Characters, Hereditary and Acquired. 43 



agree on the desirability of fully considering the 

 matter as a preliminary to the discussion of the 

 question of fact 



As it is not to be expected that even those who 

 may have read my previous essay can now carry all 

 these points in their memories, I will here re-state 

 them in a somewhat fuller form. 



The following diagram will serve to give a clearer 

 view of the sundry parts of Professor Weismann's 

 system of theories, as well as of their relations to one 

 another, 



Postulate as to the absolute non-inheritance of acquired characters. 



Now, as just explained, the parts of this system 

 which may be properly and distinctively called 

 " Weismannism " are those which go to form the 

 Y-like structure of deductions from the fundamental 

 postulate. Therefore, it was the Y-like system of 



