382 Professor Owen's Address. 



World. On the 6th of August 1858, the laying down of upwards 

 of 2,000 nautical miles of the telegraphic cord, connecting Xew- 

 foundland and Ireland, was successfully completed ; and on that 

 day a message of thirty-one words was transmitted in thirty-five 

 minutes, along the sinuosities of the submerged hills and valleys 

 forming the bed of the great Atlantic. This first message ex- 

 pressed — " Glory to God in the highest : on Earth Peace, Goodwill 

 towards Men." Never since the foundations of the world were 

 laid could it be more truly said, •' The depths of the sea praise 

 Hirn !" More remains to be done before the far-stretching engine 

 can be got into full working order ; but the capital fact, viz., the 

 practicability of bringing America into electrical communication 

 with Europe has been demonstrated ; consequently, a like power 

 of instantaneous interchange of thought between the civilized inha- 

 bitants of every part of the globe becomes only a question of time. 

 The powers and benefits thence to ensue for the human race can 

 be but dimly and inadequately foreseen. 



After referring to the labours of Ray, Linnaeus, Jussieu, Buffon, 

 and Cuvier, he said : To perfect the natural system of plants has 

 been the great aim of botanists since Jussieu. To obtain the same 

 true insight into the relations of animals has stimulated the labours 

 of zoologists since the writings of Cuvier. To that great man 

 appertains the merit of having systematically pursued and applied 

 anatomical researches to the discovery of the true system of dis- 

 tribution of the animal kingdom ; nor, until the Cuvierian amount 

 of zootomical science had been gained, could the value and im- 

 portance of Aristotle's ' History of Animals' be appreciated. 

 There is no similar instance, in the history of Science, of the well- 

 lit torch gradually growing dimmer and smouldering through so 

 many generations and centuries before it was again fanned into 

 brightness, and a clear view regained, both of the extent of ancient 

 discovery, and of the true course to be pursued by modern research. 

 Eapid and right has been the progress of Zoology since that 

 resumption. Not only has the structure of the animal been in- 

 vestigated, even to the minute characteristics of each tissue, but 

 .the mode of formation of such constituents of organs, and of the 

 organs themselves, has been pursued from the germ, bud, or egg^ 

 onward to maturity and decay. To the observation of outward 

 characters is now added that of inward organization and develop- 



