1897.] Proceedings of Scientific Societies. 175 
the societies were full, the physiologists especially showing an important 
increase in the number of workers. Several young men presented 
maiden papers of merit to the morphologists ; while the merits of the 
opposed theories of psychic parallelism and interference in animal 
evolution were discussed by the psychologists among the topics before 
them. The discussion of the inheritance of acquired characters was made 
the subject of the special discussion by the naturalists, and, although 
the subject is not new, a large audience was present, the other societies, 
excepting the physiologists, adjourning to attend it. Profs. Minot and 
James, of Harvard University, took the negative, and Macfarlane and 
Cope, of Pennsylvania, the affirmative. It was generally regretted 
that more time had not been alloted to the discussion, so as to have en- 
abled others to take part in it. The evening dinner was closed by an 
interesting address from the President, Prof. Scott, of Princeton, an 
innovation which we hope will become the regular custom. 
The following is the program of proceedings: Reports of Com- 
mittees ; Election of New Members; Appointment of Special Com- 
mittees ; Discussion, subject: “ The Inheritance of Acquired Charac- 
teristics ;” “ Zoology,” Prof. C. S. Minot; “Botany,” Prof. J. M. 
Macfarlane; “ Paleontology,” Prof. E. D. Cope; “ Psychology,” Prof. 
Wm. James; Special Papers. 
Prof. ©. S. Minot opened the discussion on heredity, suggesting the 
wide interest in the solution of the problem of whether characters ac- 
quired during the life of the parent were transmitted to the offspring. 
It was well illustrated in the popular beliefs that correct habits of life 
or the opposite, in parents, had an important influence on the character 
of children, leaving out of the question the force of example. To many 
the incentive to right living was centered largely on the bearings of 
the matter on education of the young. 
The scientific data, however, on which to base a theory, was most 
meagre in amount and unsatisfactory in character. Much of the rea- 
soning had to be in assumptions, which were but sparsely indicated in 
the evidence. The characters generally of an individual were largely 
the result of many generations of development, and were the last term 
of a series, each part of which had a causal relation to the result. 
Several specific characters were taken up by the speaker, as the de- 
velopment of the facial nerve in the embryo, cases of false articulation 
forming in luxated joints, characters in the Papilio genus of butter- 
flies, and some other instances. It was urged as an observation that all 
normal parts, whether hard or colored or otherwise highly differenti- 
ated from the germ, seem to follow a predetermined plan in the develop- 
