518 REPORT— 1883. 
among contemporary students of biological science: Professor Brown-Séquard, 
Professor Marey, Professor Balbiani, and Professor Ranvier. Everyone who is 
acquainted with the progress of discovery in physiology, minute anatomy, and 
embryology, will admit that the opportunities afforded to these men have not been 
wasted: they have, as the result of the position in which they have been placed, 
produced abundant and most valuable work, and have, in additicn, trained younger 
men to carry on the same line of activity. It was here, too, in the Collége de 
France, that the great genius of Claude Bernard found the necessary conditions 
for its development. 
Let us now see how many and what kind of institutions there are in England 
devised so as to promote the making of new knowledge in biological science. Most 
persons are apt to be deceived in this matter by the fact that the terms ‘ university,’ 
‘ professorship,’ and ‘ college ’ are used very freely in England in reference to institu- 
tions which have no pecuniary resources whatever, and which, instead of corre- 
sponding to the German arrangements which go by these names, are empty titles, 
neither backed by adequate subsidy of the State nor by endowment from private 
sources. 
In England, with its 25,000,000 inhabitants, there are only four universities 
which possess endowments and professoriates—viz., Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, 
and the Victoria (Owens College). Besides these, which are variously and speci- 
ally organised each in its own way, there are the London Colleges (University and 
King’s), the Normal School of Science at South Kensington, and various provincial 
colleges, which are to a small and varying extent in possession of funds which could 
be or are used to promote scientific research. Amongst all these variously arranged 
institutions there is an extraordinarily small amount of provision for biological 
research, In London there is one professorship only, that at the Normal School of 
Science, which is maintained by a stipend paid by the State, and has a laboratory 
and salaried assistants, similarly maintained, in connection with it. The only 
other posts in London which are provided with stipends intended to enable their 
holders to pursue researches in the domain of biological science, are the two chairs 
of physiology and of zoology at University College, which, through the munificence 
of a private individual,! have been endowed to the extent of 3007. a year each. To 
these should be added, in our calculation, certain posts in connection with the 
British Museum of Natural History and the Royal Gardens at Kew, maintained by 
the State; though it must be remembered that a large part of the expenditure in 
those institutions is necessarily taken up in the preservation of great national collec- 
tions, and is not applicable to the subvention of investigators. We may, however, 
reckon about six posts, great and small, in the British Museum, and four at Kew, as 
coming into the category which we have in view. In London, then, we may reckon 
approximately some fourteen or fifteen subsidised posts for biological research, In 
Oxford there fall under this category the professorship of anatomy and his 
assistant, that of physiology, that of zoology, that of botany. The Oxford pro- 
fessorships are well supported by endowment, averaging 7007. or 800/. a year; but 
they are inadequately provided with assistants as compared with corresponding 
German positions. Whilst Oxford has thus five posts, Cambridge has at present the 
same number, though the stipends are of less average value. In regard to Durham, 
it does not appear that the biological professorships (which have their seat in the 
Newcastle College of Science) are supported by stipends derived from endowment : 
they fall under another category, to which allusion will be made below, of purely 
teaching positions, supported by the fees paid for such teaching by pupils. The 
Victoria University (Owens College, Manchester) supports its professors of physi- 
ology, anatomy, zoology, botany, and pathology, by means partly of endowment, 
partly of pupils’ fees. By the provision of adequate laboratories and of salaries for 
assistants to each professor, and of student-fellowships, Owens College gives direct 
support to original investigation. We may reckon five major and eight minor 
posts as dedicated to biological research in thig college. Altogether, then, we 
have 15 positions in London and 23 in the provinces (taking assistantships, and 
1 Mr. Jodrell. 
nibs 
