GEORGE L. WALTON 6 1 



indirect. In my own specialty, that of neurology, we rely 

 at every step upon the knowledge of the physiology of the 

 nervous system, a knowledge established largely by animal 

 experimentation, though we can only exceptionally point 

 out the individual experiment upon which we rely for the 

 knowledge we bring to bear on a particular case. 



As familiar illustrations of both varieties of experimen- 

 tation in every-day affairs I may cite the fact that the 

 engineer, on the one hand, can point to the observation 

 of the steam raising the teakettle lid as the starting point 

 for the establishment of the steam engine, while on the 

 other hand, if we inquire upon what experiment the inven- 

 tion of the telephone depends, no one can answer us, 

 though every one knows that innumerable laboratory ex- 

 periments had to be performed in many directions before 

 the facts were accumulated, the assembling of which re- 

 sulted in this useful invention. 



It may be asked, In what way would this bill prevent 

 such experiments as those upon the epiglottis? The 

 answer is that (i) they were not done by one possessing 

 the medical degree, but by a student, and (2) that the 

 animals had to be kept alive after coming out of the ether 

 in order to determine the effect upon their swallowing 

 under otherwise normal conditions. The same restriction 

 would prevent such valuable and useful experiments as 

 those of Ferrier on the brains of monkeys, for it is essen- 

 tial in such experiments that the monkey come out of the 

 ether before it can be determined just what symptoms 

 follow certain losses of brain substance. The knowledge 



o 



gained by such experiments is of constant use to the 

 neurologist who is consulted as to the nature and seat 

 of brain disease, and the possibility of operation for its 

 relief. 



A word as to the animus of these experiments on 

 animals. It has been at least implied in certain quarters 



