THE WORLD'S CONSERVATION PROBLEM 169 



country not only in the study of nervous and mental diseases, but also 

 in advancing our knowledge of many questions of immediate importance 

 for educators and those interested in the solution of social problems. 

 The way has been prepared by science for the establishment of a new 

 type of institution dedicated to the study of the brain and nervous 

 system along broad biological lines. This field of investigation would 

 include, for example, such problems as an enquiry into the nature of 

 the nerve impulse, the manner in which it is transmitted, the changes 

 produced by it in the body, the agents modifying its action, the factors 

 determining the growth of the nervous system and the possibility of in- 

 ducing regeneration, after the nerve cells and fibers have been injured, 

 and the mechanism of transmission by heredity of specific functions of 

 the brain. The neuro-biological institute should contain laboratories 

 fully equipped for the study of complex chemical and physical prob- 

 lems, the determination of the laws of animal behavior, the mechanism 

 of development of the nervous system as well as the character of struc- 

 ture of these organs. The selection of investigators should be made 

 with care and the greatest amount of liberty given to them in selecting 

 and determining the scope of their own problems, for in attempting to 

 answer the questions of fundamental importance in connection with the 

 brain and nervous system we are brought face to face with a line of work 

 which leads us straight back to consider the origin of the life processes. 



The advance of humanity during the past fifty years has been illumi- 

 nated by the acts of an intelligent philanthropy. The noble list of 

 benefactions includes libraries, schools, colleges, universities, labora- 

 tories, observatories, hospitals and an international tribunal for the 

 abolishment of wars. The future progress of mankind will be directly 

 proportional to the additions made to our knowledge of the brain and 

 nervous system. Whether the conventional form of education proves to 

 be a blessing or a curse will depend upon its power to minister to the 

 needs of brain and nervous system. The reign of universal peace will 

 come at last, not as an official act of international agreement, but as the 

 result of the study of the individual and the adoption of methods to 

 suppress and eliminate those undesirable mental traits which at times 

 make the resort to arbitration impossible. 



Far more important than the discovery of a new continent or a new 

 star is the determination of the laws governing brain action, for upon 

 our knowledge of these phenomena depends "the prosperous voyaging 

 of humanity." 



vol. lxxxi. — 12. 



