A collection of Englishmen ruined themselves in the sinking of
mines in search of coal. They might have saved their money had
they known that a certain fossil which they dug up in abundance
belongs to a geological stratum below which no coal is ever
found. They went on digging cheerfully and wasting their money.
An acquaintance with that fossil and its meaning would have saved
their cash.
Some individuals spent one hundred thousand dollars trying to
save the alcoholic byproduct that distils from bread in baking.
They would have saved their money had they known that only a
hundredth part of the flour is changed through fermentation.
The study of biology is essential in the successful fattening of
cattle.
An "entozoon" seems to the practical man a foolish, imaginary
creature. But millions of sheep have been saved by the discovery
that one of these fancy scientific entozoa, pressing on the
brain, caused the sheep's death. When you know the entozoon you
can dig him out and save the sheep's life.
"My son's going to be an artist," says one proud father. "He
does not need to study a lot of scientific rubbish."
This parent does not know that the difference between a good and
a bad sculptor or painter is often based on knowledge or
ignorance of anatomy and mechanical principles.
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