228 THE TREND OF THE RACE 



should marry a teetotaler, or a man who does not smoke." The 

 judgments of these young ladies are interesting as indicating how 

 far ideals of manhood may be moulded by instruction and afford 

 ground for hope that much may be accomplished in the direction 

 of eugenic improvement by inculcating the proper standards 

 in the minds of the young. 



The potency of the appreciation of beauty and ability in the 

 choice of mates is indicated by the study of Miss C. F. Gilmore on 

 the marriages of the graduates of the Southwestern State Normal 

 School of Pennsylvania. The girls were graded for beauty by 

 impartial observers on the scale of 100. Those of grade 80 and 

 over had the highest marriage rate, while among the others the 

 marriage rate in general declined in proportion as the grade for 

 beauty was low. In the same school the girls of higher standing 

 were most chosen. There was a slight tendency for the marriage 

 rate to decrease with lower scholastic standing, although the girls 

 graded between 60 and 70 were married some what more rapidly 

 than the class between 70 and 80. How far these results find a 

 parallel elsewhere we have too little data to ascertain. It is, 

 a priori, probable and in accord with common observation that 

 the most beautiful girls are apt to be chosen as wives. Intellect in 

 women may be preferred in general, notwithstanding the fact 

 that many men set little store by this quality in the other sex, and 

 may even prefer an amiable sort of stupidity in their wives so 

 that they can enjoy a sense of their own mental superiority. 

 But quite aside from the attractiveness of intellect there is a 

 tendency for the more intellectual women to choose a celibate 

 career for various reasons that have been mentioned elsewhere. 

 Intellect influences marriage selection in two diverse ways; first, 

 by rendering the prospective partners more attractive, and 

 second, by making its possessors more independent and particular 

 in the choice of a mate, or, through affording other interests, 

 diminishing the inclination toward married life. Intellect in men 

 tends to be selected by women, and intellectual men are not as 

 a class markedly indisposed to marry. However, they tend 

 to marry relatively late in life, and the effect of this on 



