148 ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION 



have been trying ever since that statement appeared to 

 find the original advertisement, but without success in get- 

 ting any definite knowledge in the matter unti 1 I chanced 

 to run across this extract in the " Animal Defender " for 

 January 1901 : 



" Harvard's Cats. We see that Harvard College has 

 lately advertised for one thousand cats, offering to pay 

 from twenty-five to fifty cents apiece for them. The 

 responsibility for this, we understand, rests with Pro- 

 fessor Shaler, who is the head of the Lawrence 

 Scientific School ; and many owners of pet cats in 

 Cambridge and adjoining towns are naturally indignant, 

 and talk of a public protest against such methods. 

 Such advertising is, of course, an encouragement of 

 theft, lawlessness, and cruelty, and many an owner 

 of a fine pet cat will mourn, and has already mourned, 

 its loss in consequence. The Transcript of December 

 6 says that Judge Almy, on December 5, 'severely 

 criticised the practice by boys of disposing of cats 

 to the Jefferson Physical Laboratory.' The Judge 

 should strike higher in his criticism." 



" By the way, we see in the papers that this Pro- 

 fessor Shaler, on December 17, in Sanders Theatre, 

 Cambridge, strongly defended the institution of slavery 

 as once existing in this country." 



If truth in this matter had been desired, it would have 

 been as easy for the editor of that publication to secure it 

 as it was for me. A letter of inquiry to Professor Shaler 

 brought out the following reply (in part) : 



LAWRENCE SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL, 



CAMBRIDGE, MASS., March 7, 1901. 



MY DEAR DR. ERNST, --That statement about a 

 thousand cats is preposterous. ... I have sought every- 

 where and find that no cats were ever advertised for. 

 Very truly yours, N. S. SllALER. 



