od. This period brought an increase of wealth, but it
was wasteful of human life. The desire to save life led the way to the
study of biology. Knowledge of the physical environment and of life,
however, did not prevent social disease from flourishing, and did not
greatly improve the social condition of a large part of society. To
overcome these defects the social sciences within recent years have been
cultivated with great seriousness. Interest in the social sciences has
had to wait for the enlarged sympathies and the sense of solidarity
which has appeared with the growing interdependence of dense
populations, and these conditions have been dependent upon the advance
of the other sciences. With the cultivation of the social sciences, the
chain of knowledge will be complete, at least so far as the needs which
have already appeared are concerned. For each group of sciences will
solve one or more of the great problems which man has encountered in the
process of development. The physical sciences will solve the problems of
environment, the biological sciences the problems of life, and the
social sciences the problems of society."

[7] This exclusive pre-occupation with the improvement of the
environment has been termed Euthenics by Mrs. Ellen H. Richards, who has
written a book with this title, advocating euthenics in opposition to
eugenics.

[8] Not one of the four stages of social reform already summarized can
be neglected. On the contrary, they all need to be still further
consolidated in a completely national organization of health. I may
perhaps refer to the little book on _The Nationalization of Health_, in
which, many years ago, I foreshadowed this movement, as well as to the
recent work of Professor Benjamin Moore on the same subject. The
gigantic efforts of Germany, and later of England, to establish National
Insurance systems, bear noble witness to the ardour with which these two
countries, at all events, are moving towards the desired goal.

[9] In some countries, however, the decline, although traceable about
1876, only began to be pronounced somewhat later, in Austria in 1883, in
the German Empire, Hungary and Italy in 1885, and in Prussia in 1886.
Most of these countries, though late in following the modern movement of
civilization initiated by France, are rapidly making their way in the
same direction. Thus the birth-rate in Berlin is already as low as that
of Paris ten years ago, although the French declin