SELECTIVE BIRTH-RATE 161 



Two causes are responsible for the failure of the 

 experiment as a source of imperial strength to the 

 French mother country. The military aspect was 

 neglected until circumstances connected with European 

 politics had made Canada a point of strategic weakness 

 in the French empire. In the second place, while the 

 French settlers in Canada and the English settlers in 

 New England were equally prolific, the English colonies 

 soon had a great advantage in numbers of population, 

 owing to twenty years of Puritan exodus from Eng- 

 land ; while the French Huguenots, who were not 

 allowed to land in Canada, filled up the vacant places 

 at home. Only in the West Indies and the settlements 

 round the Spanish Main were the French Huguenots 

 and Jews permitted to establish themselves. The home 

 government saw there no chance of forming colonies 

 on the homogeneous type deliberately adopted in the 

 North. 



In spite of their larger numbers, however, the 

 perverseness and want of unity of the British colonies 

 gave a great military advantage to the loyal and united 

 French, who, under capable and enlightened leadership, 

 more than held their own, till Pitt, owing to the 

 success of his containing operations in conjunction 

 with Frederick the Great, and the establishment of sea 

 supremacy, was able to pour overwhelming forces into 

 America. 



Here, then, we have three experiments in population 

 and selective breeding on a large scale, which have 

 been carried on over some three centuries. The 

 results are well known to all observers ; the nature of 

 the experiments, and the conditions under which they 



M 



