116 THE CONTROL OF LIFE 



The five sisters were represented in 1915 by 600 

 feeble-minded and epileptic Jukes, of wbom only three 

 were in custodial care. This piece of statistics suggests 

 the necessity of doing something to stop the multiplica- 

 tion of Jukes — who are not confined to America. 



Limits to the Potency of Nurture, — So far, the out- 

 come of this chapter is a reasoned appreciation of the 

 life-moulding potency of nurture, especially as regards 

 the individual. But there are certain saving-clauses 

 to be borne in mind. (1) Strong natures often thrive 

 well on hard nurture, just as oppression often stimulates 

 love of freedom. There is much to be said against 

 making things too easy for the mediocre. On the other 

 hand, there is reason to fear that a good many individu- 

 alities of first-class ability are still wasted for lack of 

 appropriate nurture. It is certain that many quite 

 sound organisms slip down the ladder of evolution more 

 because of deficiency in nurture than through deficiency 

 in nature. 



(2) Good nurture sometimes makes an individual 

 look better than he is ; and there is an unfortunate 

 risk of veneering rotten wood. The * unfortunate 

 risk ' is lest good stock be tainted by the introduction 

 of what is unsound in reality, though sound in appear- 

 ance. It may be remarked, however, that it is absurd 

 to get into the way of talking as if society was made 

 up of * clean ' and ' unclean,' like the fauna of the 

 Pentateuch, or of desirables and undesirables, saved 

 and damned. " We are not all the finest Parian," as 

 George Eliot said. Furthermore, family histories are 



