Recent Progress and present State of Systematic Botany. 291 
“Tt is true that long before the period under consideration 
some indications by which this great obstacle to further progress 
might be surmounted had been vaguely given, and the theory 
of a common descent of modern species had been broached, or 
generally proposed as a solution of some of the difficulties; but 
ot in a manner sufficiently plausible to overcome the preju- 
dices against following up any such track, nor supported by 
fants ana wal Ss ee es tt y eas ttontian of the most 
anxious pursuers of thescience. It was reserved for the publi- 
cation of the ‘Origin of Species’ in 1859 to mark out a practic- 
able path by which the higher summits might be attained. The 
doctrine of evolution of species, according to laws originally fixed, 
instead of arbitrary intervention upon each and every occasion, 
was in this remarkable work clearly traced out, supported by 
powerful arguments, and founded upon facts and observations 
the accuracy of which no one could doubt; and a way was thus 
opened up to a pinnacle, which in a wonderful degree enlarged 
the range of vision of those who had the courage to follow its 
propounder up the giddy height. It was immediately and suc- 
cessfully taken to by several of the most eminent of our natural- 
ists accustomed to philosophical deductions from ascertained 
facts; it was blindly accepted, but misused, by some German 
and Italian speculators, who, in their hurry to adopt Darwinism 
before they well understood it, and in their eagerness to go be- 
yond the point to which the road had been. securely marked 
able, into a vast and entirely new field of observation, caleu- 
ated to give a stability to the results of our labours, of which 
