September io, 1903] 



NATURE 



53 



them, and I venture to say they compare favourably with 

 those of any other country. I may remind you that the 

 discovery and description of the Okapi, Ca;nolestes, Nycto- 

 therus Rhabdopleura, Cephalodiscus, Limnocodium, and 

 Pelagohydra, the rediscovery of Lepidosiren and Ctenopiana, 

 the most important features of the development of Balano- 

 tjlossus, Lepidosiren, Amphioxus, Peripatus Hatteria, and 

 some of the Marsupialia, and that the discovery of the 

 important character of the fauna of the deep seas involving 

 the discovery of many new genera and species, were the 

 work of British zoologists. Moreover, that the prolonged 

 .md painstaking investigations carried on in our laboratories 

 have thrown much light upon the character and relations of 

 icvlomic cavities, the homologies of the nephridia and genital 

 ducts, and many other important morphological problems. 



In the field of evolutionary theories we have done much 



important work in the study of the facts of protective and 



i^gressive mimicry in insects, in the statistical estimation 



f variations, and in the experimental inquiry into the value 



f current theories of heredity. 



The list is far from complete ; but with such a record of 

 good work done with the scanty means at our disposal there 

 is no reason to suppose that the science is on the decline 

 in this country, or that our countrymen are not as capable 

 as any others of grasping the importance of biological 

 problems and ultimately wresting from Nature the secrets 

 that are hidden. 



Whilst we may thus congratulate ourselves upon the 

 achievements of the past and upon our strength and ability 

 to carry on good work in the future, I cannot help feeling 

 that the time has come for us to make a united effort to 

 place before the general public of this country, and more 

 particularly the educated and influential part of it, the dis- 

 advantages under which we suffer, and our need for help 

 in the further develepment of our subject. 



We have all realised that in this country, more than in 

 any other that is called civilised, there prevails among all 

 classes an extraordinary ignorance of the first principles of 

 biological science. It is this ignorance on the part of the 

 general public, I believe, which prevents us from gaining 

 tliat sympathy for our aims and that assistance for our 

 itorts which we think is necessary not only for the reputa- 

 ion, but also for the welfare of our country. We must 

 remember that the science of Natural History is as a closed 

 book to most of those who after a public school and uni- 

 versity education have attained to positions of trust and 

 < sponsibility in the government of our country and our 

 ities. Moreover, and this is perhaps the most serious 

 spect of the question, there are many who have gained a 

 high position as men of science, and whose opinion is 

 frequently quoted as authoritative on questions affecting 

 - ience in general, who are more ignorant of the first 

 linciples of the science of biology than the Dutch schoolboy 

 ' fifteen years of age. 

 It appears to me, then, that it is of fundainental im- 

 portance for the zoologists of this country to consider and 

 report upon the necessity for the extension and improve- 

 nirnt of the teaching of Natural History in our schools and 

 illeges. We shall have to meet the objections that there 

 - not time for Natural History in the school curricula, and 

 that it is not a suitable subject for the instruction of boys 

 and girls. These objections can be met, I believe, and 

 overcome. 



In many foreign countries Natural History is a com- 

 ulsory school subject for all scholars. In Holland, for 

 xample, by the law of April 28, 1876, all scholars of the 

 gymnasia during the first and second years devote two 

 hours per week to the study of Natural History, and in the 

 fifth and sixth years all students preparing for natural, 

 nathematical, and medical sciences courses devote two 

 urs per week to the science. In the superior middle-class 

 M hools one hour a week is devoted to the science in the 

 first and second classes, and two hours per week in the 

 remaining three years. If, therefore, time can be found in 

 the middle and upper class schools for the study of Natural 

 History in a country like Holland, where the general educa- 

 tion is so excellent, surely time can be found for it here. 



