Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 04.djvu/100

LEFT EVOLUTION" tion has been most discussed (in connec- tion with the evolutionary theory of the Origin of Species), as it affirms that all forms of life in both the animal and vegetable kingdoms have been developed by modifications of parts from one low- form of life consisting of a minute cell. The steps by which this process has been accomplished, and the causes that have been mainly at work in it, form a department of research to which many notable scientists — Lamarck, St. Hilaire, Goethe, Schelling, Haeckel, Spencer, Dar- win, Wallace, and others have contrib- uted. John Fiske, in his doctrine of evolution, brings out vividly before us the ever-present God, destroying the con- ception of the world as a mere cosmic machine. The origin of all mammals from one common parent form upward to man is an established fact. Man's evolution can be traced upward from a fish in 12 steps or stages. This fish ancestor of ours be- longed to the order of the Selachii, the best existing species of which is the shark. In another direction this primitive fish gave rise to the higher forms of vertebrate amphibious animals leading up to man. The next higher class of vertebrates, leading toward man, are the batrachians or amphibians. The axolotl of Mexico, a fish-like animal with a long tail, belongs to this class. It has both gills and lungs, and can either respire water through the gills or air through the lungs. Similar are the numerous kinds of salamanders. An experiment was made of keeping the axolotl perma- nently out of the water. It lost its gills and became permanently mature and ac- customed to its environment. Resembling these are the various kinds of toads and frogs, after which animals come the pro- tanmians (lizard-like reptiles). These, losing their gills and breathing only through lungs, were a step farther re- moved from fishes. In the formation of the group of Stegocephala, from which man descended, a distinct advance occurs. I partition wall forms within the simple ventricle of the heart, dividing it into right and left ventricles. Progress is also noticed in the development of the brain, the skeleton, and the muscular system. The period at which the important ad- vances occurred which laid the founda- tions for the mammal class, to which man belongs, was probably the Triassic. Out of that epoch came the monotremate mammal, of which the modern duck-bill or Platypus of Australia is a remnant. The next step higher in development was that of the marsupials, or animals whose females carry their young in pouches. From a branch of such pouched animals, the parent form of the higher or Pla- 70 EWELL cental mammals, of which man is an extremely specialized type, afterward sprang. Hence we reckon a whole series of pouched animals among the ancestors of the human race. The Placental mam- mals mark another distinct advance in evolution. To this group belong the carnivora, of which the lion, the tiger, the dog family and the bear family, are members. A special stage is that of the semi-apes, and probably our ancestor among the semi-apes resembled the exist- ing lemurs, and like these, led a quiet life climbing trees. Immediately following are the true apes. Beyond a doubt, of all animals, the apes are the most nearly allied to man. A thousand million of years may have been consumed in this evolution of man. EVOBA, a city of Portugal, capital of the province of Alemtejo, 75 miles E. by S. of Lisbon. It is the center of a con- siderable steel, cotton, and woolen indus- try, but is most famous for its archaeo- logical museum, one of the best in the country. It contains a church library with 25,000 volumes. Pop. about 18,000. EVBEUX, a city of France, capital of the department of Eure, in Normandy, situated on the Iton, 67 miles W. N. W. from Paris. A considerable industry in linens, shoes, and gasoline engines is carried on, while the town is the center of an important grain trade. It was the center of heavy fighting during the World War, especially during the in- tensive operations incidental to the great Allied offensive, known as the Battle of Normandy. EWALD, GEORG HEINRICH AIT- GUST VON (aValt), a German Orienta- list and Biblical critic; born in Gottin- gen, Nov. 16, 1803. After studying at the university there, in 1827 he became extraordinary, in 1831 ordinary Profes- sor of Theology, and in 1835 Professor of Oriental Languages. In 1837 he lost his chair at Gottingen on account of his protest against the king's abrogation of the liberal constitution, became Pro- fessor of Theology at Tubingen, but in 1848 returned to his old chair at Gottin- gen. When Hanover was annexed by Prussia in 1866 he became a zealous defender of the rights of the ex-king. Among his chief works are the follow- ing: "Complete Course of the Hebrew Language"; "The Poetical Books of the Old Testament"; "History of the People of Israel"; "Antiquities of the People of Israel." The history is considered his greatest work. He died in Gottingen, May 5, 1875. EWELL, RICHARD STODDERT, military officer; born in Georgetown, D.