The Hunterian oration : Royal College of Surgeons of England, February 14th, 1895 / by J. W. Hulke.

  • Hulke, John Whitaker.
Date:
1895
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The Hunterian oration : Royal College of Surgeons of England, February 14th, 1895 / by J. W. Hulke. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    Hunter remarks that “ writers on the natural history of animals have been of two kinds, one [concerned in] only what they could observe externally, such as form and mode of life; the second [studying only] the internal parts and the structure of the whole animal, which was performed by the anatomist. As the [sub- ject of the] first has an immediate connexion with [that of] the second, the describers of form conjectured what the structure ought to be by consulting the works of the anatomist; and the anatomist conjectured what the living history is or ought to be from the Natural History of the others ; filling up what he conceived to be just, and fancy supplying the rest. But sucli union of knowledge does not properly match. It is one building built at different times, an addition to an original plan. It is no wonder, therefore, that the whole is imperfect.” Can we pronounce all later anatomists and writers on Natural History free from this reproach 1 His remarkable memoir on the life-history of the Honey-bee testifies to John Hunter’s excellence as a naturalist. For the convenience of closely observing his bees without disturbing them, he had hives constructed with glass windows, which allowed him at all times to watch their occupants. He enquires into the causes of the deaths of certain bees in winter. He mentions that “ there was plenty of honey in their hive ; that on closely inspecting the dead bees he found they all died with their proboscis extended, their stomachs were full of