174 



HEREDITY AND CHRISTIAN PROBLEMS 



Dr. T. D. Crothers, of Walnut Lodge, Hartford, 

 in a paper on "Inebriety and Heredity" (1886), 

 makes the following statements : " Alcoholic hered- 

 ity, or the transmission of a special tendency to 

 use spirits or any narcotic, to excess, is much more 

 common than is supposed. ... In the line of di- 

 rect heredity — or those inebriates whose parents or 

 grandparents used spirits to excess — we find that 

 about one in every three cases can be traced to 

 inebriate ancestors." "Quite a large proportion 

 of these parents are moderate, or only occasional 

 excessive users of spirits. If the father is a mod- 

 erate drinker, and the mother a nervous, consump- 

 tive woman, or one with a weak, nervous organi- 

 zation, inebriety very often follows in the children. 

 If both parents use wine or beer on the table 

 continuously, temperate, sober children will be the 

 exception. If the mother uses various forms of 

 alcoholic drinks as medicines, or narcotic drugs 

 for real or imaginary purposes, the inebriety of 

 the children is very common. Many cases have 

 been noted of mothers using wine, beer, or some 

 form of alcoholic drinks, for lung trouble, or other 

 affections, and the children born during this period 

 have been inebriates, while others born before and 

 after this drink-period have been temperate." 



In the group of heredities called indirect, Dr. 



