THE WONDERS OP LIFE 



in one single species of csnothera very rarely occur, and 

 cannot be regarded as common beginnings of the forma- 

 tion of new species. It is a curious freak of chance that 

 this species bears the name asnothera Lamarckiana; the 

 views of the great Lamarck on the powerful influence 

 of functional adaptation have not been refuted by De 

 Bries. It must be carefully noted, in fact, that De Bries 

 is firmly convinced of the truth of Lamarck's theory of 

 descent, like all competent modern biologists. This 

 must be well understood, because recent metaphysicians 

 see in the supposed refutation of Darwinism the death 

 of the whole theory of transformism and evolution. 

 When they appeal in this sense to its most virulent 

 opponents, Dennert, Driesch, and Fleischmann, we may 

 remind them that the curious sermons of these minor 

 sophists are no longer noticed by any competent and 

 informed scientist. 



Not only in the brilliant speculations of De Bries and 

 Nageli, but also in many other botanical works that 

 have lately attempted to advance the theory of descent, 

 we find a striking difference from the prevailing views 

 of zoologists in the treatment of a number of general 

 biological problems. This difference is, of course, not 

 due to a disproportion of ability in the two great and 

 neighboring camps of biology, but to the differences in 

 the phenomena that we observe in plant life on the one 

 hand and animal life on the other. It must be noted 

 particularly that the organism of the higher animals 

 (including our own) is much more elaborately differen- 

 tiated in its various organs and much more exposed to 

 our direct experience than that of the higher plants. 

 The chief properties and activities of our muscles, skele- 

 ton, nerves, and sense-organs, are understood at once 

 in comparative anatomy and physiology. The study 

 of the corresponding phenomena in the bodies of the 

 higher plants is much more difficult. The features of 



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