324 CONCLUDING CHAPTER 



Let us see how the principles of which an outline has 

 now been given affect the human race itself. The 

 question of improving the human stock in this country 

 has lately excited a good deal of attention. But 

 without a scientific knowledge of the factors upon 

 which improvement and degeneration depend the dis- 

 cussion is not likely to be of much profit, and in such 

 a case misdirected energy may be even worse than 

 apathy. Without venturing to make any very positive 

 suggestions, it may at least be pointed out that our 

 present practice in these matters is in almost every 

 case the very worst possible. 



Professor Karl Pearson has lately shown how the 

 low birth-rate of the professional and middle classes 

 the classes amongst which the intelligence of the 

 nation is to a large extent segregated leads to the 

 recruiting of these classes from amongst the lower and 

 less intelligent strata of society. In other words, a 

 steady breeding out of intelligence is taking place. 

 Recognising that intelligence is an important factor in 

 national greatness, we proceed to remedy this defect by 

 endeavouring to reduce the infant mortality among the 

 less desirable classes, and by offering every inducement 

 to the production of large families by the lower strata 

 of society ; indeed, we propose to remove from them 

 all responsibility for the production of children, and to 

 feed and house the latter as we already educate them 

 at the expense of the State. 



The principles of heredity teach us that education 

 and training, however beneficial they may be to indi- 

 viduals, have no material effect upon the stock itself. 

 If they have any effect at all, this is undoubtedly 



