318 MEMORIES OF MY LIFE 



savages . . . and that after myriads of years of 

 barbarism our race has but very recently grown to 

 be civilised and religious." 







The above paragraphs appeared also in Heredi- 

 tary Genius. 



These views published by me forty-five years ago 

 are still up to date, owing to the slow advance of the 

 popular mind in its appreciation of the force of 

 heredity. My fault in other parts of these articles 

 was a tendency to overrate the speed with which a 

 great improvement of the race of mankind might, 

 theoretically, be effected. I had not then made out 

 the law of Regression. With this qualification the 

 above extracts express my present views. 



Before concluding with these magazine articles, I 

 will make yet another extract in reference to a subject 

 which a friend urged upon me quite recently as a 

 worthy subject of experiment, namely, the breeding of 

 animals for intelligence. The following extract shows 

 that I considered it long ago. I have frequently since 

 thought of making an attempt to carry it out, but it 

 would have occupied more time and money than I 

 could have spared. As it is just possible that the 

 idea may now catch the fancy of some one, and induce 

 him to make a trial, I reprint the passage here : 



" So far as I am aware, no animals have ever 

 been bred for general intelligence. Special aptitudes 

 are thoroughly controlled by the breeder. He breeds 

 Dogs that point, that retrieve, that fondle or that bite ; 

 but no one has ever yet attempted to breed for high 

 general intellect, irrespective of all other qualifications. 

 It would be a most interesting subject for an attempt. 



