Proceedings of Learned Societies. 223 



cessive steps by which the genus was established, and the grounds 

 on which the prevalent opinion as to its ichthyic nature rests, were 

 noticed. The author then proceeded to describe the scales, which 

 have lately being discovered at Cradley, near Malvern, and which 

 alone were required to remove all doubt as to the affinities of the 

 genus : he compared these scales with those of Cephalaspis, to some 

 of which they bear a great resemblance. 



ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY.— March 1. 



The Theory of Natural Selection as applied to the Human 

 Races. — In a paper on this subject Mr. Wallace maintained that the 

 theory of natural selection, as influenced by physical structure, 

 could not be applied to explain the origin of the different races of 

 men in the same manner as it could be employed to account for the 

 origin of varieties and species in the lower animals. 



In animals a deficiency of any one organ or faculty would of 

 necessity lead to the destruction of the race in the struggle for life. 

 But in man any such deficiency may be supplied by means of the 

 division of labour, by which an individual unfitted for one occupa- 

 tion could follow another ; and also by the assistance and sympathy 

 which always existed even in the lowest races of mankind. More- 

 over, by the formation and use of artificial weapons mankind can 

 compensate for any deficiency in strength or agility. 



These causes acting conjointly remove man from the influence of 

 " natural selection," as far as regards his physical structure ; but its 

 action is transferred to the mind. Those races with the highest 

 intellectual endowments, capable of the greatest amount of organiza- 

 tion, and the fabrication of the most efficient arms, would of necessity 

 overcome and eventually extirpate the inferior races. Hence it was 

 argued that the possession of an intelligent mind removed mankind 

 from the operation of the laws of natural selection ; consequently 

 his physical structure remained unchanged, except as far as regards 

 slight and accidental variations. 



It was shown that this theory harmonized many of the hitherto 

 conflicting views of anthropologists, by demonstrating why races 

 have so long remained unchanged, and are apparently unchangeable. 

 At the same time, it offers no opposition to the generally received 

 opinion of the unity of the human race. 



ROYAL INSTITUTION.— March 4. 



The Discrimination op Organic Bodies by their Optical Pro- 

 perties. — In a lecture on the detection of organic bodies by means of 

 their spectra, Prof. Stokes showed an exceedingly simple and practical 

 mode of distinguishing between substances of similar appearance. 

 The solution of the body to be examined is placed in a test-tube, 

 behind a slit in a small opaque board ; light is allowed to pass 

 through the tube, which is looked at with a small prism, used with 

 the naked eye, when the chai'acteristic appearance of the substance 



