NOTES 671 



seeking to benefit humanity by medical research are always 

 placed at a disadvantage in published discussions of this kind, 

 because they cannot give a full statement of their arguments 

 except in a lengthy scientific form, whereas anti-scientists can 

 always pretend in a few words that such evidence has been 

 refuted. Still further, it is disgraceful that such investigators 

 should not only be exposed to attempts to discredit their work 

 in this manner, but also to the insults of faddists and cranks 

 who evidently do not trouble to make a sufficiently careful 

 study of the matters which they pretend to condemn." 



Referring to the persons whose names have been printed in 

 connection with the British Union for Abolition of Vivisection, 

 the Committee says that it " does not think that these persons 

 have ever done such researches on typhoid inoculation, or 

 indeed on pathological and sanitary problems in general, as to 

 justify them in posing as arbiters on a question of this nature, 

 which requires the most expert and impartial consideration." It 

 is astonishing that there should be found enough fools in this 

 country to keep such an association as this going by subscribing 

 to it. 



Science, War, and Agriculture 



In the Morning Post of January 21, 22, and 23 there appeared 

 a series of articles on the state of agriculture in this country, 

 which have now been reprinted in the form of a pamphlet 

 entitled England's Food. These articles set forth in a concise, 

 lucid, and interesting manner the whole question of the wheat 

 supply of the world and how the European War will inevitably 

 increase the shortage, and consequently the price, of man's 

 staple of existence during the ensuing two years. Statistics 

 are given to prove this, and an excellent comparison is made 

 between the producing capacity of England and the other 

 European countries. From these figures we see how very far 

 behind England is in wheat-growing, owing mainly to the fact 

 that the farmers of this country employ methods which those 

 of foreign countries discarded fifty years ago as completely 

 inadequate for modern requirements. In other countries, also, 

 notably France and Germany, the great increase in wheat- 

 growing has been made possible by scientific research on the 

 subject of fertilisers, and money has always been forthcoming 

 to obtain desirable results. Many remedies are brought forward 



