from the Standpoint of Science 45 



considered. First, are we quite certain that 

 we have a reserve of brain power ready to 

 be trained ? We have to remember that 

 man is subject to the universal law of in- 

 heritance, and that a dearth of capacity may 

 arise if we recruit our society from the in- 

 ferior and not the better stock. If any social 

 opinions or class prejudices tamper with the 

 fertility of the better stocks, then the national 

 character will take but a few generations , 

 to be seriously modified. The pressure of 

 population should always tend to push brains 

 and physique into occupations where they 

 are not a primary necessity, for in this way 

 a reserve is formed for the times of national 

 crisis. Such a reserve can always be formed 

 by filling up with men of our own kith and 

 kin the waste lands of the earth, even at the 

 expense of an inferior race of inhabitants. 

 Yet if we grant that our nation has a full 

 supply of brains both in action and in reserve, 

 it is not knowledge in the first place, but 

 intellectual training, which is requisite. We 

 want the master-scout to teach men to ob- 

 serve and reason on their observations, and 

 the equipment of the scout, the actual know- 



