III.] ORIGIN OF TASTE FOR SCIENCE. 169
three years I spent every Sunday morning with him. During this time he was constantly stimulating me (a willing follower) to work in his department of natural science, and at the same time, ever inculcating a spirit of scientific scepticism." (d, f)
(11) " To love of birds, their study, their dissection. I remember trying to find out in the structure of the oviduct the cause of colour and markings in the different eggs. I discovered hairs sticking in the cuckoo's stomach, arranged in a spiral manner, before I knew that John Hunter had described the same. Then I took to drawing skulls and skeletons, and my fate was sealed. That I inherited a strong love of nature is certain, from my father, who was devoted to horticulture and very fond of birds and of landscape scenery ; but I cannot trace any direct tendencies or work on the part of any member of my family, except my brother. I feel that I must have had a taste for science, independently of external circumstances. At the age of 17 or 18, I had dissected every new kind of bird that I
