INHERITANCE OF ARTISTIC AND 

 MUSICAL ABILITY. 



By H. DRINKWATER, M.D., F.R.S.E., F.L.S. 



The investigation of the mode of inheritance of human traits has 

 been confined, for the most part, to cases of disease and jahysical 

 abnormalities. Mental traits are nuich more difficult to study, because 

 they are more difficult to recognize with certainty, and not unfi'equently 

 two observers would differ in their opinion as to whether a certain trait 

 was or was not present. I have been able to construct two large 

 pedigi-ees, one showing the inheritance of artistic, and the other of 

 musical ability. Both pedigi'ees are so remarkable that they appeared 

 to me to be well worthy <3f publication. They are large, fairly complete, 

 and throw some light on the mode of inheritance. In both cases my 

 informants have been the judges as to whether the various members 

 of the families are to bo classed as artistic or musical, but I shall give 

 all the particulars of each individual as far as they have been gathered, 

 in order that readers may form their own opinion as to the way they 

 should be classified. I think the known facts accord with the classifica- 

 tion shown in the charts, where the black circles indicate those members 

 who are artistic in the one case, and musical in the other, and the white 

 circles those who do not possess these traits. 



A rtistic abiliUj. 



In tiiis chart the black circles indicate the artistic members of the 

 family: the white circles the mm-artistic. Ail tlie artistic members 

 are stated to be skilful in di'awing : most of them also sliow marked 



