THE GREAT RELAY RACE 439 



in any theory of heredity. It means tliat modifications acquired 

 within the Hfetime of the individual are not transferred to the parental 

 germplasm, and do not consequently reappear as hereditary charac- 

 ters in the next generation. If this conclusion seems perhaps dis- 

 couraging to prospective parents who would gladly have whatever 

 success in the building of character, the development of intelligence, 

 or the attainment of artistic or other ability that they have been able 

 to bring about in their own lifetime perpetuated in their children, 

 they may well be reminded of the other side of the picture, namely, 

 that parental failures in accomplishment during life likewise form no 

 part in their children's biological inheritance. Each child, therefore, 

 starts out with his ancestral biological inheritance unimpaired by 

 either parental failures or successes. In any case, the honest scien- 

 tifically-minded person is bound to accept the facts whatever they are, 

 if they can be ascertained, regardless of the conclusions to which they 

 lead, rather than to place dependence upon unproven propositions 

 that, with wishful thinking, he would like to believe are true. 



It should be pointed out clearly that the only biological opportunity 

 where it is possible to improve the germinal chances of the next genera- 

 tion is not after the germinal equipment has already been assigned 

 to the prospective parent from his ancestors, but at the critical time 

 of mating when two streams of germplasm are selected for combina- 

 tion. Picking out the right mother is the most important contribu- 

 tion which any man can make for his future children. 



Thus, the individual somatoplasm is simply the guardian and 

 executor of the germinal possibilities committed to its care. Heredi- 

 tary possibilities do not come directly from the parents, but through 

 them down the long ancestral line. When and how remote ancestors 

 have picked up the gifts of biological inheritance which they present to 

 posterity forms one of the most intriguing riddles in the science of 

 genetics. It is encouraging to know that the results of modern 

 researches have hopefully opened up the way to a possible answer to 

 this question, which may be more suitably developed later on. 



Lines of Approach 



There are two fundamental lines of approach to genetics : first, by 

 way of the more visible so7natoplasmof organisms, and second, thegerm- 

 plasmal approach, which involves recourse to microscopic technique. 

 The former approach may be subdivided into at least three lines of 

 attack, namely, observational, statistical, and experimental. 



H. w. H.— 29 



