John Samuel Budgett : biographical sketch / by Arthur E. Shipley.

  • Shipley, Arthur Everett, 1861-1927.
Date:
[1906]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: John Samuel Budgett : biographical sketch / by Arthur E. Shipley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    61/62 page 55
    Contributions to Zoology 5 “ Batrachians, of which he published a list, accompanied by “ interesting notes on the habits, and a description of the “ nesting habits and development of the quadrumanous tree-frog “ Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis. He also discovered on this “ occasion a new frog which could not be referred to any of “ the known genera, and for which he proposed the name “ Lepidobatrachusd I have dwelt upon Budgett’s gift in the setting up of Museum specimens; but he was equally skilful in the methods of the Laboratory. His knowledge of reagents and materials, and a certain mechanical turn which his mind possessed, led to endless experiments, most of which marked a distinct advance in the technique of the subject. His original work is included in this volume. Much of his material has been worked out by others, but, in the short time that he had for research, he had already added substantially to our knowledge of Vertebrate Anatomy. We owe to him the first accurate account of the urino-genital organs of Polypterus, and the demonstration that the crossopterygian fin is really a uniserial archipterygium ; besides a series of invaluable observations upon the life-history and breeding habits of many tropical frogs and fishes. His work was characterized by an almost fastidious degree of accuracy; he had a somewhat critical respect for the work of others, and he always liked to satisfy himself by reinvestigation that things were really as they were described. As Cowley wrote about the greatest of English physiologists, he “sought for Truth in Truth’s own Book The creatures, which by God himself was writ; And wisely thought ’twas fit Not to read comments only upon it, But on the Original itself to look.” Christ’s College, Cambridge, 1906. A. E. SHIPLEY.
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3