interest and beauty were 

 obtained, more particularly off the Atlantic coasts of Spain and 

 Portugal ; and we believe that a part of the spoils taken during 



* Mr. Darwin's long-expected volumes on the " Descent of Man and Sexual Selection" 

 have appeared only three weeks ago, and since the foregoing sentence was written. 



