304 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



upon the natural gifts of those charged with the supervision of the 

 laboratory, and the amount of money which those whose duty it is to 

 decide on such matters see right to place at their disposal : for, how- 

 ever important we biologists may think ourselves, the fact remains 

 that there are other studies to be provided for, and studies just as 

 important as our own. For the present I can say, however, that we 

 have at our disposal one large and well-lighted room for general 

 work a room fitted up for physiologieo-chemieal investigations and 

 several smaller rooms for physiological and histological research. As 

 regards instruments we have ordered, and in part received, a very 

 excellent stock, including the most essential ones for every branch of 

 physiological research and I have no doubt that every year we shall 

 receive grants to add to our stock, and keep up witli the times. 



The zoological and comparative anatomy departments differ from 

 the physiological in not needing so many special instruments ; what 

 they mainly need are (besides work-rooms) material for examination 

 and dissection, and books, especially monographs, and those we shall 

 make it a point, to the best of our power, to obtain from time to time 

 as they are wanted. It seems to me that it is not our duty to provide 

 vast herbaria and museums containing every plant and animal under 

 the sun to provide such collections is the duty rather of the nation 

 than of a university nor do I think we should be wise to collect and 

 store away things promiscuously, in the hope that some one will want 

 them some time. "We should rather concentrate our force on getting 

 what is wanted for the time being. If some one wants to elucidate 

 any point in the structure of the Echinoderms, for example, we should 

 do our best to obtain specimens for him even from all parts of the 

 world ; if some one else wants to work at the embryology of any fish 

 or amphibian, we should again endeavor to get him the eggs in va- 

 rious stages of development, and so on ; but I doubt the wisdom of 

 sending out collectors with orders to store away everything they can 

 catch, fish, flesh, and fowl, in spirit, and send it to us. "VVe have no- 

 where to display such collections if we got them the vastly greater 

 part of them would never be used and when reference to extensive 

 collections is necessary, we have always at hand the admirable mu- 

 seum illustrating the fauna and flora of this State which is being 

 brought together by the Academy of Sciences in this city, and the 

 national collections at Washington are within an hour's journey of us. 

 Bringing together from time to time such materials for special re- 

 searches as I have indicated above, will naturally entail considerable 

 expenditure, but I am sure that the trustees, if they see we mean 

 work, will do all they can to supply our needs. 



Now let us turn to the other part of our subject, biological teach- 

 ing : from part of what I have already said you have doubtless gath- 

 ered something of my views on this matter. If biology be the com- 

 plicated study that I have endeavored to indicate, it is in the first 



