466 
EDITORIAL. 
THE ANTIVIVISECTION CRAZE. 
In an able editorial on the antivivisection crusade now 
being carried on throughout the country by these misguided 
people, the editor of the Western Druggist says : “ How irra¬ 
tional and one-sided the rabid anti vivisection agitators are is 
made more clear by showing what forms of cruelty to animals 
they do not oppose. While doing all in their power to prevent 
the progress of medical science by the suppression of vivisection 
in the laboratory, these antivivisectionists do not seem to rec¬ 
ognize any cruelty in hunting, pigeon shooting, fishing, imper¬ 
fect housing of live atock, etc. One special form of vivisection 
has been pointed out by some of our medical exchanges, but 
this never seems to have been mentioned once by the anti¬ 
science crusaders.” According to the U. S. Census report of 
1890, the number of castrations performed annually upon 
domestic animals at that time was estimated as follows: 
Horses, 300,000; sheep, 3,000,000; cattle, 4,000,000; swine 
(male and female) 50,000,000. Considering the large increase 
in our animal industry, and then adding the operations per¬ 
formed upon dogs, cats, fowl, etc., it is safe to place the total 
number of castrations per year at not less than 100,000,000. 
Now let it be remembered that these operations are performed 
by ignorant, unskilled persons, devoid of all surgical or anti¬ 
septic knowledge, with instruments the rudest, without the use 
of anaesthetics, and often in a spirit of brutality. Would not 
this be a good field for the foolish, sentimental “ friends of our 
dumb friends ” to make a first beginning, giving the scientific 
veterinarian graduated from the vivisection laboratory a chance 
to introduce some reform measure in the cruel practice here 
briefly pointed out ? W. J. M. 
ANOTHER JOURNAL IN THE FIELD. 
The initial number of the Journal of Veterinary Science 
made its appearance in August, with Dr. R. A. x\rchibald, of 
San Francisco, Cal., as editor-in-chief. Although we received 
