Decembeb 10, 1900] 



SCIENCE 



823 



certainly the predominant one in this 

 country— the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. No one would think of inti- 

 mating that this great department has neg- 

 lected the interests of the stockmen of 

 the United States, but nevertheless, it is 

 true that until very recently its work for 

 them has been chiefly of the nature of 

 veterinary and inspection work, as indeed 

 it still is to a relatively large extent. The 

 Bureau of Animal Industry has, it is true, 

 established a dairy division and has begun 

 to take up problems of feeding and espe- 

 cially of breeding with the modest appro- 

 priation for this purpose which congi-ess 

 has put at its disposal. The department 

 should be put in position to do much more 

 than it is doing, however. Its work in this 

 field should be productive as well as pro- 

 tective. If the development of our water- 

 ways and the conservation of our forests, 

 mines and water powers are subjects of na- 

 tional concern, surely the conservation of 

 the food .supply is worthy of attention. 

 The magnitude of the live stock industry 

 in itself, and especially its important re- 

 lations to the future food supply of the 

 nation which I have been endeavoring to 

 point out, are such as to amply warrant 

 the department in entering upon compre- 

 hensive investigations, both scientific and 

 practical, into this subject and to fully 

 justify congress in making all necessary 

 appropriations. It is not alone our food 

 supply, but our democracy, which is at 

 stake. 



It goes without saying that such an 

 efifort on the part of the national govern- 

 ment should be made in harmony with the 

 investigations which may be undertaken 

 by other agencies. All the available 

 forces should unite in the study of these 

 important questions and no local jealous- 

 ies should be allowed to stand in the way. 

 While there may be problems of coordina- 



tion and correlation still to be solved, I am 

 confident that they are readily solvable, 

 while it seems not impossible that in sryme 

 respects this society might advantageously 

 serve as an unofficial intermediary between 

 state and national authorities. 



I congratulate the society upon the 

 notable increase in its membership during 

 the past year and upon the very en- 

 couraging attendance upon its first an- 

 nual meeting. If I understand the spirit 

 and temper of its members, they desire to 

 make the society something more than a 

 pleasant club or a gathering for the read- 

 ing of papers. It is my hope, which I be- 

 lieve I share with every member, that it 

 may become an active agency in forward- 

 ing the solution of some of the problems 

 which I have attempted to indicate in this 

 address. 



H. P. Armsby 



A DEFENCE OF SANITY' 

 Ever since the reign of the illustrious 

 Emperor Augustus, when Horace taught 

 that all men are mad, there has been a 

 wide-spread belief in the truth of the Ro- 

 man poet's assei'tion. Yet few of us are 

 wholly mad, and we shall not go far astray 

 if we agree with a modern essayist that 

 "every man has a sane spot somewhere." 

 The actual degree of insanity from which 

 any one of us suffers is a matter difficult 

 of determination, since it can be made 

 known only through the verdict of one's 

 peers, who themselves in turn are de- 

 mented. One can arrive at a correct 

 judgment in an individual ease only by 

 comparing it with that which the most in- 

 telligent of the multitude, after long study 

 and deep knowledge, have established as 

 the norm. Any pronounced diversion from 

 ' An address delivered at the opening of the 

 fifty-seventh year of the College of Medicine of 

 the University of Vermont, Burlington, November 

 3, 1909. 



