Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, V. L. Simpson and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net _NATURE SERIES._ THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCES OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION. BY GEORGE J. ROMANES, M.A., LL.D., F.R.S., ZOOLOGICAL SECRETARY OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY. London: MACMILLAN AND CO. 1882. _The Right of Translation and Reproduction is Reserved._ LONDON: R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS, BREAD STREET HILL. PREFACE. Several months ago I published in the _Fortnightly Review_ a lecture, which I had previously delivered at the Philosophical Institutions of Edinburgh and Birmingham, and which bore the above title. The late Mr. Darwin thought well of the epitome of his doctrine which the lecture presented, and urged me so strongly to republish it in a form which might admit of its being "spread broadcast over the land," that I promised him to do so. In fulfilment of this promise, therefore--which I now regard as more binding than ever--I reproduce the essay in the "Nature Series" with such additions and alterations as appear to me, on second thoughts, to be desirable. The only object of the essay is that which is expressed in the opening paragraph. LONDON, _June 1, 1882._ Since this little Essay was published, it has been suggested to me that, in its mode of presenting the arguments in favour of Evolution, there is a similarity to that which has been adopted by Mr. Herbert Spencer in the third part of his _Principles of Biology_. I should therefore like to state, that while such similarity is no doubt in part due to the similarity of subject-matter, I think, upon reading again, after an interval of ten years, his admirable presentation of the evidence it may also in part be due to unconscious memory. This applies particularly to the headings of the chapters, which I find to be almost identical with those previously used by Mr. Spencer. G. J. R. CONTENTS. PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 I. THE ARGUMENT FROM CLASSIFICATION 17 II. THE ARGUMENT FROM MORPHOLOGY OR STRUCTURE 26 III. THE ARGUMENT FROM GEOLOGY 46 IV. THE ARGUMENT FROM GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 48 V. THE ARGUMENT FROM EMBRYOLOGY 63 VI. ARGUMENTS DRAWN FROM CERTAIN GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 70 THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCES OF ORGANIC EVOLUTION.