It is also a matter for general regret that some course of 

 Elementary Biology is no longer compulsory for those who 

 are proceeding to degrees in science in our universities, and 

 I cannot help feeling that a very retrograde step was taken 



NO. 1767, VOL. d'^l 



a few years ago by the authorities of the University of 

 London, when Biology was made an optional suLject in the 

 Intermediate Examination for the degree of Bachelor of 

 Science. We cannot expect to receive that sympathy in our 

 pursuits and appreciation of our discoveries which we expect 

 from our fellow-men of science if we tacitly admit that an 

 elementary knowledge of the laws of living bodies is not 

 a necessary part of the equipment of a man of scientific 

 culture. 



I think we must all admit that the time is ripe for a full 

 discussion by biologists of the particular form of teaching 

 and study which is most suitable for schools and elementary 

 university examinations. It is a matter in which we are 

 all interested ; it is a matter affecting most intimately the 

 interests of those who will be our pupils in the future, and 

 we should be careful to see that no ill-considered or fantastic 

 schemes of study are thrust upon the authorities by un- 

 authorised persons at this very critical period in the 

 educational history of our country. 



There are other matters, however, which also demand our 

 careful attention. The growth of our great cities and the 

 improvement in our ideas of sanitation have brought for- 

 ward as important problems for consideration the purity of 

 the water-supply and the disposal of sewage. The 

 municipal authorities at last realise that these problems can 

 only be satisfactorily met by elaborate scientific investi- 

 gation, and they have found that it is not only desirable 

 for sanitary reasons, but also — and this has probably the 

 greater weight — profitable to call in men of science for con- 

 sultation and advice. At present, however, these problems 

 are approached from only two points of view — the chemical 

 and the bacteriological — the effect or effects of other 

 organisms than bacteria upon the character of the sewage 

 effluent and the purity of water for drinking purposes being, 

 so far as I have observed, neglected. I was very much 

 impressed with the fact that at the meeting of the Sanitary 

 Institute last year in Manchester the speakers used the 

 expression " bacteriological examination " and " biological 

 examination " as if they were synonymous, and no mention 

 was made either of the animals or plants which are in- 

 variably present, and materially assist if they are not 

 actually necessary for the maintenance of the most suitable 

 balance of life in these waters. The time has come when 

 an inquiry should be made of the organisms other than 

 bacteria that are normally present both in the waters at 

 the sewage works and in the large reservoirs which supply 

 cities with drinking-water. 



I may be allowed here to quote two cases that have 

 recently come under my notice which will show the kind of 

 work that might be done and the nature of the results which 

 may be e.xpected to follow such an inquiry. 



Some years ago complaints were made that the water 

 supplied by the borough of Burnley had an offensive smell. 

 This smell was of such a nature that it was impossible to 

 use the water for the manufacture of soda-water. 



The smell was traced to the Hecknest reservoir, where 

 the common water snail, Limnaea peregra, was present in 

 enormous numbers. The problem to be solved was how to 

 destroy or reduce the numbers of the Limna-a without inter- 

 fering in other respects with the purity of the water. The 

 authorities of the corporation asked the advice of a trained 

 zoologist, who made certain recommendations which were 

 adopted, and at a minimum cost the nuisance was abated, 

 and during the six years that have elapsed has not recurred. 

 I will not detain you with a full description of the cause 

 and the cure of this particular pest, but I may say that the 

 recommendations that were made were based on the know- 

 ledge of the life habits and reproduction of the Limnaea, and 

 were therefore of a purely zoological character. 



Two years ago the Chairman of the Water Committee of 

 the Corporation of Manchester reported that the mains had 

 become partially choked by the growth of an organism 

 which he called a " moss." No less than 700 tons of this 

 " moss " were removed from the mains by a laborious and 

 expensive process. It is not necessary for me to inform 

 this Section that the organism was not a moss. It was 

 probably not even a vegetable, but an animal belonging 

 to one of the genera of fresh-water Polyzoa. In this case, 

 however, so far as I am aware, not only were no steps 

 taken to identify the organism, but no investigations were 

 made to discover its origin or to prevent the return of the 



