The Dwarfs 



to son? I incline to the theory of an acci- 

 dent. But what sort of accident? I can 

 think of only one liable to diminish the size 

 without injuring the type: I mean, a lack of 

 sufficient food. 



We argue thus : animals virtually take 

 shape in a mould whose capacity may be ex- 

 tended in proportion to the amount of mol- 

 ten substance which the crucible pours into it. 

 If this mould receives only the strictly neces- 

 sary amount, the result is a dwarf. Any- 

 thing beneath this minimum means death by 

 starvation; anything above it, in doses which 

 increase but are soon limited, means a pros- 

 perous life and a normal or slightly larger 

 size. The bulk is decided by plus or minus 

 quantities of food. 



If logic be not a vain delusion, it is there- 

 fore possible to obtain dwarfs at will. All 

 that we need do is to diminish the provisions 

 to the lowest limits compatible with the main- 

 tenance of life. On the other hand, we can- 

 not hope to make giants by increasing the 

 ration, for a moment comes when the stom- 

 ach refuses any excess of food. Natural ne- 

 cessities may be likened to a series of rungs 

 of which the one at the top cannot be passed, 

 241 



