180 ENGLISH MEN OF SCIENCE. [CHAP. 



BIOLOGY. 



Medical Subsection. 



(1) " Innate in a great degree. I trace the 

 origin of my interest in science (1) to my 

 mother's mental activity and love of collecting 

 and arranging, and my father's constant en- 

 couragement of my pursuits ; (2) to the friend- 

 ship of [three eminent botanists], by whom I 

 was chiefly induced to study botany ; (3) to 

 my profession, the choice of which was in some 

 measure determined by my taste for collecting 

 and studying." (a, d, e,f) 



(2) " I selected the medical profession because 

 it was that of my father. This choice led me to 

 scientific pursuits, for which I had no previous 

 predilection, as I had no opportunities that way. 

 I conclude the tastes were innate, as they cer- 

 tainly showed themselves the moment the 

 opportunity for developing them occurred, 

 namely, at the commencement of my professional 

 studies, aet. 17." (a, d) 



