KNOWLI-.DGr. 



MAUni, 1012. 



I'rnfessor I'orlMs' \u'\\ of the orifjin nf tlic 

 Lnsitai)ian plants wliich lu- tli(iiif,'ht wt-rc coiirnicil 

 to Iiclaiul. was tliat Spain and Ireland wtTc oiui' 

 (linctiy ronnertid with oiu' another hv land, and 

 that tiiis provided ii safe northward passaf,'c for a 

 nnniiier of southern species. The e.xisting Irish 

 members of the Lusitanian element he looked upon 

 as the last survivors of this ancient invasion of the 

 northern territory, contendiii}^ that this event must 

 have taken place in Miocene times lonj; anterior to 

 the Glacial lipoch. when the land in Western 

 Euroiie stood hifjher than it does now. 



One of the principal difficulties which Professor 

 Forbes' view presents to us is that, if these plants 

 wandered northward in pre-glacial times, they must 

 have survived the Ice Age in these islands. The 

 natural question also occurs to us, could specific 

 identitv have been preserved in so many instances 

 durin;^ such an immense lapse of time fioni the 

 Miocene to the present age ? 



"I'lure is no doubt, however, tliat ue have still a 

 gooti deal to learn about the Ice .\ge and its supposed 

 climatic conditions. Much remains tjuitc obscure to 

 the i)resent day as to what actually happened during 

 this phase of geological history. .\t any rate it 

 cannot be definitely asserted that the Lusitanian 



l.iuna and llora could not have survived the Ice Age 

 in In-land. .\s for the persistence of specific identity 

 through several geological periods, there arc some 

 instances known to us where this can be proved to 

 have occurred. It is possible that all the species I 

 have alluded to may have survived from Miocene 

 times to the present day, though we possess no 

 palaeontological evidence for such a supposition. 

 .\11 the same, a better c.\|)lanation of the presence of 

 these animals and plants in the British Islands than 

 the (jne suggested by Professor Forbes, seems to me 

 to be that they wandered northward not by a direct 

 connection between Spain and Ireland, but along the 

 west coast of Europe at a time when the British 

 Islands formed part of the Continent, and that most 

 of them subsequentlv became extinct in the inter- 

 mediate area when the conditions grew less favour- 

 able for their survival. As I have indicated in 

 another [)lace, I quite agree with Professor Forbes 

 that this event must have hajipened before the Ice 

 Age.* Some species may be of Miocene age, others 

 are possibly older or younger. We have no means, 

 in the present state of our knowledge, to determine 

 this factor, but the whole [iroblem forms one of the 

 most interesting chapters connected with the origin 

 of our fauna and flcjra. Patient observation and 

 studs' will in time furnish us with its correct solution. 



Scliarff, R. F. — "" European Animals: tlicir Geographical History and Geographical Distribution." London, 1907. 



kb:sE.\kcii i)]:i-H\-cE sociktv. 



It is the work of the Research Defence Society to put before 

 the public, and keep before the public, the facts about 

 experiments on animals in this country, and the great benefits 

 which have been obtained by the help of such experiments. 

 These benefits are not limited to men, women and children : 

 the animal world also enjoys the advantages gained by 

 experiments on animals. It is better protected against the 

 scourging epidemic diseases, such as anthrax, rinderpest, 

 bovine tuberculosis, and e(|uine lockjaw ; the causes and way 

 of infection of such diseases as Nagana and Te.xas cattle 

 fever have been discovered and proved ; good advance has 

 been made toward a protective treatment against distemper ; 

 and admirable tests have been discovered for the detection of 

 tuberculosis in cattle and glanders in horses. 



The Research Defence Society was formed in 190S, to 

 remind people what a great national debt of gratitude we owe to 

 experimental physiology and pathology. It began with seven 

 members, and it already has more than five thousand 

 members and associates, and has established Branch Societies 

 in all parts of the Kingdom. It has nothing to do with the 

 actual making of experiments on animals, nor with advising 

 the Home ( )flnce over applications for licenses and certificates 

 under the .Act ; nor does if desire the abolition of restriction 

 of such experiments in (his country. Its work is to publish 

 and distribute literature, to answer all enciuiries, to make 

 all necessary arrangements for debates, and to give 

 addresses and lantern lectures all over the country. The 

 minimum subscription for working expenses is five shillings : 

 but under-graduates and students of medicine arc eligible 

 for membership at an annual subscription of halfa- 

 crown. Larger subscriptions or donations will be gladly 

 received. Associates pay a subscription of one shilling. 



Of course, the Society wants more members and associates. 

 The work keeps growing, and the more it grows, the better 

 the Society is pleased. There is an endless amount of work 

 to be done. Many of the public know next to nothing about 

 the general character and purpose of experiments on animals 

 at the present time. The common use of the word "vivi- 

 section " hides the fact that ninety-five per cent, of all 

 experiments on animals, at the present time, in this country, 

 arc inoculations, or of the nature of inoculations : that is to 

 say. they involve no sort or kind of cutting operation on any 

 animal. .N'either is it known to everybody that no operation, 

 more than the lancing of a vein just under the skin, is allowed 

 to be done on any animal in this country, unless the animal, 

 through the whole of the operation, is under some anaesthetic 

 strong enough to prevent it from feeling pain. 



When we consider what measm'eless and permanent gains 

 ha\e been made by mankind, and by the animal world, out of 

 the work of such men as. Pasteur and Lister, we see the good 

 of a Society set apart for the one purpose of keeping the 

 public in mind of the facts of the case. These facts have 

 been in past years obscured, now and again, by prejudice, or 

 by something worse than prejudice. It is the business of the 

 Research Defence Society to popularise the whole subject. 

 As Bacon said of man. that he is the interpreter of nature, so 

 this Society might call itself the interpreter of the interpreters. 

 That would be a line in.ilto for it : " Interpres Intcrprctum 

 Naturae." 



We hope that many ot the readers of " KNow'l.l-.nc.E" will 

 communicate with the Honorary Secretary. 21. Ladbroke 

 Sejuare, London, W. He will be very glad to hear from them. 



