PROBLEMS OF HEKEDITY APERT. 413 



of the bacillus. If care be taken to avoid contact with persons who 

 are suffering from the disease, they will have a good chance to escape 

 the terrible scourge. 



Second. Aside from the diseases from microbes, there are other 

 disorders, notably hereditary, know^n as family diseases. And here, 

 also, up to a certain point, the perpetuation of the disease may be 

 avoided by binding oneself to certain strict rules. Each of these 

 diseases has its own method of hereditary propagation, and knowl- 

 edge of this method indicates the unions which the laws of heredity 

 prohibit. 



Third. Physical^ intellectual, and moral faculties are likewise in- 

 herited under the same well-defined laws. But they are not fixed 

 in the descent, as when their heredity is bilateral. 



Fourth. Great efforts are being made at this time to perfect and 

 extend the studies relating to heredity ; societies and eugenic labora- 

 tories are being founded. We can hope that these efforts will show 

 us the way to secure amelioration for the generations to come, and 

 a lessening of congenital defects, the frequency of which weighs so 

 heavily upon poor humanity. 



