Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 50.djvu/574

556 of blondes and brunettes; and the fourth the stature. Then the association of these into three race types—the Teutonic, the Alpine, and the Mediterranean—will follow. France, Germany, the British Isles may then be taken up, each by itself, with consideration of special topics, such as the Basques, the Etruscans, living representatives of the Cro-Magnon race, and the like. Thus the way will be prepared for the still broader questions concerning the ultimate origin of the three races above named, with their relation to the negro and the people of Asia. The intention of the whole series will be to give a living picture of the people of Europe, and to analyze it for the benefit of the student of history and sociology.

noticed last month the anxiety of a high ecclesiastical dignitary lest the world under the guidance of the modern scientific thought should be given over completely to cruelty and selfishness; and our attention has since been drawn to an article in a Toronto educational journal which seems to be in some measure inspired by a similar apprehension. We say "in some measure" only, for the writer is in evident sympathy with the work of science as a whole, and is chiefly concerned with the moral evils which he thinks will ensue from the scientific practice of vivisection.

The question as to the value of vivisection for the advancement of scientific theory is a large one, upon which we are not prepared to enter. Suffice it to say for the present that, while some diversity of opinion exists on the subject, the great majority of teachers and experimenters in biology and physiology believe that it affords most important aid in the prosecution and illustration of their studies. That the practice is liable to abuse in careless or indifferent hands may be readily admitted, but it must be said at the same time that the feeling of the scientific world in general is as strongly opposed to any needless infliction of suffering on the lower animals as that of the unscientific world can be. It is recognized that the practice should only be resorted to in a guarded manner, for definite ends, and should be accompanied by whatever alleviations of pain it is possible to introduce. No condemnation could be too strong for any purpose-less cruelty at the expense of sentient creatures, or any profession of indifference to the pains which they are necessarily compelled to undergo. The great safeguard of the scientific world against such misuse of the power we possess over the dumb creation lies in the fact that the one professed and never-forgotten purpose of the practice now in question is the mitigation and prevention of human suffering. If the question were asked whether, on the whole, the animal creation had gained or lost by the advance of scientific thought, there could be little doubt about the answer. It is since science became a prominent occupation of men's minds that qualms of conscience have begun to be felt about some forms of sport in which animal life is sacrificed, and that measures have been taken to secure merciful treatment for animals in course of transportation, and for the prevention of various forms of cruelty and neglect through which animals suffered at the hands of man. That much remains to be done in these directions is undoubted, but we may be sure of this, that the more animals become the subject of scientific study and treatment, the better on the whole will be their lot. It may be that