80 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letiei's. 



young. It is ignorance that has destroyed us in generations past. 

 It is ignorance of the functions of life and of the laws of repro- 

 duction that destroys us to-day. We cultivate with more skill 

 even the grapes and grains than we do the propagation and re- 

 production of our own species. Marriage is a hap-hazard affair, 

 the result of caprice or fancy, instead of being the result of judg- 

 ment and knowledge of the fundamental laws of being. Science 

 and the public law, are alone, perhaps insufficient to do justice to 

 this noble cause. They invoke the aid and co-operation of the 

 pulpit and of the public teacher. A wise supervision of this sub- 

 ject is indispensable to the future wellbeing of the race. False 

 standards of delicacy must be set aside. Morbid sentimentalism 

 must give way to the suggestions of common sense and a rational 

 philosophy. 



