418 ^y. d. matthew — progress in vertebrate paleontology 



history of races of animals. In so far as this is accomplished^ Professor 

 Morgan's strictures on paleontological evolution/^" which are aimed really 

 at the old methods, not at onr modern standards, will be no longer justi- 

 fied. Paleontologists, with the facts before them as to what actually did 

 take place in the evolution of a race of animals, may claim the right to 

 reason and draw conclusions from these data as to the methods and causes 

 of the transmutation of species. 



On the anatomical side of paleontology, the far greater completeness 

 of our material in recent years has stimulated comparative researches of 

 high quality, apparent in many of the memoirs I have cited and in a 

 series of memoirs by Gregory, Watson, Broom, AVilliston, Case, and many 

 others. 



Taxonomic researches and revisions have by no means been neglected, 

 but I can mention only one of the many completed or in progress, the 

 revision by Miller and Gidley of the super-generic groups of rodents, in 

 which, for the first time, the fossil representatives of this order have 

 received adequate treatment in a comprehensive revision. 



In looking over the apparent trend of recent advances I am impressed 

 with the honest and conscientious endeavor everywhere apparent to pro- 

 vide a broader and more secure foundation of evidence for our researches 

 by much more extensive collections, more complete specimens, and more 

 exact records. We have tried to get into closer touch with stratigraphic 

 geology on one side, with comparative anatomy and zoology on the other. 

 AYe have, on the whole, I think, kept fairly clear, considering the great 

 increase in our collections, of the temptation to multiply species corre- 

 spondingly, the besetting sin of the systematist; and, although the Men- 

 delian school of zoologists will have naught to do with us, we have suc- 

 ceeded, I think, in making very good use of the data and viewpoints that 

 they have emphasized and incorporating them satisfactorily into our own 

 scheme of things. 



See footnote 49. 



