DARWINISM ATTACKED. 97 



APPENDIX. 



1 De Vries, H., "Die Mutationstheorie," Vol. I, pp. 83 ff., 1901. 



2 Wolff, Gustav, "Der gegenwartige Stand des Darwinismus," p. 

 o, 1896. 



3 Weismann, A., "Aufsatze iiber Vererbung," p. 116, 1892. 



* Gallon, Francis, "Natural Inheritance." I quote from Galton as 

 follows : 



"As soon as the character of the problem of filial descent had 

 become well understood, it was seen that a general equation of 

 G-alton'3 state- the same form as that by which it was expressed, 

 ment of the law also expressed the connection between kinsmen in 

 of regression, eyery degree The unexpected law of universal re- 

 gression became a theoretical necessity, and on appealing to facts, 

 its existence was found to be conspicuous. If the word "peculiarity" 

 be used to signify the difference between the amount of any faculty 

 possessed by a man and the average of that possessed by the popu- 

 lation at large, then the law of regression may be described as 

 follows: Every peculiarity in a man is shared by his kinsmen, but 

 on the average in a less degree. It is reduced to a definite fraction 

 of its amount quite independently of what its amount might be. 

 The fraction differs in different orders of kin, becoming smaller 

 as they are more remote. When the kinship is so distant that 

 its effects are not worth taking into account, the peculiarity of the 

 man, however remarkable it may have been, is reduced to zero in 

 his kinsmen. This apparent paradox is fundamentally due to the 

 greater frequency of mediocre deviations than of extreme ones, 

 occurring between limits separated by equal widths" (pp. 194-195). 



"The law of regression in respect to stature may be phrased 

 as follows: namely, that the deviation of the sons from P are on 

 the average equal to one-third of the deviation of parent from P, 

 and in the same direction or more briefly still; if P -f- ( D) be 

 the stature of a parent, the stature of the offspring will on the 

 average be P -f- (1-3 D)" (p. 104). 



"Thus, however paradoxical it may appear at first sight, it is 

 theoretically a necessary fact, and one that is clearly confirmed 

 by observation, that the stature of the adult offspring must, on the 

 whole, be more mediocre than the stature of their parents ; that is 

 to say, more near to the M of the general population" (p. 95). 



"The law of regression tells heavily against the full hereditary 

 transmission of any gift. Only a few of many children would 

 be likely to differ from mediocrity so widely as their mid-parent, 

 and still fewer would differ as widely as the more exceptional of 



