1837-38 RELINQUISHES MEDICAL PRACTICE 107 



Whew hell. I have trouble enough with it at 

 best : so I hope you will not add to it a new alias! 



Owen now began gradually to relinquish his 

 medical practice, in order to devote the whole of 

 his time to scientific research. Meanwhile, he 

 never neglected the opportunities which occurred 

 of dissecting the animals which died at the 

 Zoological Society's Gardens ; and these oppor- 

 tunities were naturally of frequent occurrence at 

 a time when the habits and mode of life of 

 the animals were but imperfectly understood. 

 Constant reference is made in the diaries to these 

 dissections. The carcases of such animals as 

 Owen could obtain from menageries and other 

 sources he not unfrequently dissected at home. 

 Those dying at the Zoological Gardens were dis- 

 sected there. On January 29 we read in his 

 wife's journal : — 



■ To-day Richard cut up the giraffe which died 

 at the Zoological Gardens. Afterwards he went 

 to the Royal Institution to dissect a snake. 



1 They have now got the skeleton of the hippo- 

 potamus up in the museum.' 



The diary is continued : — 



' February 3. — Dr. Buckland called early as 

 expected, and stayed some time looking at fossils. 

 I have been astonished in looking over the few I 

 have seen of the Hunterian fossils. The collection 

 is quite wonderful. R. told me that Mr. Hunter, 

 living at a time when geology was hardly known 



