2 4 o PRENATAL CULTURE. 



improper literature, is equally true of obscene 



Picture pictures, scenes of cruelty, severity, and slaughter. 



Impressions. Many monstrosities have been produced by the 



mother's having viewed some atrocious crime or 



scene of horror. 



Space forbids my recounting many of the note- 

 worthy cases in history showing the direct in- 

 fluence of maternal impressions in producing 

 special gifts. A case of interest that has not been 

 published came under my personal observation 

 some years ago. A mother, whose husband was 

 in the employ of Thomas Edison, became very 

 much interested in electrical inventions. During 

 the last three months of gestation most of her 



time was spent in studying electricity. Bein^ of 

 A Second Edison. . . r , , r 



an inventive turn of mind she tried to perfect 



a patent, and not only worked at it every conscious 

 hour, but would dream of it. Her boy, at the 

 age of 14 had perfected a number of clever inven- 

 tions. He had everything about the home oper- 

 ated by electricity. The mother assured me that 

 the child began constructing as soon as he could 

 sit alone. 



// a mother would transmit her special talents, 

 she must exercise them during gestation. Many 

 Dormant Powers motners wno were verv clever in mechanics, music, 

 not Transmitted, drawing, painting, elocution, or literary construc- 

 tion, have been greatly disappointed to find that 

 their children possess but a minimum of these 

 talents. In some instances this is due to the 

 father's influence or to other factors in heredity, 

 but it is frequently owing to the inactive state of 



the faculty in the mother. A Mrs. S , of 



Washington, an accomplished musician, went 



