The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-11-05

IDENTIFY suffer great pain in hot water, but
none after mutilatiOn. Nature has fur
nished covering protective az ainst in
jury, butas they may range all parts Ofthe
sea, a sense of temperature is probably eS
sential to keep them in those parts which
they are formed 10 inhabit. 1t may be
that this sense of temperature tells them
not only the part but the depth of the sea
necessary for their young to reach matu-
rity. Sir Humphrey Davy, who devoted
much time and research to the investiga-
ton of the habits and peculiarities of fishes,
came to the conclusion that their sense OF
pain is tritling. A celebrated naturalist
atfirms that single cod deposits 1900, 900
eggs. Of these only few hatch, and out
of myriads perhaps four reach maturity.
As the rest of these are eaten, it seems
probable that divine goodness has rendered
them little susceptible of pain.
As far as insects are concerned, the sense
OF pain is obviously slight. Thus wasp
has been observed to eat fly Immediately
after its own abdomen had been cut away.
Cockchafers have been seen crawling about
and eating voraciously after the same in
jury. 1t is a common fact in entomology
that the dragon-ly will eat for long time
after being fastened down with a pin.
That God should have rendered these crea-
lures only slightly susceptible of pain
seems all the more probable when we take
into account the slaughter constantly 60
ing on among the lower classes Ofanimals.
The number of flies destroyed by a single
pair of swallows must be enormous. In
proof of this law of destruction,
the author already quoted relates
the following incident: 81 once OBJ
served rather extraordinary illustration
of the law of nature to eat and be eaten.
| kept i'm glass globe a variety of the
smaller aquatic animals, such as the Larvae
of the dragon-fly. ETC., and one day intro
duced among them few of the common
water nevis and water beetles, one of
which was the Dttisc1Gs n1a2ginaLis. The
dragOn-fly had been living on the animal
cul9, etc.; the nevis attacked and devOur-
ed the dragon-hy. The next morning /
found one of the nevis lying at the bottom
of the vessel, half eaten, and while looking
on saw the disticus attack another newt,
Not wishing to have them all destroyed, |
took the disticuS out of the water and
put it in the sunshine few minutes, when
it flew away, and had not gone more than
thirty or forty yards when sparrow flew
after it and caught it. This constant de-
structiOn of life would be fearful to con-
template if there is truth in the quotation
so often made that "the poor beetle that
we tread upon, in corporal sutferance
finds pang as great as when giant
dies"
The above considerations and others that
might be adduced seem to show that the
Humanitarian. in objection to vivisections,
| is sentimental rather than ra'
tional. The fact that vivisections
are practiced with the animal rendered
entirely insensible by ether destroys ever
the last vestige of the sentiment. AnC
finally, to the humanitarian and scientis
alike, the facts adduced above cannot tai
to bring peace when they indulge in the
matutinal South-dOwn or the midday
roast beef. A. B. CROSBY, NJ. D.