Part 4 (1/1)

Soood observer, but he has no power of reasoning!” I do not think that this can be true, for the 'Origin of Species' is one long argu to the end, and it has convinced not a few ableso I have a fair share of invention, and of coment, such as every fairly successful lawyer or doctor ree

On the favourable side of the balance, I think that I as which easily escape attention, and in observing thereat as it could have been in the observation and collection of facts What is far more important, my love of natural science has been steady and ardent

This pure love has, however, been much aided by the ambition to be esteemed by my fellow naturalists Froest desire to understand or explain whatever I observed,--that is, to group all facts under soiven me the patience to reflect or ponder for any number of years over any unexplained problee, I am not apt to follow blindly the lead of other men I have steadily endeavoured to keep ive up any hypothesis, howeverone on every subject), as soon as facts are shown to be opposed to it Indeed, I have had no choice but to act in this manner, for with the exception of the Coral Reefs, I cannot rele first-forreatly reatly deductive reasoning in the mixed sciences On the other hand, I am not very sceptical,--a fraress of science A good deal of scepticism in a scientific man is advisable to avoid much loss of time, but I have met with not a few men, who, I feel sure, have often thus been deterred from experiment or observations, which would have proved directly or indirectly serviceable

In illustration, I will give the oddest case which I have known A gentleood local botanist) wrote to me from the Eastern counties that the seed or beans of the co side of the pod

I wrote back, asking for further information, as I did not understand astime

I then saw in tspapers, one published in Kent and the other in Yorkshi+re, paragraphs stating that it was a rown on the wrong side” So I thought there ly, I went to ardener, an old Kentishabout it, and he answered, ”Oh, no, sir, itside only on leap-year, and this is not leap-year” I then asked hirew in common years and how on leap-years, but soon found that he knew absolutely nothing of how they grew at any time, but he stuck to his belief

After a tiies, said that he should not have written to ent farain to every one of them, and not one knew in the least what he had himself meant So that here a belief--if indeed a statement with no definite idea attached to it can be called a belief--had spread over ale of evidence

I have known in the course of my life only three intentionally falsified statements, and one of these may have been a hoax (and there have been several scientific hoaxes) which, however, took in an Aricultural Journal It related to the for of distinct species of Bos (soether), and the author had the impudence to state that he had corresponded with me, and that I had been deeply impressed with the importance of his result The article was sent toforit

A second case was an account of several varieties, raised by the author from several species of Primula, which had spontaneously yielded a full coh the parent plants had been carefully protected from the access of insects This account was published before I had discovered theof heterostylism, and the whole statelect in excluding insects so gross as to be scarcely credible

The third case was uineous Marriage' soian author, who stated that he had interbred rabbits in the closest enerations, without the least injurious effects The account was published in a iu doubts--I hardly knohy, except that there were no accidents of any kind, andanimals made me think this very improbable

So withhim whether the author was a trustworthy reatly shocked by discovering that the whole account was a fraud (The falseness of the published statements on which Mr Huth relied has been pointed out by himself in a slip inserted in all the copies of his book which then reed in the Journal to say where he had resided and kept his large stock of rabbits while carrying on his experiments, which must have consumed several years, and no answer could be extracted from him

My habits are methodical, and this has been of not a little use for my particular line of work Lastly, I have had a to earn h it has annihilated several years of my life, has saved me from the distractions of society and amusement

Therefore my success as a man of science, whatever this may have ae, by complex and diversified mental qualities and conditions Of these, the most important have been--the love of science--unbounded patience in long reflecting over any subject--industry in observing and collecting facts--and a fair share of invention as well as of common sense With suchthat I should have influenced to a considerable extent the belief of scientific men on some important points