S? 



GEORGE L. WALTON 



INSTRUCTOR IN NEUROLOGY, HARVARD MEDICAL 



SCHOOL 



(Written after delivery at the hearing.) 



Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee: 

 AN experiment made by me when a student has been 

 mentioned by the petitioners, in exactly what terms I do 

 not know, but it seems fair to place the facts before you, 

 arid the conclusions which were drawn from that experi- 

 ment. This happens to belong to the class of experiments 

 to which beneficial results to man can be directly traced, 

 and compared with the degree of suffering which the ani- 

 mals underwent. 



At the time of this experiment, I think 1878, the epi- 

 glottis, a valve-like organ, placed at the entrance of the 

 larynx, was regarded as absolutely essential to swallowing. 

 This had been doubted by one physiologist (Magendie), 

 who had removed it from animals without their choking. 

 Another physiologist (Longet) had repeated the experi- 

 ment, however, and found that the animals choked, from 

 which he drew the conclusion that Magendie's experiments 

 had been faulty. This seemed a sufficiently important 

 matter to establish, if possible, beyond a doubt. 



Under Dr. Bowditch's direction, and in his laboratory, I 

 performed, therefore, a series of experiments with this end 

 in view. The epiglottis was removed from a number of 

 cats and dogs, the depth of the cut varying in different 

 cases. It was found that no choking occurred (with the 

 exception of a slight cough on one occasion in one of the 



