338 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



had always shown a strong inclination for natural history and 

 scientific work, and had become a Fellow of the Zoological 

 Society of London in 1851, was appointed Assistant Surgeon 

 and Demonstrator of Anatomy at Middlesex Hospital. He 

 soon became a regular attendant at the scientific meetings of 

 the Zoological Society, and in June, 1860, read an excellent 

 paper on the structure of the gizzard in the Nicobar Pigeon 

 and other granivorous birds. Flower's thorough and accurate 

 style of investigation soon attracted attention, and led to his 

 appointment, in 1861, as Conservator of the Museum of the 

 Royal College of Surgeons. Here for twenty-three years he did 

 excellent work in arranging and cataloguing the specimens, and 

 in making large additions to the magnificent series of anatomical 

 preparations belonging to that institution. Throughout this 

 period Flower was also a frequent contributor to the publications 

 of the Zoological Society, as will be seen by his numerous 

 papers published in their ' Proceedings ' and * Transactions.' 

 The difficult group of Cetaceans was one of Flower's favourite 

 subjects, and six well-illustrated memoirs upon various members 

 of this group in the Zoological Society's quarto ' Transactions ' 

 were the results of his labours. In 1869 Flower was chosen 

 Hunterian Professor of Comparative Anatomy, and in 1870 pub- 

 lished an important volume of introductory lectures. In the 

 same year was also issued his ' Introduction to the Osteology of 

 Mammals,' which went through two subsequent editions. During 

 this period of his career his Catalogue of the specimens illus- 

 trating the Osteology and Dentition of Man and Mammals was 

 prepared, besides numerous other papers and memoirs. 



On the retirement of Professor Owen in 1884, Flower was 

 appointed Director of the Natural History Museum at South 

 Kensington, and during the fourteen years for which he held 

 that post continued to exhibit the same admirable qualities in 

 the discharge of his official duties which had signalized his 

 career in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Every branch of the Institution 

 under his government was carefully tended and improved, and 

 the deficiencies existing in various parts of that vast establishment 

 were one after another searched out and remedied. During this 

 period the Director's time was, as might well be supposed, much 

 taken up by his official duties ; notwithstanding this, however, as 



