UNVERIFIED DEDUCTIONS. 187 



other glands. 1 He has marked out a new field 

 of physiological research on the problem of 

 electric organs by the suggestion that the 

 marine biological laboratories be taken advan- 

 tage of to study the effects which the partial or 

 total removal, or destruction, transplantation, 

 etc. of those organs in various stages of onto- 

 genetic and phylogenetic development will have 

 on the normal functions of the animal. He 

 believes that it might thus be quickly shown 

 that these so called useless organs do serve an 

 important function in the animal economy, and 

 that it might be made clear what that function 

 is ; or that it might at least be shown what injury 

 their absence entails upon the animal. 



It must be remembered that the problem of 

 electric organs has not yet been attacked in any 

 such way as that in which Darwin attacked the 

 problem of climbing plants. Fritsch by two 

 brief visits brought to light many important 

 facts; on the morphological side contributions 

 are steadily made, but the knowledge on the 

 subject up to date has been brought out piece- 

 meal. Before the mode of development of elec- 

 tric organs can be fully understood, there will 

 have to be not only knowledge of the electrical 



1 Ibid., Series V., Vol. V. pp. 778-786, October, 1893, and 

 elsewhere. 



