THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XLIII 



through Haeckel's personal activity and largely through his 

 personal financial aid. He has given to it 30,000 M. of money 

 and his private library and collections. The building, for 

 which original gifts amounting to 100,000 M. were obtained is 

 now finished and the gathering together and arrangement of 

 collections are going on. It is hoped to have sufficient material 

 on hand and arranged by next spring (1910) to justify the 

 public opening. The building was formally taken over by the 

 University of Jena last July (1908) on the occasion of the cele- 

 bration of the 350th anniversary of the university's founding. 

 The gathering of the collections and their maintenance must 

 depend entirely in private gifts, and Haeckel makes an earnest 

 appeal to all friends of the development theory for financial aid. 

 Money may be sent to the Rentamt der Universitat Jena, Jener- 

 gasse 8, Jena. Donors of sums of 10,000 M., or over, will have 

 their names engraved on a tablet of "Ewige Mitglieder des 

 Phyhtisclicn Senates" placed in the entrance hall of the mu- 

 seum. Professor Haeckel writes in a recent letter that the total 

 expense of establishing the museum will be about 200,000 M., 

 of which 130,000 M. have so far been raised. 



In Germany there goes on a steady discussion of the Vital- 

 ismus versus Mechanismus subject. There is a constant run- 

 ning disputational conflict between the mechanicalists and the 

 neo-vitalists. The latter find their champion in Hans Driesch, 

 while among the former Otto zur Strassen is one of the most 

 active: If Driesch were not so keen in his criticisms and so adroit 

 in his argumentation victory would have been long ago with his 

 antagonists, for he supports an impossible position. But he 

 uses the method of offense and not of defense; he attacks the 

 weak places in mechanicalism and constantly shifts the burden 

 of proof to the shoulders of the mechanicalists. It is the 

 method made famous, and for long successful, by Weismann, 

 in his war on neo-Lamarckism. But Weismann had in the end, 

 when his position was attacked, to make great concessions, and 

 so it will be with Driesch. Neo-vitalism is really not new, 

 despite its new terminology, but is simply paleo-vitalism very 

 adroitly rehabilitated ; and vitalism under any form is irrecon- 

 cilable with the spirit of scientific progress. 



A very interesting example of the advance of mechanicalism 

 at the expense of vitalism on one hand and finalism on the other, 



