An essay on the beneficent distribution of the sense of pain / by G.A. Rowell.

  • George Augustus Rowell
Date:
1857
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on the beneficent distribution of the sense of pain / by G.A. Rowell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    s 17 I believe there are no grounds for such an o])inion, and that parasites (except in extreme cases) are only inflicted where necessary, and for the well-being of the animal creation. Many animals are injurious to man; this, in some cases, is probably owing to his having disturbed their natural dis- tribution, by introducing animals foreign to the place: in such cases, the natural habits and uses of such creatures cannot very well be known. The common rat was first observed in England about 100 years ago; the cockroach (Blatta Orientalls) is, as its name implies, of foreign origin, and this may be the case with many other creatures, which are now looked upon as the natural productions of the country. Some creatures may seem to be injurious from our look- ing on them only as regards ourselves, and not with re- spect to their uses in the general system of nature. The white ant, the woodworm, the teredo, clothes-moths, &c. are only injurious in carrying out the necessary law of na- ture, that all organic matter shall be destroyed and reduced to its original elements; and the importance of this law is obvious, if we consider what must have been the conse- quence, if any animal or vegetable production had gone on increasing from the creation, and remained indestructible. Wasps are generally condemned as useless and mis- chievous; but during the late summer I had two wasps' nests in glass cases, in the Ashmolean Museum, which gave me a good opportunity for observing their habits; and from the number of flies, caterpillars, &c. which they brought in for food, I am convinced that their office is important, if it is only to act as a check to a superabun- dance of such creatures, and thus assist in keeping the balance in the animal creation ; for bearing in mind the various creatures which inhabit the earth, the destructive habits of some, and the enormous fecundity of others, it is difficult to conceive how the balance has been preserved, so that none preponderate in an overwhelming degree, and the various species continue to exist. Leaving out of the question those extinct creatures, whose c