i88a.] 
Cruelty to Animals . 
395 
Henninger. The colour obtained is identical with that ex- 
tracted from orchella weeds, but the result is more expensive, 
and the invention consequently remains a dead letter. 
I have thus given not a catalogue, but merely a few in- 
stances of the attempts made to displace some natural 
products by artificial compounds. It may afford matter for 
thought to our statesmen, economists, and men of business, 
if they note that nearly all these cases are attacks upon 
British commerce. In face of such a movement it is surely 
our duty to derive all the practical benefit we can from the 
teachings of Science, and, by increasing the yield and im- 
proving the quality of our colonial productions, render it less 
easy for them to be superseded. 
III. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. 
By W. Mattieu Williams. 
S HE letter of Mrs. Kingsford, M.D., on the above sub- 
jeCt, in the April number of the “ Journal of Science,” 
supplies a curious example of the self-stultification of 
mere sentimentalism. It is evident, by the coupling of her 
vegetarianism with her total abstinence from “ feather and 
fur wearing,” that in her case the abstinence from pork, 
beef, and mutton is supposed to be an aCt of benevolence 
towards pigs, oxen, and sheep. 
Suppose we were all to follow the vegetarian example, 
how would it affeCt these animals ? The answer is evident 
enough. It would bring about their extermination, unless 
we preserved a specimen or two in the Zoological Gardens. 
As it is, our carnivorous proceedings are most beneficent 
in reference to animal life. There are no creatures on the 
face of the earth who, from a merely animal point of view, 
lead so enviable a life as those which constitute our flocks 
and herds, and our domestic poultry. They are provided 
with food and lodging of the very best kind they are capable 
of enjoying; the best efforts of Science are devoted to the 
selection of their food, and prizes are given to those who are 
the most successful in pampering them. They are supplied 
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