A. m 1,1;-:, I N.N. --soi:|(ii.(ii,ii;ai. ammitiii:i; asi'Kcisoi ïii::i mï-ciiaiiactkikxincki'Tio.n. 'Jot 



X := Ihe l'orce w e arc l'onsidering, viz : (lie iiiniience ol' tlie environmenl on a 

 particular unil-characler, and let A =^ llie iinil-diai-aclcrand B llie environmenl. 

 Theii X AxB. 



Il' A. however, is an « absence » iaelor Ihen X = B>cO, i. e. X = : in 

 olher words, Ihe environniental intluencc does not exist. Fraclical applications 

 are obvions, Inil 1 may sum np by saying Ihat not only social rel'orm but edu- 

 cation-tliougli in tlie liglit ol' Ihe above social reform niay be taken as ec|uivalenl 

 lo racial éducation — is limited beyond whal can be acconiplished by breeding, 

 wliich 1 do not propose to touch on hère, to relarding to the utmosl the growth 

 of undesiralile unil-charar;ters and l'ostering to the utmost ihe growth of dési- 

 rable ones, and il can fnriher be taken for granted Ihat mental and moral cha- 

 racters, like physical ones, grow as a resuit of adéquate exercise and adéquate 

 nulrition. To attempt to influence characlers whicli do not exist is founded on 

 a wrong conception of the constitution of our material and is at best a niere 

 wastc of tim<'. 



\\'itli a \\or<l or Iwo on whal 1 Iakc lo be the cause and origin of the clea- 

 vage of the nioi-e i-ivilized races iido two great classes — upper and lower — 

 I may fitly bring thèse remarks to a close. The further back \ve go in the 

 history of any race, the more evenly distrilmted among ils members will be, I 

 lake it, tlie component units of any given allelomorphic jiair. Let one entail 

 on ils possessor a disadvantage in Ihe struggle for existence or Ihe other a 

 (Iccided advantage and, as lime goes on, the disproportion between the repré- 

 sentatives of the two will gradually increase. The slrain endowed with the 

 former, would thus tend, génération after génération, to contribute less and less 

 lo the gênerai population, and as it is obvions Ihat many unit-characters 

 coming under this category would make their unforlunate possessors more or 

 less helpless in Ihe struggle for existence, it would follow thaï a séparation of 

 classes would resuit — the bearers of advantageous characlers, on the one 

 hand assuming a dominant position in the race and the bearers of the less 

 advanlageous or Ihe unfil gradually beconiing subject lo Ihem. « Nalural 

 sélection », says de Vries « acts as a sieve » ; by separaling the fit from the unfil 

 it make in the race the lirst great cleavagc which marks the earliesl formation 

 of our différent social classes. Should, further, whal may be termed theunliller 

 characler of an allelomorphic pair be a récessive, it is plain thaï tlie race can 

 never become quite pure in respect of Ihe other allelomorph, for heterozygous 

 marriages would continue lo bring forth a definite proportion of extracled 

 récessives. If a dominant, the prospects are brighter, and if heterozygous 

 worsl of ail. Such sélection of the properties of unit-characters has probably 

 had considérable influence in the course of évolution; one would hardly expecl 

 for example, Ihat a characler, olher Ihan a heterozygous one, grossly disadvan- 

 lageous to ils possessor would be of fréquent appearance in old established 

 species. 



