RECORD: Anon. 1877. [Review of Forms of flowers]. London Daily News (31 December): 5.
REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and edited by John van Wyhe 11.2022. RN1
We have had one important contribution to the literature of natural history in Darwin's treatise on the "Different Forms of Flowers on plants of "the Same Species;" and, by the way, if affords at once a curious illustration of hereditary genius, and a striking evidence of the possibility of error in estimating the significance of half-seen facts, that the grandson of ERASMUS DARWIN should be the author of a treatise in which much that was maintained by the elder DARWIN has been shown to be untenable. No very marked progress has been made in the discussion respecting the rival doctrines of biogenesis and abiogenesis. Professor TYNDALL has shown that in every case where living creatures have appeared in solutions of various kinds experimented upon by him, the introduction of the germs of life could be accounted for. He has presented new evidence to show how exceedingly difficult the inquiry is, and how readily cases of the development of life from germs may be mistaken for cases of spontaneous generation. But believers in spontaneous generation retain their faith.
Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
File last updated 22 November, 2022