A CENTURY OF ZOOLOGY IN AMERICA 393 



scopic organisms and microscopic structures of higher 

 animals and plants. It was not until twenty years after 

 the founding of the Journal that the cell theory of struc- 

 ture and function in all organisms was established by the 

 discoveries of Schleiden and Schwann. 



The beginning of the nineteenth century saw great 

 zoological activity in Europe, and particularly in Prance. 

 Buff on 's great work on the Natural History of Animals 

 had recently been completed, Cuvier had only one year 

 before published his classic work in comparative anat- 

 omy, "Le Regne Animal," and Lamarck's "Philosophic 

 Zoologique" had then aroused a new interest in classi- 

 fication and comparative anatomy from an evolutionary 

 standpoint. E. Geoffroy St.-Hilaire was at the same 

 time supporting an evolutionary theory based on embry- 

 onic influences resulting in sudden modifications of adult 

 structure. These epoch-making discoveries and theories 

 gained a considerable following in France, Germany and 

 England, but seem to have had little influence on the 

 zoological work of the following half century in America. 



The science of zoology as understood to-day is com- 

 monly said to have been founded by Linnaeus by the 

 publication of the modern system of classification in the 

 tenth edition of his "Sy sterna Naturae" in 1758. The 

 influence of Linnaeus aroused an interest in biological 

 studies throughout Europe and stimulated new investi- 

 gations in all groups of organisms. Such studies as 

 related to animals naturally followed first the classifica- 

 tion and relationship of species, that is, systematic 

 zoology, and then led gradually into the development of 

 the different branches of the subject, as morphology, 

 comparative anatomy, physiology, and embryology, 

 which eventually were recognized as almost independent 

 sciences. 



Of these sciences systematic zoology, which has come 

 to mean the classification, structure, relationship, distri- 

 bution and habits, or natural history, is the pioneer in any 

 region. Thus we find in our new country at the time of 

 the founding of the Journal in 1818, only sixty years 

 after the publication of Linnaeus' great work, the begin- 

 ning of American zoology taking the form of the collec- 

 tion and description of our native animals. 



