LIFE OF FLOWER n 



parative anatomy rather than towards practical surgery 

 or medicine. Accordingly, when the appointment of 

 Conservator to the Museum of the Royal College of 

 Surgeons became vacant in 1 86 1 by the death of Mr. 

 Quekett, Flower was strongly recommended by Huxley 

 (then Hunterian Professor), Busk, and other friends as 

 a suitable successor, and was in due course elected by the 

 Council. When, nine years later (1870), Huxley him- 

 self felt compelled by the pressure of other engagements 

 and work to resign the Hunterian Professorship, the 

 Conservator of the Museum was appointed to the vacant 

 chair, thus once more bringing together two posts which 

 had been sundered since Owen's resignation. 



On his appointment to the Conservatorship of the 

 Museum of the College of Surgeons, Flower once for 

 all definitely abandoned medicine as a profession, and 

 determined to devote the whole of his energies for the 

 future to the study of his beloved comparative anatomy 

 and zoology. Nevertheless, he always remained in touch 

 with his old profession, as he was always in sympathy 

 with those who were actively practising the same. 

 Indeed, since the collections under his charge included 

 a large pathological series, while during his tenure of 

 office a large display of surgical instruments was added 

 to the exhibits, he could not, even had he so desired, 

 cut himself entirely adrift from old associations and old 

 studies. 



Since a considerable amount of space in a later chapter 

 is devoted to Flower's work as Museum Curator and as 

 Hunterian Lecturer, it will be unnecessary to allude 

 further to it in this place, although it will be appro- 

 priate to quote the elogium on his efforts in this sphere, 



