APPENDICES 1469 



chemistry like a Hercules in the cradle, but what else? We see 

 Embryology shrinking under the aegis of Anatomy; here and there 

 a course of Biometry struggling for existence ; almost like a curiosity 

 is a course on Comparative Psychology; perhaps an extramural 

 vindication of Comparative Physiology; Comparative Pathology 

 hardly known, even as an idea; in a few green trees a vigorous 

 branch of Genetics, preserved from the knife by the label Agri- 

 cultural ; and so we might savagely, and^o doubt in some measure 

 imjustly, continue. But where does Biology come in? We mean by 

 Biology the general science of organisms — the study of the nature, 

 persistence, continuance, development, and evolution of lije. 



It is a regrettable fact that there is relatively little education in 

 Biology in the Universities of the British Empire! — ^There is 

 abundance of first-class Zoology and first-class Botany, but there is 

 relatively little General Biology. No one can seriously pretend that 

 a little Zoology plus a little Botany makes a course of Biology. 

 One might as well say that a whiff of oxygen and a whiff of hydro- 

 gen will serve as a drink of water. A distinguished Professor from 

 the North was being shown round one of the greatest of the Southern 

 Universities by a delightful and delighted student-guide. "Yes", 

 he said, "here is Botany, which I understand; and there is Zoology, 

 which I also understand; but what is 'Biology' which I see engraved 

 over that portal?" The student was taken aback and stood silent; 

 but suddenly a smile of enlightenment spread over his face, and he 

 gave the reply: "Oh, yes, I remember now; Biology is the dogfish 

 and the bean plant." 



One reason for the paucity of biological education is that Uni- 

 versity teachers have to put too much into one short course, with the 

 result that the more synthetic part of the programme is crowded 

 out. No doubt it is a little difficult to teach Zoology or Botany 

 except in the light of the great biological concepts of growth, 

 development, correlation, variability, heredity, evolution, and so 

 forth; yet it can be done and often is; and all science suffers for 

 want of more of genuine Biology. 



Let us take Zoology for a moment. It is so far being excellently 

 taught, and yet there is no rapid diffusion of the biological outlook; 

 nad the credit for what little there is must be shared with the Press 

 and the Publishers. Doubtless there has been a sprinkling of bio- 

 logical information widespread throughout the community. A con- 

 siderable proportion of the public may be said to know that most 

 diseases are microbic rather than mysterious, and that the individual 

 life begins in a fertilised egg-cell ; but this fragmentary knowledge is 

 not quite enough for the biological outlook, is it ? 



Our frank reproach is that the Universities, within and beyond 

 the British Empire, fall short of their just ambition as regards 

 Biological Education ; and a large part of the reason for this is that 



