332 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



portant, even absolutely essential though they are, will never decide 

 certain vital questions. Note the fantastical deduction of Metchnikoff, 

 who asserts that the large intestine is really a lusus naturae, a dangerous 

 and disease-breeding portion of the economy which had better be dis- 

 pensed with, at least to the extent of a few feet. The idea does not 

 seem to have dawned upon him that the colon might not be dangerous 

 were it not overloaded with the unused products of an excessive alimen- 

 tation. Nor can experiments upon animals, nor investigations in the 

 professor's laboratory, ever determine this question, while there are 

 already enough isolated instances on record to render it at least ex- 

 tremely probable that an extended investigation of a sufficient number 

 of human beings would prove that the dangerous element in the life 

 of the modern man is not the anatomical mistake of superabundant 

 intestine, but the overindulgence of a pampered appetite. Nor can 

 a priori reasoning be depended upon to settle some very simple contro- 

 versies, as, for instance, that between the vegetarians and the flesh 

 eaters. So far as the writer knows, no reliable statistics have ever 

 been compiled in regard to the longevity and efficiency of either of 

 these classes as compared with the other. The means for settling this 

 important question lie ready to our hands, viz., a careful collection 

 and analysis of the statistics. 



The question of the harmfulness or the innocuousness of tobacco 

 is so far from settlement that certain good authorities declare that 

 its use may be a cause of arterio-sclerosis, while others say that, used 

 in moderation, it is harmless. There is every probability that a 

 properly conducted questionaire would settle this moot point, and so 

 we might undoubtedly settle the question of the real influence of coffee 

 and tea upon the health, and of various articles of diet, as well as meat 

 and fish. Jonathan Hutchinson's contention that fish eating is the 

 cause of leprosy and the commonly accepted belief that beri beri is 

 due to eating musty rice, or even rice in good condition in undue 

 proportion, have an exceedingly important bearing upon the question 

 question of dietetics. 



The United States can no longer afford to neglect the experimental 

 study of tropical diseases, since we are building the Panama Canal 

 and have vast tropical possessions in the Philippines, not to mention 

 Porto Eico. There is every encouragement to prosecute such researches 

 when we reflect upon the splendid achievements of our army surgeons, 

 Reed, Gorgas, Ashford, Sternberg and others. Life has been ren- 

 dered happier and more secure by the devoted scientific labors of these 

 men. Col. Giles has said, speaking of tropical diseases, in regard to 

 the adaptability of the English to life in India, that Clive, being a 

 genius, " naturally possessed the originality to modify his habits to his 

 new surroundings and so survived to become an empire-builder and a 



