o the generalisations of which all particular facts are illustrations.
The lobster has served as a type of the whole animal kingdom, and its
anatomy and physiology have illustrated for us some of the greatest
truths of biology. The student who has once seen for himself the facts
which I have described, has had their relations explained to him, and has
clearly comprehended them, has, so far, a knowledge of zoology, which is
real and genuine, however limited it may be, and which is worth more than
all the mere reading knowledge of the science he could ever acquire. His
zoological information is, so far, knowledge and not mere hearsay.

And if it were nay business to fit you for the certificate in zoological
science granted by this department, I should pursue a course precisely
similar in principle to that which I have taken to-night. I should select
a fresh-water sponge, a fresh-water polype or a _Cyanoea_, a fresh-water
mussel, a lobster, a fowl, as types of the five primary divisions of the
animal kingdom. I should explain their structure very fully, and show how
each illustrated the great principles of zoology. Having gone very
carefully and fully over this ground, I should feel that you had a safe
foundation, and I should then take you in the same way, but less
minutely, over similarly selected illustrative types of the classes; and
then I should direct your attention to the special forms enumerated under
the head of types, in this syllabus, and to the other facts there
mentioned.

That would, speaking generally, be my plan. But I have undertaken to
explain to you the best mode of acquiring and communicating a knowledge
of zoology, and you may therefore fairly ask me for a more detailed and
precise account of the manner in which I should propose to furnish you
with the information I refer to.

My own impression is, that the best model for all kinds of training in
physical science is that afforded by the method of teaching anatomy, in
use in the medical schools. This method consists of three elements--
lectures, demonstrations, and examinations.

The object of lectures is, in the first place, to awaken the attention
and excite the enthusiasm of the student; and this, I am sure, may be
effected to a far greater extent by the oral discourse and by the
personal influence of a respected teacher than in any other way.
Secondly, lectures have the double use of guiding the student to the
salient points of a subject, and at