EDWARD FORBES. 197 



animal and vegetable life, which till now had been imper- 

 fectly understood, or had wholly defied investigators, began 

 now to be slowly elucidated, and arranged in their proper 

 places in the system of nature. Endless problems in 

 physiology commenced to receive their final solution. In 

 short, the whole face of the biological sciences underwent 

 a rapid and fundamental alteration. . 



Into all this Forbes threw himself with the utmost 

 ardour ; but his favourite studies, as was to be expected, 

 were natural history, botany, and geology. Not only 

 did he acquire a wide general knowledge of these sub- 

 jects, so far as these were known at that time; but 

 above all, he learned to observe and investigate for 

 himself. Even in his second year of university study, 

 we find him giving the preference to the more scientific 

 branches of the medical curriculum over the more 

 strictly technical and professional subjects. Year after 

 year, this process of clinging more and more closely to 

 the natural sciences went on; till in 1836 he finally and 

 formally abandoned the study of medicine. 



During his vacations Forbes had wandered over many 

 parts of our country, and had occupied himself in all sorts 

 of scientific, principally zoological observations, and in 

 collecting specimens illustrative of the natural history, 

 botany, and geology of the districts which he visited. 

 On one occasion he extended his tour to Norway, in 

 company with a fellow-student, and at another time he 

 travelled through parts of France, Switzerland, and 

 Germany. At an early period also he began dredging 

 in the British seas, a practice which he afterwards pro- 

 secuted with such success and such brilliant scientific 



