6 
IOWA ACADEMY OP SCIENCE 
Modern biologic study has brought forth a wealth of material, especially 
statistical or quantitative study of variations, experimental morphology and 
physiology, as the results of Darwin’s work. Some of these writers have 
endeavored to make light of Darwinism. New truths are added to the old and 
new evidences of the truth of Darwinism is being confirmed. Some phases of 
Darwinism are discredited but the theory of organic evolution is practically 
accepted by all working biologists. The theory of descent, though worked out, 
in part, by other naturalists before him, needed a Darwin to correlate the 
facts and marshal them together in order to construct a theory which would 
last as long as science should engage the attention of man. It was not a specu- 
lative philosophy put forth in his book on the origin of species, but one of the 
most remarkable scientific works ever published, his conclusions were based 
on sound principles and reasoning after a large number of observations had 
been made. In this way, the theory of descent came to be accepted by working 
naturalists. His work opened up a new field in biological research. No other 
scientific work perhaps so influenced the thought of his day or of our day as 
his epoch-making work on the “Origin of Species,” published in 1859. 
T. H. Macbeide, 
L. H. Pammel. 
