To John Struthers   21 March 1874

Struthers, one of the earliest advocates in Scotland for the theory of natural selection, had given an address on evolution to the Medical Students’ Society in Aberdeen; it was reported in the Aberdeen Daily Free Press, 24 February 1874. The clipping sent to CD is now in DAR 226.2: 66–7. There is also a reprint of the report, inscribed by Struthers to CD, in the Darwin Pamphlet Collection–CUL; CD wrote, ‘Read in newspaper’ on it.

Struthers’s address involved anatomical demonstrations illustrated by dissections and drawings; in each case he asked whether the facts were best explained by evolution or by design.

In his address, Struthers suggested that the superiority of philosophy, military prowess, and, increasingly, of commerce and manufactures in Germany depended upon the widespread scientific and technical education in that country; in addition, this scientific education, he claimed, made the German people less prejudiced against evolution than the British. He concluded by advocating that the universities devote themselves to the specialised and practical teaching of the sciences in order to provide teachers capable of teaching science in schools.