6 SCIENCE AND MORALS 



that something we owe in large measure to the 

 innumerable experiments which have been made 

 on Mendelian lines since the re-discovery of the 

 methods first adopted by the celebrated Abbot 

 of Briinn. It is no intention of the writer of 

 this paper to describe the Mendelian theory, 1 

 which is well known, at least to all biological 

 readers, though one or two points in con- 

 nection with it may yet have to be touched 

 upon. 



The point of cardinal importance in connection 

 with Mendelism is that it does reveal a law capable 

 of being numerically stated, and apparently 

 applicable to a large number of isolated factors 

 in living things. Indeed it was this attention to 

 isolated factors which was the first and essential 

 part of Mendel's method. For example, others 

 had been content to look at the pea as a whole. 

 Mendel applied his analytic method to such 

 things as the colour of the pea, the smooth or 

 wrinkled character of the skin which covered it, 

 its dwarfness or height, and so on. 



Now, the behaviour of these isolated factors 

 seems to throw a light even upon the vehicle 

 of heredity. We often talk of " blood " and 

 " mixing of blood," as if blood had anything to 

 do with the question, when really the Biblical 

 expression " the seed of Abraham " is much more 

 to the point. For it is in the seed that these 

 factors must be, whether they be mnemic or 



1 Those who desire further information may be referred 

 to A Century of Scientific Thought, by the present writer. 

 Burns & Gates, 



