1872 THE NEW TEACHING OF BIOLOGY 83 



animal histology was taught in many colleges under the 

 name of practical physiology ; and at Oxford an excellent 

 system of zoological work had been established by the kte 

 Professor Eolleston. 1 But the biological laboratory, as it 

 is now understood, may be said to date from about 1870, 

 when Huxley, with the co-operation of Professors Foster, 

 Kutherford, Lankester, Martin, and others, 2 held short 

 summer classes for science teachers at South Kensington, 

 the daily work consisting of an hour's lecture followed by 

 four hours' laboratory work, in which the students verified 

 for themselves facts which they had hitherto heard about 

 and taught to their unfortunate pupils from books alone. 

 The naive astonishment and delight of the more intelligent 

 among them was sometimes almost pathetic. One clergy- 

 man, who had for years conducted classes in physiology 

 under the Science and Art Department, was shown a drop 

 of his own blood under the microscope. " Dear me ! " 

 he exclaimed, " it's just like the picture in Huxley's 

 Physiology." 



1 " Rolleston (Professor Lankester writes to me) was the first to 

 systematically conduct the study of Zoology and Comparative 

 Anatomy in this country by making use of a carefully selected 

 series of animals. His ' types ' were the Eat, the Common Pigeon, 

 the Frog, the Perch, the Crayfish, Blackbeetle, Anodon, Snail, 

 Earthworm, Leech, Tapeworm. He had a series of dissections of 

 these mounted, also loose dissections and elaborate MS. descriptions. 

 The student went through this series, dissecting fresh specimens for 

 himself. After some ten year/ experience Rolleston printed his 

 MS. directions and notes as a bt ok, called Forms of Animal Life. 



"This all preceded the practical class at South Kensington in 

 1871. I have no doubt that Rolleston was influenced in his plan 

 fay your father's advice. But Rolleston had the earlier opportunity 

 of putting the method into practice. 



" Your father's series of types were chosen so as to include 

 plants, and he gave more attention to microscopic forms and to 

 microscopic structure than did Rolleston." 



It was. distinctive of the lectures that they were on biology, on 

 plants as well as animals, to illustrate all the fundamental features 

 of living things. 



2 T. J. Parker, G. B. Howes, and the present Sir W. Thiselton 

 Dyer, K.C.M.G., C.I.E. 



