72 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [MaRcH, 1914. 
variability is the result of vegetative or generative segregation of heterozygotes. 
(3) No inheritance of acquired characters occurs. The total of the 
inheritable factors now found among higher organisms must have been 
present in the total of the “urorganisms,” each of which, however, 
possessed but a small number. 
A discussion followed, in which the following speakers took part: Prof. 
W. Bateson, Prof. J. B. Farmer, Mr. P. L. de Vilmorin, Dr. R. R. 
Gates, Prof. F. Keeble, Prof. A. Dendy, Sir Francis Darwin, Dr. A. B. 
Rendle, Prof. E. W. MacBride, F.R.S. (Visitor), Prof. F. E. Weiss, Major 
C. C. Hurst, Mr. Arthur W. Sutton, Dr. O. Stapf, Miss. E. R. Saunders, 
and the President, the author briefly replying. 
Prof. Bateson rather wished that he had not been asked to open the 
discussion, for he did'not quite know whether to defend Dr. Lotsy against 
the systematists or to criticise his arguments. Although the paper was a 
decided step forward, he could not agree with all its conclusions. He had 
long realised that the Linnean species were often not fixed, and so long as 
systematists admitted that he did not much mind their giving them names. 
A name was absolutely necessary—it was to a plant what a pin was toa 
butterfly, and until one was fixed little could be done with the other. The 
trouble began as soon as one commenced to shift them about. 
Prof. Dendy thought that in counting the trees Dr. Lotsy had lost 
sight of the wood. He realised that variation often arose through crossing, 
but he could not admit that the lecturer’s theory satisfactorily explained 
the whole theory of evolution, a conclusion also supported by Prof. McBride. 
Sir Francis Darwin said that his father’s theory had received some 
rough treatment since it was propounded, but it was still as good as ever. 
At reminded him of a rhomboidal figure—-Dr. Lotsy had knocked it over or 
to another facet,’ but he was not sure that it did not stand all the steadier 
for its new position. 
Major Hurst said that some fifteen years ago he advanced a similar 
theory to Dr. Lotsy’s in Nature, but that new facts had caused him to modify 
his views considerably. He now thought the factors of constitution and 
productivity, though less obvious, were of more importance than those of 
form.and colour. : 
Dr. Rendle and Dr. Stapf defended the position of the systematists, 
and thought that their method of classification was as perfect as our present 
knowledge admitted. They were, however, always willing to consider new 
facts which threw light on the inter-relations of organisms. a 
The President, Professor E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., in briefly commenting 
on the discussion, said that zoologists appeared to be less worried than 
botanists regarding the limits of their species, and if the former sometimes 
overlooked the limits, the animals themselves seldom made such mistakes. 
