CHAPTER V 



GENERAL ZOOLOGICAL WORK 



IN the course of the preceding chapters numerous 

 more or less incidental references have been made to 

 the contributions of Sir William Flower to biological 

 literature, as well as to his many improvements in 

 museum organisation and arrangement. The more 

 detailed discussion of these has, however, been reserved 

 for the present and succeeding chapters, of which the 

 first two are devoted to the zoological and the third to 

 the anthropological side of his work, while in the 

 fourth his views in regard to museums and certain 

 other subjects are taken into consideration. 



Regarding the general scientific work of Flower, it 

 must be confessed at the outset that this is characterised 

 in the main by its conscientious carefulness and exactness, 

 rather than by brilliancy of thought, conception, or 

 style. Great attention to detail, both as regards the 

 work itself and in reference to authorities (which were 

 always most carefully verified), is indeed one of the 

 leading features of his labours ; but there is no epoch- 

 making discovery or comprehensive generalisation which 

 can be associated with his name. In connection with 

 his careful attention to small and apparently trivial points 

 of detail, the following passage from Professor Ray 



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