296 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHAIR OF 



as well as botany and zoology, the latter subject, however, 

 receiving a large amount of attention. By the events already 

 alluded to, the professor was shut out of the natural history 

 class-room, and gave his lectures in the retiring-room of the 

 College Hall, where the class of practical zoology, after 1882, 

 met for twenty years. No large cases were then present, so 

 that the very fine mineralogical and zoological specimens 

 belonging to Dr Macdonald, and which he subsequently 

 presented to the museum, had ample accommodation. System- 

 atic study of any one branch of the subjects mentioned, 

 however, was difficult, and though essays in the case of 

 zoology were prescribed, it was rare to find a writer. The value 

 of close contact with the fine collections of the professor, 

 and his skill in the comparative anatomy of the vertebrates, 

 made the course of real practical utility to those interested. 

 Professor Macdonald was the author of eight or ten papers, 

 chiefly on vertebrate homologies. 



A cultured physician, Professor George E. Day, held the 

 Chair of Medicine and Anatomy. He gave two courses 

 of lectures, one on physiology and another on comparative 

 anatomy. As the fellow-student of John Goodsir, Edward 

 Forbes, and John Reid, his opportunities, both in regard to 

 physiology and comparative anatomy, had been great. His 

 own labours, however, had been chiefly in the field of physio- 

 logical chemistry, and he likewise translated Lehman's work 

 on this subject. His lectures on physiology and comparative 

 anatomy were both gracefully delivered from manuscript 

 and full of information, and occasionally some of the living 

 forms from the beach, such as Cydippe, were brought to the 

 class-room, through the interest of the enthusiastic and 

 talented Miss E. C. Otte. No practical class was held, though 

 microscopical demonstrations occasionally took place in the 

 professor's house. The influence and encouragement emanat- 

 ing both from Professor Day and Miss Otte must have been 

 felt by many a student of the period, and by none more 



