EXTRACT LIV.c. 



ON SOME THOUGHTS ON THE GENERAL PRACTICAL 

 BEARINGS OF THE FOREGOING EXTRACTS, AND 

 ON THE UNITY OF THEORY AND PRACTICE. 



ONE of the fiVst thoughts to strike us, is the need for uniting 

 the " practical results " of the " findings " of the various 

 sciences, on which the professions of medicine, surgery, 

 and obstetrics rest into one coherent body of doctrine, 

 which shall be at once conducive to true scientific progress, 

 to the satisfying of human necessities and health wants, 

 and that will lend itself under all circumstances to 

 immediate availability. To this end it seems to us that, 

 as heretofore, the foundation for uniting the " practical 

 results " and " findings " of science must primarily be 

 laid, in a full understanding of the plan of inorganic 

 nature and its bearings on the superimposed weight of 

 doctrine, included in the nature and sequence of organism 

 and life chemistry ; therefore, natural philosophy and 

 natural history must continue to constitute the foundation, 

 supplying at once the necessary knowledge and begetting 

 the acquirement of familiarity with the use of the "tools" 

 and " methods of handicraft " of abstract and applied 

 science. 



On this foundation, it may justly be claimed that all, or 

 almost all, the notable additions to the science and art of 

 these professions have been evolved, and on this founda- 

 tion have been built up the structures of the various 

 sciences composing medical, surgical, and obstetric 

 common knowledge ; it behoves, therefore, all who are 

 engaged in imparting this knowledge to recognise the 



