306 



The Journal of Heredity 



the past five years. No certain ex- 

 planation as to the original cause of the 

 condition can be given. As there is 

 some slight difference in the blooming 

 time of the two halves, it is possible, 

 that frost may have come at such a 

 time as to destrov the fruit on one side 



while the other esca])ed. It is inter- 

 esting for two reasons. First, that it 

 indicates that the formation of fruit 

 buds is not wholly a question of nutri- 

 tion. Second, that the food supply of 

 the tree is directed first to the needs of 

 the maturing crop. 



Country Versus City Boys — A Difference in Environment Shown to Be Without 



Effect on General Health 



Professor O. C. Glaser of the Uni- 

 versity of Michigan calls attention^ to 

 an interesting comparison made from 

 armv statistics between the physical 

 fitness of our city boys and those 

 from the country districts: 



"In order to determine whether the 

 average of physical soundness is higher 

 among country boys than among city 

 bovs. the following comparison was 

 made: Selection was made of a tvj^ical 

 set of cities of 40,000 to 500,000 'popu- 

 lation, with no large immigrant element, 

 and distributed over ten different states 

 (Alabama. Arkansas, California. Colo- 

 rado. Kansas. Montana. Neb;'aska, New 

 York, and South Carolina) and a cor- 

 resix)n(ling set of counties of the same 

 total size, located in tlie same states 

 and containing no cit\- of ,^0.000. the 

 total number of registrants in the two 

 areas being .SI 5.000. The result of the 

 comparison was as follows: Of ,^5.017 

 registrants in urban areas. 9,969 were 

 rejected; of 44.462 registrants in rural 

 areas, 12,543 were rejected, or 28.47% 

 of the city boys and 27.96% of the 

 country boys. 'V\\v result, therefore, 

 was practically a tie, showing that the 

 country boy docs not possess a greater 

 degree of the physical soundness neces- 

 sary for his acceptance as a soldier." 



'J'his is in a way an e.\])criment in 

 heredity. The science of eugenics should 

 include experimental tests as to any 

 measurable effects produced by a change 

 in the environment. Such chango are 

 technically known as "modifications." 

 If two populations have the same aver- 



age he:"cdily and are subjected to 

 diverse en\-ircjnments, any changes 

 noted may be presumably referred to 

 the actions of the differing environ- 

 ments. Two distinct populations can 

 however rarely have the same heredity. 

 Selections acting through migrations 

 and through survival of the fittest make 

 the inborn qualities of diff'erent popu- 

 lations necessarily dissimilar. Some 

 forces in city life must have been fav- 

 orable to the health of its growing man- 

 hood, some unfavorable ; and the same 

 may be said for life in the country. It 

 might ha\e l)een thought that, on the 

 whole, the advantages of fresher air 

 and a more simple routine would have 

 shown itself in this test, and that the 

 country boys would have won. These 

 results do not of course mean that it 

 is not a good idea, when one is ill or 

 run down, to take a trip to the country. 

 In many ways the change wrought upon 

 the individual is immediate and lasting. 

 What these figures do show is this — 

 that there are and have been a great 

 many diverse and complex factors back 

 of our j)resent civilizati(in, our sup- 

 posedly artificial, commercial or city 

 life and that many of these must have 

 been beneficial to our citizens. Here at 

 least is a definite difference of environ- 

 ment tuiable to show a measuniblc 

 ini)ibrication. 



\\\ connection uiili (|ucstion of phy- 

 sique a few ailditional comments may 

 throw some light u])on the matter. It 

 has been found lh;U city boys are more 

 likely than couutrv boys to reach, in 

 after life, a high level of intellectual 



^ Good Heal III, August, 1, 191«, p. 463. 



