MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER. 37 



tures, he gave to Military Surgery and by hi% pub- 

 lication on Gun-shot Wounds, &c. by which he in- 

 troduced no inconsiderable improvement into the 

 art. 



But it is more to our purpose to remark, that, in 

 these years of active service, Mr Hunter still found 

 time for the prosecution of his favourite study of 

 natural history. Many allusions to his observations 

 and experiments made at this period, occur in pa- 

 pers which were not written till years afterwards. 

 Our limits do not permit us to enter on an analysis 

 of any of these observations, and still less of the 

 papers in which they were presented to the public. 

 But we cannot refrain from inserting one or two spe- 

 cimens, which will serve to verify the representa- 

 tions we have given of Mr Hunter's assiduity, and 

 will at the same time exhibit the inventive and ori- 

 ginal character of his mind. 



In a very elaborate paper of Mr Hunter's on the 

 subject of Digestion, the following passage occurs . 

 (j* In making comparative experiments upon the 

 digestive power, the different animals should be un- 

 der similar circumstances. They should be equal in 

 age, in condition, in health. They should likewise 

 be of tbe same temperature ; for the different classes 

 of animals are variously affected by the same degree 

 of heat. Experiments made upon snakes in the 

 winter7~will differ greatly from those made in the 

 summer ; while similar experiments made on dogs 

 will have nearly the same result in both seasons. 



