Q UASI-INHER1TANCE. 1 1 7 



nourishment. The general welfare of germs as of 

 parasites is necessarily bound up with that of 

 the organism which feeds and shelters them, but 

 this is not heredity, and is quite irrelevant to the 

 question whether particular modifications are 

 transmitted or not. 



Another form of quasi-inheritance is seen in the 

 communication of certain infections to offspring. 

 Not being transmitted by the action of the or- 

 ganism so much as in defiance of it, such diseases 

 are not truly hereditary, though for convenience' 

 sake they are usually so described. 



A perversion or prevention of true inheritance 



, is also seen in the action of alcohol, or excessive 



overwork, or any other cause which by originating 



morbid conditions in individuals may also injure 



the, reproductive elements. 



These forms of quasi-inheritance are, of course, 

 highly important so far as the improvement of 

 the race is concerned. So, too, is the fact that 



