58 SOME RECENT MISINTERPRETATIONS OF THE 



parents of -707. Thus the nature value is at least 4-5 times the nurture 

 value. But this is a minimum value of the relative intensity. If we 

 pick out the physical environmental factors and the indirect parental 

 factors the mean correlation corrected for either health or habits only 

 is '055, and the mean interenvironmental correlation of the order -60, 

 which provide by Table IV in the case of an infinity of environmental 

 factors for a multiple correlation of -071. This is just one-tenth of 

 the nature factor -707, as represented by two parents. But the 

 value -055 is probably too large ; it is not only higher than the value 

 found for material from other districts (see Table II), but we have 

 seen that the direct parental factors are very sensibly correlated with 

 the physical environment. The mean physical environmental corre- 

 lation is hardly likely to exceed -03 or -04, which with an interenviron- 

 mental correlation of -60 leads to a multiple correlation for an infinity 

 of factors of only -04, or -05 not more than ^th to ^th of the value 

 of the intensity of nature as represented by the inheritance from two 

 parents. In other words our present results fully confirm the earlier 

 statement that the relative intensity of nature was five to ten times 

 that of nurture. We have chosen the cases of infant mortality and 

 delicacy of childhood for consideration as these are usually considered 

 to be peculiarly the outcome of the physical environment. As a 

 matter of fact the most influential post-natal factors are parental 

 health and parental habits, matters least susceptible of modification 

 by act of parliament or municipal regulation, unless we forbid parentage 

 to the unhealthy or place in the stocks parents who refuse to open 

 their windows, or who spend money on other matters than food. 

 I feel confident that within the limits to which we have applied our 

 statements to the range of infantile and child nurture and to those 

 variations of environment which fall within the field of experience or 

 of practical politics our assertion that nature is five to ten times as 

 influential as nurture is free from any exaggeration and forms a solid 

 ground upon which to base the direction of reforms which shall 

 accelerate racial progress. It is five to ten times as profitable for a 

 child to be born of parents of sound physique and of brisk, orderly 

 mentality as for a child to be born and nurtured in a good physical 

 environment. To state this is not to discredit all improvement of en- 

 vironment ; such improvement adds greatly to the amenities and to the 

 possibilities of human life, but it is to parentage itself that the patriot 

 who would work for racial progress must turn in the first place, if he 

 would achieve a greater success than the environmentalists with a 



