EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY 



CHAPTER I 



THE EXPERIMENTAL METHOD 



THE study of Zoology by experimental methods is not a new 

 departure, for the method of experiment has been often applied 

 to special zoological problems. On the other hand, the recogni- 

 tion that only by experimental methods can we hope to place 

 the study of Zoology on a footing with the sciences of chemistry 

 and of physics is a comparatively new conception, and one that 

 is by no means as yet admitted by all zoologists. I do not wish 

 to appear to disparage those studies that deal with the descrip- 

 tive and with the historical problems of biology. They also 

 offer a wide field for activity, and the more familiar we become 

 with the structure and modes of development of animals, so 

 much the better can we apply the experimental method. In 

 fact, many of the problems of biology only become known to us 

 as the result of direct observation. The wider, therefore, our 

 general information, the greater the opportunity for experimen- 

 tation. 



It is undoubtedly true that many zoologists who have spent 

 their lives in acquiring a broad knowledge of the facts of their 

 science fail to make use of their information by testing the very 

 problems that their work suggests. This is owing, no doubt, to 

 their exclusive interest in the observational and descriptive sides 

 of biology, but also in part, I think, to the fact that the experi- 

 mental method has not been sufficiently recognized by zoologists 

 as the most important tool of research that scientists employ. 



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