July 2, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



25 



I am not able to follow Dr. Boas's deduction 

 of a formula for r in this case, and it does not 

 appear to give the true correlation r of the 

 two variables. 



Karl Pearson 

 BiOMETBic Laboratory, 

 University College, Lo>t)OX, 

 June 6, 1909 



THE DARWIN CELEBRATION AT CAMBRIDGE 



To THE Editor of Science: I shall be ob- 

 liged if you will allow me to contradict a state- 

 ment which has been made in an American 

 newspaper in reference to Professor Haeckel 

 and the Darwin Celebration. The article in 

 question was sent to me by a friend as a cut- 

 ting and I am unable to give the name of the 

 newspaper. The writer of an article entitled 

 " Haeckel, the fighting scientist retires from 

 Jena University," says : " He (Professor 

 Haeckel) would have been glad to accept an 

 invitation to the Cambridge celebration of the 

 Darwin centenary — had he received it. None 

 came, however, although a large number of 

 such invitations have been sent to scientists 

 who, to say the least, are no more distinguished 

 than himself and to hundreds of scientific so- 

 cieties. It is strongly suspected that clerical 

 prejudice has had a large share in this extra- 

 ordinary omission. It is quite unjustifiable, 

 for, whatever may be thought of Professor 

 Haeckel's philosophic speculations, not even 

 his enemies venture to deny his great service 

 in the development of Darwinism." 



The facts are these : A large number of 

 universities, academies and learned societies 

 were invited by the University of Cambridge 

 to appoint delegates to attend the Darwin 

 Celebration in June of this year. In response 

 to this invitation the University of Jena ap- 

 pointed Professor Haeckel as its delegate. At 

 a later date, after replies had been received 

 from universities and other corporate bodies, 

 several invitations were sent to individuals 

 other than those already nominated as dele- 

 gates. A short time ago Profesor Haeckel 

 wrote to express his regret that ill-health 

 rendered a visit to Cambridge impossible, and 

 his successor in the chair of zoology. Pro- 

 fessor Plate, was appointed in his stead. I 



need hardly add that if Professor Haeckel had 

 not been appointed a delegate he would cer- 

 tainly have been invited as a private guest. I 

 may state that some years since Professor 

 Haeckel received from Cambridge University 

 the honorary degree of doctor of science. 

 I am. Yours faithfully, 



A. C. Seward 

 One of the Honorary Secretaries to the 

 Darwin Celebration Committee; Pro- 

 fessor of Botany in. the University. 

 Botany School, 

 Cambridge, England 



QUOTATIONS 



vivisection 



Literary reference or allusion makes read- 

 able sometimes the barer facts of science. 

 The vogue of Eudyard Kipling will render 

 more popular a scientific cause to which he 

 happens to lend his name. It is for that rea- 

 son, rather than for the value of his statement, 

 that we quote the poet as follows on a ques- 

 tion of the day: 



The doctor is exposed to the criticism of per- 

 sons who consider their own undisciplined emo- 

 tions more important than mankind's most bitter 

 agonies; who would cripple and limit research for 

 fear research might be accompanied by a little 

 pain and suffering. But if the doctor has the 

 time to study the history of his own profession 

 he will find that such persons have always been 

 against him — ever since the Egyptians erected 

 statues to cats and dogs on the banks of the Nile. 



The opponents of vivisection ought to op- 

 pose murder, and therefore to be vegetarians. 

 They should also object to forced labor and 

 therefore never ride behind a horse. They 

 should in sound logic oppose larceny and not 

 drink milk. They should never allow an ani- 

 mal to be punished in process of being trained. 

 In scientific experiment few animals are taken, 

 compared to those killed for food or kept at 

 forced labor all their lives. Most of them are 

 unconscious. The question of when to use 

 anesthetics must be left to science, since in a 

 small but important fraction of the work drugs 

 must be dispensed with; and it would be fatal 

 to have ignorant outsiders concerned in so 

 critical a decision. Such outsiders are cap- 



