468 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



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SS33 



To Regulate Vivisection. 



I have been giving careful attention to 

 the subject of vivisection, and before be- 

 ginning a campaign of opposition, I 

 have taken the precaution to fortify 

 myself by a considerable armament of 

 data. I firmly believe, however, that 

 vivisection cannot be whollv abolished 

 at the present time. Neither could many 

 other human evils even if millions of 

 dollars should be contributed and gen- 

 eral conventions be held every week. 

 Do not be surprised that I write in this 

 way. I know that the opposition is too 

 strong for me, but I know further that 

 vivisectionists and anti-vivisectionists, 

 although at present their views are an- 

 tagonistic, can meet on a common 

 ground that both will approve. 

 They can check the present evil and 

 make it less offensive and more hu- 

 mane. I am looking forward to the 

 total abolishment of vivisection. The 

 first step toward that end is to reduce 

 the amount. This can be done at once 

 if we can have the cooperation of all 

 those interested. The great evil of 

 vivisection is not observable in the few 

 places where it is done in a thoroughly 

 competent manner, but it is the fact 

 that any upstart student may and often 

 does repeat over and over again experi- 

 ments that have been made many times 

 and with results that can never be chang- 

 ed. The most devoted advocates of vivi- 

 section deplore this as much as its op- 

 ponents. Even boys are making ex- 



periments in vivisection, and doing so 

 with unspeakable cruelty. 



Do not let us be extremists, but let 

 us get to work and have enacted a law 

 that will put all vivisection in the care 

 of a competent Board of Inspectors. 

 When this is done it will be necessary 

 for the one who wishes to experiment 

 to make known in advance the purpose 

 of the experiment and afterwards to re- 

 port results and methods. 



Please cooperate with me in this good 

 work, for I firmly believe that within a 

 short time we can accomplish much to- 

 ward restriction of the evil. 



"The Condor" Discards "Simplified" 

 Spelling. 



The editors of The Condor, a maga- 

 zine devoted to the ornithology of Cali- 

 fornia, favored "bobtail" spelling. They 

 tried it for a few months, as has been 

 previously noticed in this magazine, but 

 received so many protests that they 

 called for a vote by the members of The 

 Cooper Ornithological Club which pub- 

 lishes The Condor. The vote was em- 

 phatically against its continuation. 

 Now we are delighted to find that this 

 interesting exchange can be read with- 

 out reference to a Josh Billings's 

 dictionary. Accept our felicitation, 

 brothers. You have done well in re- 

 turning to the use the language as it is 

 "according to nature," and you have 

 gracefully accepted the inevitable. Fe- 

 licitation, brothers, felicitation. 



