, 1874-10-28


dies. So long, therefore, rs this uncertainty or
lists, there is 3 parallel uncertainty whether
much sympathy has not boon wasted upon tho
suIcringa of the lower animals. Tho gonte
Walton baao hiB disciples hook tho worm as
though they loved him, but shore Ia a. we'll
wriggling on hook aB 1t Ia whom pursuing itB
BinuouB travels through Its native mud. Que Of
tho most interesting papers upon this subject
yot contributed to thepubllo has been brought out
by the discussion On viviBectol, commenced by
Mr. Henry Dorgh the President of tho New York
Humane Society. Tho paper Is written by DR..
Crosby, and in it he makes very exhaustive
investigation Of the question whether animals
suffer under mutilation, arriving at the conclu-
sion that some OF them suffer very slightly and
others not at all. Whether the crusade upon
which Mr. Dorgh has entered roBults iu any re-
form or not, it has at least developed many
interesting aud curious fac1s and with these Dr..
Crosby's paper ia literaly overllowiug. In the
first place be oontonds that neither convulsiouB
nor cries are slgns of pain. So fur from cou-
g'llsions indicating suffering, he contends that
they only Hhow that the brain has Loaf its con.
troll over the roBt Of tho nervous system, aud
that, aside from = feeling OF muscular Soreness
patients are never conscious Of suffering evou IN
tho most terrible patoxysms. As to the cry
Of tho animal, ho says: "No uproar can be
creator than that which 8 pig makes Oh being
seized however gently, yet it would be absurd to
regard this as q mark Of pain,* and ho might
havo made that Same statement concerning tue
hon or drunken shrew. His illustrations in
favor Of his argument are very curious. During
tho battle Of Fair Oaks. be saw the fore leg OF a
horse carried away By solid HAot, aud yet tile
animal soon struggled to bis feet and commenced
feeding as usual. He also ctes the case Of an
Oxford coach-horHo which dialocatod both fet-
lock joints, and travelled on the end Of the bones
until they wero worn smooth without any OK
expression Of pain. Dormico frequently
cat OF part when mutilatod. Rats,
when pressed BY hunger, have been
observed eating their own tails. The same 1act
has been observed Of monkeys. At tho Jardin
dos Plantes, an old mezeua, having brokon his
leg, lnatead Of complaining about it, doliLorate-
1y got to work and deyourod 1t with great gusto.
Rabbits, when pursued by other animas, cry
out, but whom seized utter no sound whatever,
aud when caught in trap will pull away from
1t, leaving the tendons lacerated and often will
gnaw the leg or to escape. Grabs and Holsters
throw OF their claws after fright with tue
ner5 ft,,3tf 1 l,A1 Hnu
served to eat fy immediately after ts own ab-
doaen has been cut out, Cookchafers will crawl
about and eat voraoiously after tho same injury,
and tho dragon-1y will cat for long time after
being faBtenod down with q pin. Dr.. Crosby
alBo argues that Providence must have rendered
these animals only slightly susceptible to pain,
Ii view Of the constant destruction going On
among them, and cites tho following ulustra-
ton:
oncs observed rather extraordinary illustration
OF the law Of Nature to cut md lie eaten. kent in
gaRs gobo variety Of tho s1ualer aquatio animals
such the arv;n OF tho ragon-ny, etc., aud ono day
introduced among them few Of tho common wator
newts aud water beetles, one Of which tue Dts
nsarqinalis. Tho dragon-aies had been living on
the ant,naicnlR, etc.. tho attacked aud deyour-
cd the dragon.ay. Tho next morning found one Of
the newts lying at tho bottom of tue vessel lf eatau
and, while looking On, the ditlacus attack another
newt. Not wishing to have them all destroyed,
I took the dscua out OF the water and nut It
In tho sunshine few minutes, when It flew away and
hRd not gono more than 90 or 10 yards when a
sparrow few after and caught 1t.
II these facts be true, then 1t ia obvious TINT
Mr. Dsrgh's sympathy ia purely sentimental.
They are, furthermore caloulated to furnish aid
and comfort in gettlng rid Of many of the minor
animals. II tho cat. for instance. doos not feel
pain, ono noed suffer no compunctiona Of con-
sclonce In d'spatchtng that midnight minstrel.
The feeling Of pain with which ono obsoryoB a
dog hurrying down the Htreot With hugo kettle
tied to his tal and dangling against Lis legs
at every jump will bo alloyiatoa by the fact
that tho animal is only suffering from NOR
tifcation and depression OF epirits. The
tears which havo boon shed by kindly
aouls over tho eqnirming OF tho eel as he parts
with his skin, and his wriggling in tho fryketto,
hayo all been shed In vain, and one eau put his
hool upon the snake With more satisfaction from
the fact that ho Is Kidding the world OF pest
without in1ioting uunoooaaary pain. It will also
tend to popu1Rr'ze tho study Of entomology, oa-
peclally among the young ladios, II tho fnaccts
can feed voraolouBly With pins atuck through
thcm. Finally no can all sit down to ous brolled
whltoash, roast boot, and mutton chop With
more doyout thankfulnesa and gustatory aatia-
tion ~ ne reflect that neither Ash, OF.
nor shsop suffered any pain when thoy
departed thla llfo. Dr.. Crosby has sent bomb
shall Of vary large alzo into tho camp OF the
Humane Society, aud 1t behooves Ar. Berch to
look out for himself. II he cannot show that
tho Doctor ia radically mistsken, no dogs or
cat'S life will bs aaorod any longer from thu
.lsi1setaA II human beings do mol aufss pain