abundant evidence of its
sensibility to suffering by its struggles and cries. The experimenter
might try to believe that the pain was slight, but he never disputed
its existence. To-day, all this is changed. As much or as little of
the anaesthetic may be given as the vivisector desires, and yet he may
declare that "ANAESTHETICS WERE USED," no matter how slight the degree
of sensibility thus induced. It is a known fact that a dog is very
susceptible to the action of chloroform, so that during its
administration death frequently occurs. Sir Thornley Stoker, the
President of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland, and for many
years a teacher of science, testified before the Commission that a
dog's heart is very weak and irregular, and susceptible to the
poisonous influence of chloroform. Over and over again he expresses
the doubts that arise concerning the administration of chloroform. "I
fear that, particularly in the case of dogs, ANAESTHESIA IS NOT ALWAYS
PUSHED TO A SUFFICIENT EXTENT, as these animals often die from the
effects of the anaesthetic if given to a full extent.... I am never
sure, if I give a dog chloroform, that I will not kill it.... THE
ANAESTHESIA CANNOT BE COMPLETE if the dog lives as long as is
necessary for some of these experiments." Even for one hour he
believes it would be generally impossible to keep a dog alive under
full anaesthesia. On the other hand, Dr. Starling declared that
"there is no difficulty in keeping an animal alive as long as you
like," and Sir Victor Horsley affirmed that one could keep a dog
under chloroform "FOR A WEEK, if you only take the trouble."[1]

[1] See Minutes of Evidence, November 13, 1907, Q. 15,649.

The discrepancy here would seem insurmountable. May it not be more in
appearance than in reality? One man tells me that arsenic is a poison,
very liable to cause death. Another affirms that he has taken it for
days in succession, and has experienced no unpleasant results. Both
statements can be true, for they need not refer to the same amount.
In the modern laboratory there is little danger that the animals will
succumb to the effects of anaesthetic. Assuredly we may question the
completeness of that insensibility which Sir Victor Horsley apparently
declares may be maintained for a week.

The use of the substance known as CURARE, either alone or in
connection with anaesthetics or narcotics, was naturally a subject of
passing inquiry. So slight is the