256 
THE GEOLOGIST. 
Every individual plant and animal is confessedly acted on by forces, 
the precise nature of which has never yet been revealed by science. 
Some conception may be formed of one, paramount in my mind, by 
designating it progressive change. A principle of this kind appears 
to me to be inherent in animated nature; or, how can we otherwise 
explain the " unity of plan" pervading both organic kingdoms, — the 
" phenomena of parthenogenesis," — the " advance and progress in the 
main" which our life system has undergone in past geological ages ? 
There is no difficulty in referring instances which cannot be recon- 
ciled with " an advance and a progress in the main ;" but these are 
obviously exceptional. I cannot agree with Mr. ])arwin in his view 
of the " geological record " — of its being so " imperfect " as he seems 
to think. Many important connecting links, binding in close union 
all the members of our life-system, are undoubtedly wanting ; but, in 
taking a general survey of the facts revealed by marine pala3ontology, 
commencing with the earliest organic period, and closing with the 
present one, it is to me a matter of surprise, considering how limited 
is the field of observation, that the "geological record" is so per- 
fect. There is apparently some difficulty in accounting for the 
occurrence of so many invertebrate orders — low as well as high — in 
Cambrian rocks ; but we must not overlook the fact that such groups 
noia include forms of the simplest type, doubtful even as to their 
ordinal rank ; nor must we overlook the probability of the primordial 
Crustacea, annelids, cephalopods, palliobranchs, corals, etc., being 
more closely related to each other than is the case with their repre- 
sentatives of later geological periods. 
The supremacy of progressive change may be exemplified by re- 
ferring to the successive modifications which the human organism 
passes through in its progress towards maturity ; while the ancillary 
or subordinate character of " natural selection " is well illustrated by 
the changes which external agencies have effected on the same or- 
ganism, producing, as admitted by nearly all, the leading varieties of 
the human species. 
"With respect to the varieties of man, I hold that most of them are 
genetheonomous degradations of the Indo-Caucasian type, developed 
by the physical conditions peculiar to the regions they respectively 
inhabit. Cogent reasons may be advanced for regarding the American 
Indian as having descended from the Mongolian, and the latter from 
the Indo-Caucasian. Even the aboriginals of Australia may be looked 
upon as anotlier degraded race : those inhabiting the south and west 
coasts are confessedly inferior to the adjacent oceanic tribes, as they 
appear to be incapable of constructing canoes. Erom some remarks 
recently made by Professor Jukes, one might be led to attribute this 
mark of inferiority to the apparent absence in Australia of indigenous 
timber suitable for canoes {vide ' Athenteum,' No. 1793). I believe, 
however, a more general cause has operated, — one involving physical 
conditions. Nevertheless, I certainly prefer accepting the particular 
circumstance stated, as one of the means which have brought about 
the degradation of the Australian, to adopting the view which con- 
