IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A SPECIES ? 

 By Chas. p. Hobkirk. 



[Continued from p. 9.] 



And this position is further ' strengthened by a paper published 

 by Crepin in the Bulletins of the Royal Bot. Soc. of Belgium, in April, 

 1864, in which he compares the position of four different authors of 

 the Floras of France, showing what forms some admit as species 

 which others consider as mere varieties, and vice versa ; but the space 

 at my disposal will not permit me to do more than merely to mention 

 this, and not to give the particulars, which are really interesting. 

 Near the conclusion of the paper he writes : — " We must be convinced 

 that the authors who have furnished us with these examples have 

 admitted as species forms of a much lower value than others, which 

 they have relegated to the rank of simple varieties." Now comes the 

 question again — what is a species 1 How can we answer it 1 The 

 four or five great authorities which we have quoted differ in their 

 estimates, and not only so, but many plants which some call species 

 are by others called merely varieties. Is there, then, really in nature 

 such a thing as a species, or such a thing as a variety Are the two 

 separable, or are they not 1 Let us look at it in the light of Darwinism 

 and see if that will give us any clue. Most writers agree in this, that 

 a species may be the descendants of common parents ; and that if any 

 particular form can be traced distinctly to its parent stock, even if 

 it differ in some particulars from that stock, it is really a part of a 

 species, and must rank as a mere variety, and not as another species. 



All this is specious enough on paper, but then how are we to trace 

 their descent ? By their affinities ? What are these They are, for 

 the most part, mere blind leaders of the blind. Granted that any form 

 we may find, say having a dozen marked characters, nine of which 

 connect it with a certain acknowledged specific form, there are three 

 remaining which are not found in the type, or are different from it, 

 and connect it with a so-called allied species. Some will refer this to 

 one form, and some to the other. The lumpers will probably unite all 

 three in one, and strike out the diverging characters ; the splitters will 

 retain all the characters and make three species ; whereas amongst the 

 Linneans there will be a difference of opinion — one set will call our 

 new form a variety of one species, whilst the others will make 

 it a variety of the other species. Which is right 1 Then comes 

 again the question — What is its descent ? Here we are again fast, 

 N. S. Vol. i.— Sept., 1875. 



