OPENING ADDRESS. : qui! 
it seems probable that any strongly marked acquired 
character could scarcely fail to produce some effect upon 
the germ plasma: lying in the body, and the only question 
then is whether the effect produced would give rise to 
a corresponding character in the next and succeeding 
generations, or whether the effect might not merely be of 
the nature of a general change such as increased or 
diminished nutrition. At any rate there seems enough 
doubt here to allow of a loophole in the ‘‘continuity”’ 
theory whereby an acquired character might leave its 
impress upon the germ plasma and so be transmitted to 
the next generation. 
THE UTILITY OF SPECIFIC CHARACTERS. 
The second discussion in Section D. of the British 
Association was upon the utility or indifference of specific 
characters, that is—Are the characters by which allied 
species differ from one another of such a nature as to be 
actually useful to their possessors, or are they so trivial as 
not to affect in any way the welfare of the species? And 
I wish to direct your attention to this matter in some 
detail, as it opens up a wide field for original research— 
dealing as it does with the characters both physical and 
psychological of all animals, and seeking an explanation 
for many peculiarities of structure and habit. 
The solution of this wide question in regard to specific 
characters can only be settled I hold by an appeal to facts. 
Competent observers, specialists in the various groups of 
plants and animals, who are intimately acquainted with 
the various forms, must investigate -a number of allied 
species, not as museum specimens only but in a state of 
nature, and must observe their habits carefully in order 
to determine whether there is any relation between the 
