CARPENTER, WILLIAM B. 



CHARITY ORGANIZATION. 145 



engaged in special studies of the Australian 

 and Philippine Foraminifera, the results of 

 which were given in memoirs to the Royal 

 Society and the Ray Society, between 1856 

 and I860. In these papers, according to Sir 

 B. Brodie, he showed the fallacy of the then 

 current system of classification, and laid the 

 foundation of a natural system, based 

 on those characters in the internal 

 structure and conformation of the 

 shell which are most closely related 

 to the physiological conditions of 

 the animal. More recently he was 

 prominently connected with the in- 

 vestigation of the results of the 

 deep-sea dredging expeditions which 

 have been sent out from time to time, 

 culminating in that of the Challen- 

 ger, in which he was associated with 

 Mr. J. Gwyn Jeffreys and Sir Wy- 

 ville Thomson, both dead before 

 him. These investigations, by Dr. 

 Carpenter and others, have added 

 immensely to our knowledge of the 

 physics of the sea, including the 

 phenomena of ocean-currents, and 

 the phenomena and conditions of 

 animal and vegetable life. As asso- 

 ciated with his researches in these 

 branches may be mentioned also his 

 reports on the microscopic structure 

 of shells, presented to the British 

 Association in 1844 and onward ; 

 his part in the discussions of the or- 

 ganic nature of Eozoon Canadense; 

 and his monograph on the structure 

 of the feather-star. His most im- 

 portant works were the "General 

 and Comparative Physiology," the 

 first edition of which was published 

 in 1838, and the " Human Physiolo- 

 gy," which was first published in 

 1844. The former work, though 

 long out of print, is hardly, even now, much 

 behind the times; and of the latter and the 

 work on the microscope, it may be said 

 that though they were first published long 

 before the biological sciences had attained 

 their present magnitude, they were based on 

 knowledge so wide, and were so thoughtfully 

 elaborated, that editions of both are still called 

 for. In these works, Dr. Carpenter was an 

 earnest advocate of the doctrine of develop- 

 ment by natural causes, and always insisted 

 that it was compatible with theism and stimu- 

 lating to the religious emotions. His latest 

 work in the physiological series was the " Prin- 

 ciples of Mental Physiology," and it is used as 

 a text-book in some of the higher institutions 

 of learning. He has delivered lectures in the 

 United States on "Human Automatism," and 

 the results of the deep-sea investigations. He 

 was President of the British Association in 

 1872, and was a member of the principal 

 learned societies in his own and other coun- 

 tries. He was, moreover, " essentially a good 

 VOL. xxv. 10 A 



citizen," and took the highest interest in social 

 questions, on which he threw the light of his 

 scientific knowledge. In this line were his 

 lectures on temperance, which have been wide- 

 ly circulated in many countries, but he had 

 occasion to modify some of the views expressed 

 in them. His papers were characterized by a 



WILLIAM BENJAMIN CAEPENTER. 



remarkable clearness of expression, which re- 

 sulted from the thorough mastery he possessed 

 of every subject on which he wrote. 



In 1861 Dr. Carpenter received the Royal 

 Medal of the Royal Society; in 1871, the de- 

 gree of LL. D. at Edinburgh; and in 1873 he 

 was elected a corresponding member of the 

 Institute of France. 



Dr. Carpenter's death was due to burns 

 caused by upsetting a gallipot of ignited spir- 

 its, with which he was taking a hot-air bath. 



CHARITY ORGANIZATION, a banding togeth- 

 er of the various benevolent institutions in a 

 large city, for mutual protection against impo- 

 sition, for more effective working in the mat- 

 ter of relief, for the economic disbursement of 

 alms-funds, for the improvement of the condi- 

 tion of the poor, and for the reform of abuses. 

 This requires the co-operation of the mayor, 

 the chief of police, and all who are concerned 

 in official relief-work. It should have also the 

 co-operation of every church, every asylum, 

 every benevolent society, fraternity, or citizen, 



