CHEMICO-PHYSIOLOGICAL. 1 1 1 



out the inquiry in extenso, and dealing honourably by 

 him ; for in one of his letters he says to Goodsir — 

 " You have the right end of the tether, if you hold on 

 fair." The various specimens John received were sent 

 off to his brother Harry at Anstruther to stuff in his 

 usual way for preservation — John cautioning him to 

 do them well, as so many people were interested in the 

 business, and to be sure to keep the wire in the fin. 

 Considering the great interest attached to the subject, 

 it is remarkable that Goodsir made no use of Mr. 

 Young's strong " tether," and that he left no papers or 

 memoranda indicative of strengthening it. As late 

 as the 27th October 1855 Mr. Young asks Goodsir if 

 he had written anything on the history and habits of 

 the salmon, as he had promised years ago. He had 

 thought of writing on salmon and fishes in general, 

 and frequently visited an Edinburgh fishmonger's shop 

 for aid to his work ; but this, like many good and 

 useful plans, had fallen through when no longer pos- 

 sessed of health and strength to do justice to his in- 

 tentions. 



Goodsir 's many-sided nature led him occasionally, 

 and not always wisely, to wander from his own 

 domain. Not content with the enlargement of the 

 " cellular theory," and the various subjects engaging 

 fads attention in the museum, he took a fancy to 

 chemico physiological inquiries, and hoped, in con- 

 junction with Dr. George Wilson, to give a course of 

 lectures on this, an almost untrodden Held since the 

 days of the great French Revolution. Possibly his 



