RESEAnCLl IN SCIENCE 



503 



nomena hud lifcii I'cdiscovci'cil hy later 

 workers about P.HXi. And imw. witli 

 not two decades of the twcutioth cen- 

 tury ji'oue over our licads. Mcudelisni is 

 beeomiui:' a liouscliold woi'd. So many 

 facts liaxc alrrail\- hci'ii acciiiiiulatcd 

 and so jTvolut ioiiary ai'c some of tlir 

 conceptions, wc hciiin tn doubt wbctbcr 

 our otluu- theories of heredity have had 

 any value whatsoever. .\nd we look 

 forward with hope, because we at last 

 seem to be upon firm ground and to 

 have found a way of advance. 



So great is the importance to man- 

 kind of accurate knowledge, and hence 

 control, of heredity that the results which 

 must inevital)ly iiow from the obscure 

 beginning made by ^lendel, the Abbot 

 of Briinn, are not easily appreciated. 

 Already the breeding of domestic ani- 

 mals is feeling the impetus, and the 

 superstitions which have clouded the 

 etforts of practical breeders are becom- 

 ing things of the past. The breeder of 

 animals in the future, who would have 

 large success, must be biologically 

 trained, and must know every twist and 

 turn of the latest Mendel i an formulge; 

 for the same laws hold good in the in- 

 sects as in man, in the horns of sheep 

 as in the colors of poultry. Breeding 

 will shortly liecome an exact science, 

 demanding extensive biological train- 

 ing and a thorough knowledije of the 

 shorthand which the Mendel i an worker 

 has invented for the visualizing of his 

 complex phenomena. 



For the human race, we may some 

 day breed better men — although, of 

 course, the time is far distant when any 

 selective mating will be possible, save 

 as we develop a social tradition that 

 makes us feel disgraced if we marry 

 where the stock is clearly defective, and 

 save as we enforce a rigorous prohibi- 

 tion of the right which conspicuously 

 defective individuals now have to in- 

 flict their full quota of descendants 

 upon society'. These things will come 

 slowl}^ for the social organization is 

 discouragini^lv stalile. and we cannot 



be oversanguine when we contemplate 

 the attainment of perfection at some 

 future period. As lluxley put it, "if 

 the temperature of space presented no 

 obstacle, I should be glad to entertain 

 this idea of idtimate human perfection ; 

 but judging from the ])ast progress of 

 our species, I am afraid that the globe 

 will liave cooled down so far, before the 

 advent of this natural millennium, that 

 we shall be, at best, perfected Escpii- 

 maux." 



For all ])ractical jmi'poses, however, 

 it is enough that man nuiy improve his 

 condition in the course of a century or 

 so, a thing we obviously do accomplish 

 in some degree. And we may expect 

 material advance in the near future, if 

 we do no more than prohibit what is 

 clearly bad, while giving social appro- 

 bation to the kind of matings which 

 make for better men. But shall we 

 stop here, once we recognize the facts? 

 We have given up — among individuals, 

 if not among nations — the cherished 

 right to knock the other fellow on the 

 head if he disagrees with us; and the 

 type of mind which desires progress 

 rather than precedent believes that the 

 future will see the surrender or restric- 

 tion of other rights now regarded as 

 fundamental. It may even come to this 

 matter of marriage and giving in mar- 

 riage. Already we are making the at- 

 tempt to prevent hereditarily defective 

 individuals from reproducing their 

 kind, a thing which can be safely at- 

 tempted only when the facts of heredity 

 are fully known for the particular cases 

 in hand ; while the eugenic propagan- 

 dists are leading the thoughtful and 

 conscientious members of society to 

 consider their obligations in the light 

 of heredity. 



When we really get beyond the pres- 

 ent "sky line," we shall do more than 

 this. For the future will demand bet- 

 ter brain and more of it than the past, 

 and a sound body to go with the better 

 l)rain. It has been said that "the rulers 

 of the world have been big eaters" ; 



