May, 1923] 
HARPER — SPECIES CONCEPT 
233 
Morphology is commonly said now to be a dead science. Its last gasps 
have consisted of such tenuous and ill-founded speculations as to have led 
to general lack of interest and distrust in its conclusions. That there is 
too much truth in these utterances is to be admitted. Many morphologists 
have attempted to bridge the gaps in their knowledge with “all too bold 
guesses and ill-judged hypotheses.” 
On the other hand, it is hardly to be imagined that biologists will ever 
lose interest in the great problems of the evolution of plant and animal 
types. It is equally clear that we shall never rest content until our classi¬ 
fications of plant and animal species present in the fullest degree possible 
a picture of their evolutionary descent. 
Columbia University 
