Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-12-27
AGASSIZ ON DARWINISM.
His Last Written WOrk--The Article
in the ssAtIantic'' on Evolution.

His Last Written WOrk--The Article
in the s'AtIantic'' on Evolution.
Fron the Boston Globe.
Prof. Agassiz has long been known
as an unbeliever in Darwinism, and
the uncompromisng enunciation Of his
views, which is to appear in the Janu-
airy Atlantic, although it defines his po-
sition more clearly, will surprise no stu
dent of his works. In this essay Prof.
Agassiz gave a synopsis of his reasons
for not holding the DarwlnIan doc
trines, preparatory to a more detailed
statement which he intended to make
III future numbers Of the magazine.
This sketch the great naturalist will
never complete, and to its scientific
value is added the mela icholy interest
of being he last finished work from the
hand to which the students and lovers
Of natural science owes to much.
1t begins by saying that The law Of
evolution, so far as its working is un-
derstood, is a law controlling develop
: ment and keeping types within ap-
pointed cycles Of growth, which revOlve
forever upon themselves, returning at
appointed intervals to the same start
ING point and repeating through a sue
cession of phases the same course.
These cycles have never been known to
'oscillqte or to pass into each other; m
deed. the only structural difference
known between individuals Of the same
stock are monstrosities, or peculiarities
pertaining to sex, and the latter are as
abiding and permanent rs type itself. "
His next assertion is that mo primary
division of the animal kingdom will
stand. which will not bear the test ap-
piled by Cuvier tohis four great groups,
Radiate. Mollusks. Ar6culates and
Vertebrates; that is to say, the test of
4 distinct plan of structure for each. "
The article then briefly reviews the
different books published by Darwin,
and saws that "PaugeneSis' in which
the whole theory is summarized, does
not prove more conclusively what was
already known namely, that all do
mesticated animals and cultivated
plants are traceable to distinct species,
and that the domesticated pigeons
which furnish SO large portion of the
illustration are notwithstanding their
great diversity under special treatment,
no exception TO this rule The review
closes with the assertion that the great
er part of the argument, both with Dar-
win and his followers ispurely negative
and rests partly upon the assumption
that I'm the succession Of ages, just
those transition types have dropped out
from the geological record which would
have proved the Darwinian conclusions
had these types been preserved, and
that. n the living animal, the process
of transition is too subtle for detection
thus throwing off the responsibility OF
proof with respect to embryonic growth
and geological succession.
Concerning the famous discovery
made by K owaleysky Of the presence
in the Ascidians of Il string of cells
corresponding tothe dorsal cord in Yer
tebrat es. the article says that the ex.
istence IF this string of cells was pre-
yiously known to naturalists, and that
he himself had intended to say some.
thing of their nature and position had
he not been anticipated by Won Baer,
who has recently published 4 pamphlet
upon Che development Of the Ascldlans
as compared with the Fertebrates, III
which pamphlet he shows that the
string Of cells runs along the ventral
side of the body of the Ascidians, and
tbatthis developement has no true homo
logv with that of the Vertebratcs. TO
say that the first Vertebrates or their
oropenetors carried their back-bones in
this manner" said Professor Agasslz,
"is about as reasonable rs to say that
+l,,,, ,ro ll-ad ON thaiI heads y
The doctrine of Haeekei, that star
fishes are compound animals, made up
as If were. of worm-like beings, united
like rays in one organism. a doctrine
which. if true. would establish a tran
.zit;ln from Radiates to Articulates, il
,,,,ouoEpced to be all assumption, with
.rnt foundation in the structure OF the
star-Hsb. The arms Of these animals
heino made Ep % the same parts a.
tbn Te,+icle zones of 81 Radiates, anc
ARRANGED around a vertical axis, cannon
be compared TO those Of any ArtlcniaA0
in which class the parts are arranged
along a longitudinal axis.
The topics of metamorphosls, hered-
;tar,- and natural SUCCESSION, are very
briefly considered, and thearticie closes
yyi+b = confederation of the geological
side of the question, IN which ground Ii
taken against the theory OF transmls
sion. since the whole history Of geologl
cal succession shows that the lowest II
structure is byno means earliest ID tlme
and since. therefore, 1t may besale 'l2
a great diversity Of types has EXISTED
from the beginning.