PREFACE. 



The present volume of the Studies includes most of the papers that 

 have been published by the workei's in our Biological departments 

 during the past four years, and it may be taken as a sign of our 

 earnest endeavour to maintain the reputation of our laboratories as 

 places of original research as well as of sound learning. In our opinion 

 these two functions of such an Institution as this are inseparable ; but 

 the demands made upon our time by heavy teaching responsibilities 

 makes a continuous and systematic investigation of a definite subject 

 a matter of considerable difficulty. The stimulus which the teachers 

 of our departments received in previous years from the presence of the 

 Bishop Berkeley Research fellows, whose whole time was devoted to 

 original work, was most valuable. In the Preface to Vol. II. of this 

 series the late Professor Milnes Marshall said these fellowships 

 " promise to rank among the most successful and most characteristic 

 features of Owens College Institutions." 



Now that the fellowships cannot be offered any more we may 

 again express our appreciation of the generosity of the anonymous 

 benefactor whose assistance has borne such good fruit. 



Biology is now left in our College without any fellowship or scholar- 

 ship to enable a promising student to devote a year of his life to 

 original investigation before commencing his career as a teacher or 

 medical student, and our well-equipped Research laboratory has conse- 

 quently to remain unoccupied during the greater part of the year. 



We cannot help feeling that if tbese facts were more generally 

 known some help might be forthcoming from those who realise what 

 Biology has done and is doing for the development of rational methods 

 of modern medical research. 



It is probable that this volume of the Studies is the last of the series. 



Original work will be carried on as usual in the laboratories, but by 

 increasing the list of institutions and persons to whom we send separate 

 copies of our papers as they appear, we hope to avoid in future the 



