The Life and Writings of Francis Huher. 291 



under the title of " Memoirs on the Influence of Air in the Ger* 

 mination of Seeds !^ They fully demonstrated the necessity of 

 oxygen gas in germination, the impossibility of success in a me- 

 dium deprived of free oxygen, and the formation of carbonic 

 acid by the combination of this oxygen with the carbon of the 

 grain. This work, conceived principally by Sennebier, and 

 edited by him, has little of the impress of Huber, and it is evi* 

 dent that, in separating himself from his love of bees, he took less 

 interest in other researches. 



This perseverance of a whole life, in a given object, is one of 

 the characteristic traits of Huber, and probably one of the causes 

 of his success. Naturalists are divided from taste, and often from 

 position, into two series. The one love to embrace the tout en^ 

 semhle of beings, to compare them with others^ to seize the rela- 

 tions of their organization, and to deduce from them their clas- 

 sification and the general laws of nature. It is this class who 

 have necessarily at their disposal, vast collections;' and they 

 mostly dwell in large cities. The others take pleasure in the 

 profound study of a given subject, considering it under all its 

 aspects, scrutinizing into its minute details^ and patiently fol- 

 lowing it in all its pecuharities. The latter are generally seden- 

 tary and isolated , observers, living remote from collections, 

 and far from great cities. The former may be charged with 

 the neglect of details, in consequence of their attention to exten- 

 sive generalities. The second, from being circumscribed in a 

 limited circle, may be disposed to exaggerate its importance, and 

 hence to judge incorrectly of the connexion in the entire series. 

 But such mutual accusations are in reality idle. Natural his- 

 tory requires both of these classes, in the same manner as the 

 architect stands in need of the stone-cutter for the preparation 

 of his materials, and the sttme- cutter requires the science of the 

 arcliitect in the construction of the well planned edifice. 



Huber is evidently to be placed in the school of special ob* 

 servers: his situation and infirmity retained him in it, and he 

 acquired therein an honourable rank, by the sagacity and pre- 

 cision of his researches ; but it is plainly perceptible, in read- 

 ing his works, that his brilliant imagination urged him toward 

 the region of general ideas. Unprovided with terms of compa- 

 rison, he sought them in that theory of final causes, which isgra- 



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