556 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



bution of blondes and bi'unettes ; 

 and the fourth the stature. Then 

 the association of these into three 

 race types the Teutonic, the Al- 

 pine, and the Mediterranean will 

 follow. France, Germany, the Brit- 

 ish Isles may then be taken up, each 

 by itself, with consideration of spe- 

 cial topics, such as the Basques, the 

 Etruscans, living- representatives of 

 the Cro-Magnon race, and the like. 

 Thus the way will be prepared for 

 the still broader questions concern- 

 ing the ultimate origin of the three 

 races above named, with their rela- 

 tion to the negro and the people of 

 Asia. The intention of the whole 

 series will be to give a living picture 

 of the people of Europe, and to ana- 

 lyze it for the benefit of the student 

 of history and sociology. 



SCIENCE AND HUMANITY. 



We noticed last month the anxiety 

 of a high ecclesiastical dignitary lest 

 the world tinder the guidance of the 

 modern scientiiic thoixght should be 

 given over completely to cruelty and 

 selfishness; and our attention has 

 since been drawn to an article in a 

 Toronto educational journal which 

 seems to be in some measure inspired 

 by a similar apprehension. We say 

 'in some measure" only, for the 

 writer is in evident sympathy with 

 the work of science as a whole, and 

 is chiefly concerned with the moral 

 evils which he thinks will ensue 

 from the scientific practice of vivi- 

 section. 



The question as to the value of 

 vivisection for the advancement of 

 scientific theory is a large one, upon 

 which we ax^e not prepared to enter. 

 Suffice it to say for the present that, 

 while some diversity of opinion ex- 

 ists on the subject, the great majority 

 of teachers and experimenters in bi- 

 ology and physiology believe that it 

 affords most important aid in the 



prosecution and illustration of their 

 studies. That the practice is liable 

 to abuse in careless or indifferent 

 hands may be readily admitted, but 

 it must be said at the same time 

 that the feeling of the scientific 

 world in general is as strongly op- 

 posed to any needless infliction of 

 suffering on the lower animals as 

 that of the unscientific world can 

 be. It is recognized that the prac- 

 tice should only be resorted to in a 

 guarded manner, for definite ends, 

 and should be accompanied by what- 

 ever alleviations of pain it is possi- 

 ble to introduce. No condemnation 

 could be too strong for any purpose- 

 less cruelty at the expense of sentient 

 creatures, or any profession of in- 

 difference to the pains which they 

 are necessarily compelled to undergo. 

 The great safeguard of the scientific 

 world against such misuse of the 

 power we possess over tlie dumb crea- 

 tion lies in the fact that the one pro- 

 fessed and never-forgotten purpose of 

 the practice now in question is the 

 mitigation and prevention of human 

 suffering. If the question were 

 asked whether, on the whole, the 

 animal creation had gained or lost 

 by the advance of scientific thought, 

 there could be little doubt about the 

 answer. It is since science became 

 a prominent occupation of men's 

 minds that qualms of conscience 

 have begun to be felt about some 

 forms of sport in which animal life 

 is sacrificed, and that measures have 

 been taken to secure merciful treat- 

 ment for animals in course of trans- 

 portation, and for the prevention of 

 various forms of cruelty and neglect 

 through which animals suffered at 

 the hands of man. That much re- 

 mains to be done in these directions 

 is undoubted, but we may be sure of 

 this, that the more animals become 

 the subject of scientific study and 

 treatment, the better on the whole 

 will be their lot. It may be that 



