SECTION V 

 CONCLUSIONS 



IN introducing the subject of this thesis, reference was made 

 to the confusion in some minds as to the terms Heredity 

 and Environment; and an attempt was made to show, fol- 

 lowing Professor Thomson, that they are often almost in- 

 distinguishable. 



The extreme position adopted by some Eugenists was then 

 stated ; and by means of the records collected I have en- 

 deavoured to show the importance of environment as a 

 determining factor of character and industrial capacity. 



Some comparison was then made between the life of the 

 institution child and the life of the child whose previous home- 

 surroundings and parents' history are of a more satisfactory 

 nature, namely, the child of the widow on out-relief; and it 

 was shown that there are some great advantages in the life of 

 the institution child when the institution is reasonably conducted. 



It will be seen, on referring to Section III., that 72 per 

 cent, of the records investigated proved satisfactory, and that 

 of the 29 distinctly unsatisfactory cases, 13 are mental or 

 " almost deficient." 



Most of these satisfactory records are of young men and 

 women whose position in life is now much above the " poverty 

 line " referred to in Mr. Booth's classification. 



One or two cases may probably fall into Class D, but the 

 large majority will be members of Groups E, F, and G. The 

 majority of the parents, on the other hand, were undoubtedly 

 members of Class A. 



I would urge that it is only by producing accurate records 



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