"It is a wonderful collection of animals, not only domestic but wild animals too, upon which experiments have been carried out. There are goats with sheep's legs. There are cows with horses' hearts, and dogs with only hind-legs, and pigs without livers--oh, all sorts of things. The funniest is a pig with a tiger's skin." "And what is the object of it all?" I said. "Oh, just a regular part of medical research. The most valuable experiments are those with bacilli, of course; but only the experts can understand these, as a rule." "But it is not safe to infer that the results of experiments on animals will be applicable to human beings," I said. "Of course not, without further verification; but the Special Medical Board have ample powers to carry out research." "What, upon human beings?" I exclaimed. "People do not always know when they are being experimented upon," he remarked significantly. "Besides, if a man is already suffering from an incurable disease, what does it matter? Of course, we use anæsthetics, wherever possible at least; that goes without saying." After dinner we drank wine for a little time, seated in little groups after the manner of a custom in some of the colleges in Luniland. Here, instead of being placed with the two gentlemen who had been my neighbours at table, I was one of a group of four, the others being two professors and a high official in the Sociological Department. One of the professors was Secret Councillor Sikofantis-Sauer, an Economist; the other was Church Councillor Muhgubb-Slimey, a Theologian. We talked of indifferent matters for some time until the High Official left us, when the idea occurred to me to try whether the Economist would enlighten me upon the subject of the ultimate destination of the phenomenal production of the Meccanian economic organisation.