876 BIOLOGICAL TRAINING AND STUDIES. 



thoughts of all who think at all. The wonders of the deep-sea 

 fauna will, I apprehend, form one, the commensal ism of Professor 

 Van Beneden another, subject of discussion, and furnish an oppor- 

 tunity for receiving instruction to all of us. The one set of obser- 

 vations is a striking exemplification of the way in which organisms 

 have become suited to inorganic environments ; the other is an all 

 but equally striking exemplification of the way in which organisms 

 can fit and adapt themselves to each other. The current journals 

 have ^, as was their duty, made us acquainted with what has been 

 done in both of these directions ; and I am happy to say that in the 

 case of the deep-sea explorations, as in that of parthenogenesis and 

 spontaneous generation, a new work, giving a connected and 

 general view of the entire subject, is announced for publication. 



One instance of the large proportions of the questions which the 

 facts of geographical distribution bear upon, is furnished to us in 

 the address recently delivered before the Geological Society by" its 

 president, who is also our president, and who may have forgotten to 

 refer to his own work (see 'Nature,' No. :Z4, 1870). Another may 

 be found in the demonstration which Dr. Giinther, contrary to our 

 ordinarily taught doctrines, has given us ('Zool. Soc. Trans' vol. vi. 

 pt. 7, 1868, p. 307) of the partial identity of the fish-faunas of the 

 Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Central America ; many, thirdly, are 

 furnished to us by Mr. Wallace's works passim. 



It would be superfluous, after introducing even thus hurriedly to 

 your notice so large a series of interesting and important subjects 

 as being subjects with which we shall forthwith begin to deal in 

 this Section, to say anything at length as to the advantages which 

 may reasonably be expected to accrue from the study of Biology. 

 I may put its claims before you in a rough way by saying that I 

 should be rejoiced indeed if, when money comes to be granted by 

 the Association for the following up the various lines of biological 

 research upon which certain of its members are engaged, we could 

 hope to obtain a hundredth, or I might say a thousandth part 

 of the amount of money which has in the past year been lost to the 

 State and to individuals through ignorance or disregard of bio- 

 logical laws now well established. I need say nothing of the 



* See 'Nature,* No. 39, July 28, 1870, and 'Royal Society's Proceedings,' August 

 1870, for deep-sea explorations, and 'Academy/ September 10, 1870, for commen- 

 salism. 



