Yol.  49.]  ANNIVERSARY  ADDRESS  OE  THE  PRESIDENT.  5 1 
Other  societies  and  institutions  were  also  favoured  by  Prof.  Owen  ; 
as  examples  I  may  mention  ‘  Researches  on  Eossil  Remains  of  the 
Extinct  Mammals  of  Australia,  with  a  notice  of  the  Extinct  Marsu¬ 
pials  of  England,’  published  by  the  Zoological  Society,  and  ‘  Eossil 
Reptilia  of  South  Africa  in  the  Collection  of  the  British  Museum,’ 
published  by  order  of  the  Trustees.  Besides  these,  we  must  not 
forget  to  enumerate  his  4  Classification  and  Distribution  of  Mammals  ’ 
(1859),  his  ‘Manual  of  Palaeontology  '  (1861),  and,  to  go  very  far 
back  indeed,  his  4  Odontography,’  published  between  1840-45. 
His  communications  to  the  Geological  Society  vary  much  in 
length  ;  but,  taking  great  and  small  together,  85  papers  are  set 
down  to  his  name.  Yols.  vi.  and  vii.  of  the  second  series  of  the 
Transactions  are  especially  rich  in  communications  from  this 
author,  the  quarto  plates  offering  advantages  for  illustration.  He 
clears  up  doubts  as  to  the  marsupial  character  of  Thylacotherium  and 
Phascolotherium  from  the  Stonesfield  Slate,  and  combats  the  notion 
that  the  so-called  Basilosaurus  was  a  reptile  possessing  teeth  with 
double  fangs.  Five  quarto  plates  are  devoted  to  the  illustration  of 
a  species  of  Glyptodon  from  South  America,  whilst  three  classes  of 
Yertebrates  are  noticed  from  the  London  Clay,  and  descriptions  given 
of  five  species  of  Labyrinthodon  from  Warwickshire.  Of  course,  all 
this  is  ancient  history,  but  it  may  serve  to  direct  attention  for  a 
moment  to  what  was  going  on  at  the  Geological  Society  fifty  years 
ago.  Several  years  later  he  writes  largely  on  Dicynodon.  His 
description  of  Hyopotamus  from  the  Isle  of  Wight  is  also  of  this 
period.  In  our  Quarterly  Journal  his  papers  have  been  numerous, 
but  many  of  them  are  rather  short.  The  Yertebrates  of  South 
Africa  have  always  held  an  important  place  in  these  communica¬ 
tions. 
Referring  to  Owen’s  work  generally,  none  but  an  expert  must 
presume  to  venture  an  opinion.  Criticisms  on  his  numerous  specu¬ 
lative  treatises  would  nowadays  be  somewhat  out  of  date.  His 
opposition  to  what  was  once  called  Darwinism  is  a  curious  episode 
in  his  career.  At  the  celebrated  meeting  of  the  British  Association 
at  Oxford  in  1860  his  assistance  was  of  use  in  enabling  the  anti- 
Darwinians  to  maintain  a  good  defensive  position  ;  but  two  years 
later,  at  Cambridge,  even  Owen’s  powers  of  persuasion  could  not 
avert  defeat.  His  attitude  has  been  attributed  to  various  causes, 
such  as  a  predilection  for  bishops,  or  to  jealousy  that  others  should 
have  forestalled  him  in  interpreting  the  great  riddle  of  the  succes¬ 
sion  of  life.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  cause,  it  is  admitted  that 
the  researches  of  Owen  himself  paved  the  way  for  the  reception  of 
