292 ON THE STUDY OF BIOLOGY x 



but still upon somewhat tlie same principle as 

 here. There is no dilliculty, when you have to 

 deal with students of the ages of fifteen or sixteen, 

 in practising a little dissection and in getting a 

 notion of, at any rate, the four or five great modi- 

 fications of the animal form; and the like is true 

 in regard to the higher anatomy of plants. 



While, lastly, to all those who are studying 

 biological science with a view to their own edifi- 

 cation merely, or with the intention of becoming 

 zoologists or botanists; to all those who intend to 

 pursue physiology — and especially to those who 

 propose to employ the working years of their 

 lives in the practice of medicine — I say that 

 there is no training so fitted, or which may be of 

 such important service to them, as the discipline 

 in practical biological work which I have sketched 

 out as being pursued in the laboratory hard by. 



I may add that, beyond all these different 

 classes of persons who may profit by the study of 

 Biology, there is yet one other. I remember, a 

 number of years ago, that a gentleman who was a 

 vehement opponent of Mr. Darwin's views and had 

 written some terrible articles against them, api)lied 

 to me to know what was the best way in which he 

 could acquaint himself with the strongest argu- 

 ments in favour of evolution. I wrote back, in all 

 good faith and simplicity, recommending him to 

 so throimh a course of comparative anatomy and 



