The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-07-22
THE EVENING LECTURE.
Or. Tyler Spoke on Conformity to Environ
Fnent

/ DR.. Tyler spoke last evening on
Conformity to environment" and said
in part The subject is so vast that it
takes in the universe. Universe is
what environment means. But it isn't
the space that makes it difficult. AL
most every element touches us in many
different standpoints, and what com
plexlty arises when we try to combine
them all.
The complexities of these relations in
life have to be taken by the law of
exclusion, and every day in life each
OF us makes use Of the law. Survival
depends on conformity to environment.
If l use my method of exclusion, how
ever, | fail. say that l shall disre-
gard the unseen in my life, and l die
from bacteria. We stand close to ma
ture, we can analyze its water we can
look at the ocean, but one can know
hardly the smallest portion of this
great body of water. Is there any mid
die course whereby we can get at the
problem of environment?
If an animal survives only by con-
formity to environment, then the an
imal will bear signs of his environ
ment. What we need to know is the
/
what effect 1t is having on you and
me.
Is the fittest animal the one which
is developing the best habits and the
best organs? If we are to study en-
vironment which animals are we to
study? Why not study any one? Why
not study the clans. The clam has
changed hardly trifle to this day. and
while he was slumbering on, almost
all types of animals came and went
He was so conformed to environment
that he didn't need to change
There is in the whole animal king
dom only one line that has progressed.
That ran from the amoeba to man. All
other lives bent down.
Let us trace a few of the more i'm
portant characteristics of this line.
We are led to believe that our early
ancestor was a sac-like cell, with two
layers, one of which made the llges-
tive part. This form seems to recur all
through the line of coelenterata. The
animal had only a stomach and a re-
productive organ. Without these two
functions, nolife can go on. Even thus
far there is result of environmsn
Then came the worms, most inter-
esting type. They made fools of them
selves, always bubbling over, and
branched out In all sorts of lines. Be-
fore the worms there was no muscle to
speak of. But as we get through with
the worm, we find that they had de-
veloped structure very much like the
fishy Part Of our body trunks. There
were respiratory and excretory organs
there was a circulatory system and
last Of ALL a skeleton was introduced
All these last are subservient to the
muscles. and the digestive system is
by NJ means neglected The nervous
system is also developed. We should
say now that the environment was
making for good Objection, rapid re-
production and muscular system that
was being trained for strength or
sWirtness Nature worked ages to de-
velop this muscular system.
The accessory systems can never be
made use Of In development, After
muscle, digestion and reproduction, the
nervous system was the only thing left
to develop.
Conformity to environment consists
IN retaining the old organs and bring
Ing them to the highest DEVELOPMENT
ana IN taking on new organs. We have
round that only the shrewdest animals
survived. Mr.. Fisk says that NAM
mallan structure made the family and
social life. Man was compelled 10
think OF his fellowmen and soon he he
gan to think Of duty, and It seems then
that we had revolution.
Environment seems TO have changed
It's mind so often that one line Of a.
velopment was often thrown down FOR
another. But II the tide GIBBS and shifts
who knews where it Will blow 1000 wears
from nowY But our environment Is NOT
Vpe same thing as that in the amoeba.