ON BIOLOGY. 65 



habits, the various foods and the life-histories of all 

 animals, all living organisms, whatsoever, as well as 

 everything possible to be known of plant Mfeboth in space 

 and in time. Everything is to be gained by a vigorous 

 pushing of the study of both normal and pathological 

 histology in every possible direction, by which we mean 

 an attainment of a knowledge of the intimate structure 

 of the tissues in every living organism, both animal and 

 vegetable, and the various diseases which may affect the 

 same. 



Did my time but admit of it it. would, in a similar 

 manner, not be difficult for me to show that the most 

 valuable and practical results are sure to follow in the 

 wake of our increased knowledge of such other biological 

 sciences as palaeontology, aetiology, sociology and 

 psychology. 



Many have been the triumphs of biology in the past, 

 and in many departments of science and learning; bul, 

 as great as those have been, I am constrained to believe 

 that still greater ones are to be met and dealt with in the 

 future. Many of the grander conquests I have already 

 referred to or in some degree explained. These are 

 mainly the elucidation and establishment of an infinite 

 number of facts forming a basis upon which is safely 

 reared the doctrine of the theory of descent of all animal 

 and plant forms, both in space and in time. Second, the 

 revealing of the fact that a uniform and fundamental 

 plan of structure pervades all Nature, and as depending 

 thereon we find that the same holds true with regard to 

 function. Thirdly, that the present distribution of ani- 

 mal and plant forms over all parts of the earth are most 

 perfectly explained by the far-reaching researches that 

 biology has accomplished in palaeontology. Lastly, the 

 invaluable results that have rewarded biological investi- 

 gators in the fields of comparative psychology and 

 sociology. 



These having been some of the major achievements of 

 the science, I desir , for the purpose I have in view, to 

 simply recall to your memories some of the more inter- 

 esting facts that biology has brought to light, as inci- 

 dental to the main laws just enumerated. They all most 

 powerfully tend to establish the value of biological 

 research, both as a study from a purely utilitarian point 

 of view, and as a most efficient adjunct to the proper 

 training of the human intellect. 



For a long time morphologists, in their dissections of 

 all manner of plants and animals, met with structures 



