170 ANDREW JACKSON HOWE. 



long to find out what constituted the essential differ- 

 ence between a warm and a cold-blooded animal. He 

 employed a thermometer to learn the variation of tem- 

 perature in a hive of bees in winter ; and speculated upon 

 the cause of an increase of heat as soon as the insects 

 were aroused from their usual torpidity. In short, he 

 carried on at the same time a great variety of experi- 

 ments for the purpose of obtaining knowledge per se, 

 and with the object of utilizing in his surgical prac- 

 tice such facts as he might discover. And while he 

 was delving for the good of surgery he was pursuing 

 the very best course to develop a philosophical biology. 

 At the end of a moderately long life spent in pro- 

 fessional labor and in the preparation of specimens 

 illustrative of pathology and comparative anatomy, 

 Hunter left little for the support of his family, except 

 a huge collection of materials that came through his 

 hands, a considerable portion of which being un- 

 finished. These specimens were at length sold for 

 fifteen thousand pounds sterling ; and thus the famous 

 " Hunterian Museum" was established. The funds 

 were sufficient to render comfortable those of his im- 

 mediate kin who had been dependent upon him. The 

 cabinet, now considerably enlarged, shows what can 

 be accomplished by the utilization of odds and ends of 

 time which are too commonly wasted by those who 

 flatter themselves that they are busy. It is reported 

 of Hunter that he never seemed tired nor weary; he 

 always expressed himself as being intensely happy, 

 only regretting that he had no more time to devote to 

 the study of nature. If he felt chagrined at the 

 trivial way in which his boyhood was spent, he never 

 confessed it, but worked on as if to regain what had 

 been lost. 



