146 ENGLISH MEN OF SCIENCE. [CHAP. 



larly my aim is to group the influences which first 

 urged the men on my list to pursue what after- 

 wards became their favourite occupation. We 

 shall learn the relative importance of these in- 

 fluences, and be enabled to estimate with greater 

 precision than before, the value of proposed 

 methods for making the pursuit of science 

 more common than at present. 



The returns I am about to quote are replies 

 to the following questions : " Can you trace the 

 origin of your interest in science in general, 

 and in your particular branch ,of it ? How far 

 do your scientific tastes appear to have been 

 innate ? " 



The answers were of unequal length and 

 minuteness. From the longer ones I have ex- 

 tracted what was essential, and in these and in 

 the rest I have taken a very few editorial liber- 

 ties, as already mentioned. 



At this stage of the inquiry it becomes ad- 

 visable to separate the replies according to the 

 branch of science pursued by those who made 

 them. I have not kept geography separate, be- 

 cause there are not many geographers on^ my 



