Septembee 28, 1917] 



SCIENCE 



303 



zoology as an intellectual pursuit gives liberal 

 cultural training as well as a fuller apprecia- 

 tion of our fellow mortals. This fact in itself 

 is a full justification of its study. But, in ad- 

 dition, zoology may be and is studied for the 

 grounding preliminary training of certain of 

 the professions, notably medicine and agricul- 

 ture. The premedical man finds in zoology the 

 basis for his future appreciation of the anat- 

 omy of man. Man carries many reminiscences 

 of his lowlier ancestors. Even the over-devout 

 believers of special creation seem to have had 

 an inkling of this fact. On the walls of the 

 sacred cemetery in Pisa a painter has repre- 

 sented the creation of man. On the left is the 

 Lord, in the center is the man partly formed. 

 To fill a gap in his canvas the painter placed a 

 palm tree on the extreme right of the picture. 

 A monkey is climbing the palm. Thus while 

 the Lord is creating man " in His own image " 

 a monkey is gamboling before his eyes — the re- 

 sult is only what might have been expected. 



Zoology has an additional importance to the 

 doctor of medicine. Man, himself a zoological 

 garden, is involuntarily harboring within, and 

 frequently without, many of his zoologically 

 more humble contemporaries. It must fre- 

 quently be a question whether the malady is 

 due to the anatomy and physiology of the pa- 

 tient himself, or to the depredation of the in- 

 vaders. 



Here at Purdue University it is quite proper 

 that another phase of zoology should receive 

 full recognition. The firing line in the most 

 important struggle for existence on the globe 

 is not along the Marne, but in man, in his 

 flocks, his cultivated fields and forests. The 

 supreme struggle is not between autocracy 

 and democracy, but between man and insects 

 and still lower creatures. Insects keep many 

 large parts of the globe as free from man as 

 No Man's Land, much freer than the subma- 

 rine zone. Insects and still lower animals levy 

 their enormous tribute at the source. Some 

 day we may issue liberty bonds to open the 

 lanes of travel in other parts of South Amer- 

 ica as we have opened those of Panama, and to 

 free us from the tribute we are compelled to 

 pay to the Hessian fly, the gypsy moth, the 



San Jose scale, the Mexican cotton-boll weevil, 

 the English sparrow, the Colorado beetle, the 

 German carp, and a host of other invading and 

 native marauders. 



A few years ago I had the pleasure of sail- 

 ing to St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Kitts, Santa 

 Lucia and other West India Islands as holy as 

 these, though not yet sainted. Some had elabo- 

 rate barracks, but fortifications were being 

 abandoned and attention lavished on botanic 

 gardens and experiment stations. The change 

 was a recognition of this ancient, but only re- 

 cently fully recognized, firing line. We cer- 

 tainly have abundant excuse, if excuse is 

 needed for this new biological building. 



But there is another use for this building. 

 It is no merit to call the doctor when the stom- 

 ach aches. It is a supreme merit to investi- 

 gate causes and prevent future stomach aches 

 while we are enjoying our daily overabundant 

 meals. 



We must investigate zoology from its pure 

 and abstract side, developing as a by-product 

 of our investigations the future Pasteurs, 

 Kochs and Darwins; we must extend human 

 knowledge. All institutions must cooperate in 

 this, must grow at the tip. Investigation is the 

 truest preparedness, and the democracies ought 

 at least to encourage research as much as the 

 autocracies, known for their noble contribu- 

 tions in this direction. 



In this connection I would like to quote 

 (with slight modifications) from a letter to 

 President Stanley Hall, of Clark University, 

 written in answer to a questionnaire on the 

 general subject of what can be done to increase 

 research in American universities. 



Bloomington, Ind., Oct. 25, 1916 

 My dear Dr. Hall: It would be very easy to 

 point out why the American universities do not do 

 more for research, why you must ask the first of 

 your questions. But, my dear President Hall, 3 

 candid statement would be sure to be resented by 

 one or another university active in the councils of 

 the Association of American Universities. To call 

 attention to self-evident facts would seem like in- 

 terference on the part of one institution with the 

 internal policy of another. In criticism of the 

 policy of American universities in regard to re- 

 search, the head of one of the great research en- 



