12 THE EEV. J. G. WOOD. 



less permanent effect. He broke, at different times 

 during his life, his right arm, his right leg, his .collar- 

 bone (twicej, six ribs, almost all the bones of his 

 right hand, and his nose. He cracked several other 

 bones without actually fracturing them. He dislocated 

 his ankle and several of his fingers. And yet the 

 only lasting damage resulted from the injury to his 

 right hand, which was of so serious and complicated 

 a character that the only marvel is that he should 

 ever have recovered the use of the member at all. 



Remaining at school until he was seventeen years 

 of age, he then returned to Oxford, and shortly after- 

 wards matriculated at Merton College. In the follow- 

 ing year he tried for and obtained the Jackson 

 Scholarship ; and partly by the aid of this, partly by 

 taking pupils in his spare hours and during the 

 vacations, he entirely supported himself throughout 

 his university career. 



In spite of his two-fold labours, however, he still 

 contrived to keep up his natural history studies, both 

 indoors and out. His rooms were full of cages, and 

 nets, and boxes of all kinds. At one time he was 

 studying the development of the tiger moth from 

 the egg to the perfect insect, and had between five 

 and six hundred of the " woolly bear " caterpillars 

 simultaneously feeding in an enormous breeding-cage 

 specially constructed for the purpose. This was so 

 arranged that the stems of the food-plants passed 

 through holes in the floor into a tank of water be- 

 neath ; so that while the caterpillars could not by 



