554 
woman’s mother that all her ancestors, 
both men and women, for many genera- 
tions, wore ear rings. 
The young woman’s father was born 
in Trasmarken, province of Varmland, 
Sweden. It was not the custom for men 
in his neighborhood to wear ear rings, 
so his ears were not pierced. He died 
in Minnesota. 
The young woman in question was 
born in Minneapolis in 1894. When she 
was two weeks old the family physician 
asked the mother why.she had pierced 
the baby’s ears so soon. An immediate 
investigation showed that the lobes of 
both ears had holes through them. 
This baby had been constantly in the 
immediate care of its mother and 
maternal grandmother, and the mother 
now says, “I know positively that no 
one did or could come in and pierce my 
baby’s ears.”” Neither woman (accord- 
A Manual of 
THE MOTHERCRAFT MANUAL, by 
Mary L. Read, B.S., Director of the School of 
Mothercraft, New York City. Pp. 440, price 
$1.25 net. Boston, Little, Brown and Co., 
1916. 
Mothercraft is defined by Miss Read 
as “the skilful, practical doing of all 
that is involved in the nourishing 
and training of children in a sympathetic, 
happy, religious spirit. It is not merely 
the care of the little baby; that is a very 
small, though significant, part. Its 
practice is not dependent upon physical 
parenthood, but is part of the responsi- 
The Journal of Heredity 
ing to the statement of the mother 
today) had noticed the holes in the ears 
until the physician called their attention 
to them. The physician, who was a 
European educated Swede, now dead, 
and the mother, and the grandmother, 
who is also dead, considered at the 
time that the holes in the lobes were 
““natural’’ to the babe. The family 
has always held that opinion. It was 
not until the young woman was study- 
ing the subject of the “inheritance of 
acquired characters’? that she ever 
thought of her ears as being of interest. 
Today there is a pit on both sides of 
each ear lobe, although there is no hole 
through either lobe. No ear rings were 
ever worn in the ears. There are two 
other children living today in this 
family. Neither of them has ever had 
the ears pierced, and neither one has 
the pitted ear lobe. 
Mothercraft 
bility of every woman who has to do 
with children as teacher, nurse, friend 
or household associate.’’ The very 
comprehensive book begins with the 
selection of a mate and founding a 
home, and extends almost to the period 
of adolescence of the children, and 
within this period it is difficult to think 
of any phase of mothercraft which is not 
treated in considerable and definite 
detail. The remarks on eugenics are 
scant but suggestive. The low price 
and all-inclusive character of the work 
should make it widely used. 
Progress of Eugenics in England 
The eighth annual report (1915- 
1916) of the Eugenics Education Society 
(London) shows that its work is going 
ahead steadily in spite of the war— 
which has, indeed, produced “‘signs of 
an awakening national conscience in the 
sphere of eugenics.”” The society has 
endeavored to reduce the infant mor- 
tality, to check the spread of venereal 
diseases in the army, and to get a recog- 
nition for the interests of eugenics in 
new plans of taxation, so as not to 
penalize parenthood on the part of the 
fit. Several special courses of lectures 
have been given. In addition to its 
income from membership fees, the so- 
ciety has a guarantee fund amount- 
ing to about $2,000 annually. Maj. 
Leonard Darwin has been re-elected 
president. 
