FROGS AND THEIR USES. 179 



supporting those in limited circumstances to intrust them with 

 the delicate and most responsible duties of training the young for 

 their life's work, and so future generations will undoubtedly 

 regard it. 



As we said in the beginning, we present this co-ordination and 

 correlation of our educational institutions as an ideal scheme, 

 toward which we should ever aspire, but which we can not expect 

 to see realized by any sudden or violent changes, or, indeed, in 

 full operation within the next quarter of a century. But that 

 something analogous to that which is here presented will be 

 found feasible and practicable, and to harmonize fully with the 

 institutions of this free country of ours, and enable us to attract 

 students from abroad in great numbers instead of sending them, 

 as now, to complete their education in Germany, France, or Eng- 

 land, we are most thoroughly convinced. And the more hopefully 

 do we look forward at this time to such a consummation now 

 that the favorite scheme of Washington and our other early 

 Presidents for a great national university at Washington, as the 

 crowning glory of our educational institutions, is likely to be 

 realized at an early day and provided for by an adequate -endow- 

 ment. 



FROGS AND THEIR USES. 



By R. W. SHUFELDT, M. D. 



DURING the last half century or more, and especially during 

 the latter part of this time, Science has made use of a variety 

 of natural objects and living animals in her laboratories to demon- 

 strate the laws and facts of biology. The fundamental phenom- 

 ena of plant and animal life have been taught by Huxley by 

 placing before his students in the laboratory such material as 

 yeast, and such types of vegetable and animal organization as 

 protococcus, proteus animalculse, bacteria, molds, stoneworts, 

 ferns, bean plant, bell animalculse, polyps, mussels, crayfish, and 

 frogs. Foster and Balfour wrote an entire work upon the ele- 

 ments of embryology, using for the purpose only the egg and 

 chick of the common barnyard fowl. For what is true of the 

 hen's egg and its complete development is true in the main for 

 the eggs and development of all forms of animal life, from the 

 highest mammal to the lowest vertebrate known. In the selec- 

 tion of these types for work in the scientific laboratory, teachers 

 have been chiefly guided in their choice by the accessibility of 

 the form selected to the largest number of students of all coun- 

 tries, and by taking an animal of the widest geographical distri- 

 bution. Thus Cuvier selected the perch as a type for the study 



