The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-04-23

TIM, Aberdeen .Nnd the other Scottish universal
,ioa exhibited the modi9Yal type. having boon
modelled az regards their constitution and
curriculum. dni the old University Of Psrie, he
goos on to designate the changes demanded by
modern progress and the modern spirit. He
maintained that sound and practical instrnq-
ton in the elementary facts and broad
principles OF biology should ial..S, an insop-
arab o part OF tho reg ular course followed
by candidates for tho Is. A. dagree Indeed.
considering the relation OF physical science to
the practical life Of tho present day, Prof Hux-
Icy would challenge for IL tho same right as
theology. law. and medicine to u Faculty OF its
own in which men, after obtaining the b. A. de-
gree. should be trained TO be professional sci
entists. On the other hand be would not eoun
sci certain stops which have been taken bv
some American colleges. entertaining grave
doubt whether universities are the proper
places for technical schools Of englnesrlngo ap-
lied chemistry. or agriculture. He insists,
however that instruction in tho branches OF
science which lie ut the foundation Of those
arte-an instruction. too. Of far more al
vaneod and special character than could with
any propriety be Included in the ordinary arts
eurriculum-ought to be obtanabo by means
OF duly organized Faculty of science in every
university.
Speaking at Aberdeen. Prof. Huxley thought
II graceful thing to cnst doubt on the current
impression that the Scottish universities d Ter
from the English in baing to u much greater
extent places OF comparatively elementary
education for u younger class of students. lie
seems To think that this Ia disproved by some
assertions made by Mr.. Pattison. the rector of
Lincoln white denouneing the waste OF Oxford
funds under tho present system, and advooat-
I'M hpi r nnpIipntipn tn thu endowment OF
search MIR. Pattison afil rmei that " elementary
teaching OF youths under twenty is now the
only function performed by the University Of
Oxford - and again. that tho Oxford colleges
arc boarding schools In which the elements
Of the learned languages arc taught to youth"
Now. the age OF undergraduates at Scottish
and al English universities may he about the
same and IL Is true enough that from the view
point OF ripe scholar the knowledge acquired
even by honor mon ut the iRtter institutions
may be regarded as elementary. How wide.
however. Ia the difference in the regulates for
admission and In the work done after matriou-
lation at Aberdeen and at Oxford. will he OBJ
vious TO any ono who will compare the pro-
grammes set forth in thelrrespcctive calendars.
Another OF these papers which is Invested
with peculiar interest since tho death Of tho
great naturalist is that In which Prof. Huxley
marks the advance which Darwin's theory OF
the origin OF species had made toward general
aceeptttion during the twenty years which
followed its exposition. He reminds us that In
1859 Notwithstanding the work commenced by
Hutton and continued by Lycll. the dominant
view Of the past history OF the earth was catas-
trophe. Great and sudden physical revolu
tons wholesale creations and oxtinctions VI
living beings. were the ordinary machinery Of
the geological epic brought into fashion by
Ia MT lnu thn nth
hand no respected goologist dreams nf
seeking outside the range OF known
natural causes for the explanation Of
anything that happened millions of years ago.
any more than he would be guilty Of tho like
absurdity in regard to current events. The
effect Of this change OF opinion on biological
research Ia obvious. For II there have been no
periodical general physical catastrophes.
what brought about the assumed general ex-
tinctions and creations Of life which are the
corresponding biological catastrophcs? And il
no such interruptions Of the ordinary course Of
nature ,iave taken place In the organic any
more Uian in the Inorganic world. what alter
native is there to the admission Of evolution 2
Prof Huxley accordingly considers Darwin as
! the natural successor OF Hutton and LyeA. and
the doctrine OF evolution in biology as the
necc ssary result of the logical application OF
the principles Of unformitarianism TO the pho
nom cna OF life.
Pref. Huxley admits that IN 1859 there WIS n
great deal to be said in favor Of tho purity OF
species and Of the existence of great breaks
which gaps have since been. however. to a large
extent. filed up. At that date Darwin was
| 30 far from being the master of the stua
! ton that he seemed more likely TO 10 the
victim OF II. For various rcasons. ecisn-
tito and unscientifio much stress was ut first
! laid on the apparent hiatus between man and
| the rest Of the higher mammalia. Prof. HuX-
| ley shows no inclination TO revive past contro-
| yersies, but contents himself with asserting as
| a simple fact that tho distinctions in the ccre-
! bral and other characters which twenty years
| ago we're so holly affirmed ito separate man
! from all other animals have all boon demon
strated to be Nonresident. The significance
| Of this admission will DO appreciated by
| those who remember how muoh was made
| of those distinctions by Prof. Huxley himself.
| so too with Darwin's postulate, for which he
| was SO harshly taken TO task, that intcrnedi-
! ate forms between birds and reptiles must
| formerly havs existed, although no such forms
were then known to him. The progress Of
| knowledge has justified this inference from
| analogy. In 1862 was discovered specimen II
| the orchdoptervr. an animal which In its
feathers and the greater part Of ifs organization
| IL Ulru, Wnllc III Clntr paris IL ~ ~
| distinctly roItilian. Six years later Prof.
| Huxley made known the results OF invcstig;l-
| tons into the anatomical characters of certain
ancient reptiles which showed the nature nj the
| notifications in virtue Of which the type Of the
auadrupedal reptile passed into that of the hi
pedal bird. Finally, in 1875 the discovery of the
| toothcd birds OF the cretaceous formation in
| North America by Prof. Marsh went far TO com
| plete the series of transitional forms between
| birds and reptiles.
Twenty years ngo there also appeared 70 be u
very sharp and clear hiatus between verte-
brated and invertsbrated animals. not only In
their structure. but. what was more important
! In their development. Prof. Huxley does not
1 contend that even yet We know the precise
| links OF connection between the two. But IN
his opinion the Investigations Of Kowaewsky
and others prove beyond a doubt that the diff.
ferences formerly supposed TO constitute q
| barrier are non-existent TO his mind there
Is no longer any difficulty In understanding
how the vertebrate type may have arisen from
the invertobrate, though the full proof Of tn,
manner In which the transition was actual,