IN THE LAST HALF-CENTURY. 131 



that evil to relative insignificance. At the 

 present time, science, working in the light 

 of clear knowledge, has attacked splenic 

 fever and has beaten it ; it is attacking 

 hydrophobia with no mean promise of 

 success ; sooner or later it will deal, in 

 the same way, with diphtheria, typhoid 

 and scarlet fever. To one who has seen 

 half a street swept clear of its children, 

 or has lost his own by these horrible pes- 

 tilences, passing one's offspring through 

 the fire to Moloch seems humanity, com- 

 pared with the proposal to deprive them 

 of half their chances of health and life 

 because of the discomfort to dogs and 

 cats, rabbits and frogs, which may be in- 

 volved in the search for means of guard- 

 ing them. 



An immense extension has been ef- Scienti- 

 fected in our knowledge of the distribu- ration. 

 tion of plants and animals ; and the eluci- 

 dation of the causes which have brought 

 about that distribution has been greatly 



