46 THE TREND OF THE RACE 



his patients; on the other hand, there have been some authors who 

 have brought the proportion down as low as one-tenth. Some 

 years ago I made a tolerably precise examination of the family 

 histories of 50 insane persons, taken without any selection; there 

 was a strongly marked predisposition in 14 cases — that is, in i in 

 3.57, and in 10 more cases there was sufficient evidence of family 

 degeneration to warrant more than a suspicion of inherited fault 

 of organization. In about half the cases then was there reason to 

 suspect morbid predispositions. I have recently inquired into the 

 histories of 50 more cases, all ladies, the opportunities being such 

 as could only occur in private medical practice, and with these 

 results: that in 20 cases there was the distinct history of heredi- 

 tary predisposition; in 13 cases there was such evidence of it in 

 the features of the malady as to beget the strongest suspicion of 

 it; in 17 cases there was no evidence whatever of it." In some 

 cases insane ancestry was denied, but was subsequently found to 

 exist. Dr. Maudsley thus expresses his general conclusion as to the 

 proportion of insanity due to heredity: "Suffice it to say broadly 

 that the most careful researches agree to fix it as certainly not 

 lower than one-fourth, probably as high as one-half, possibly as 

 high even as three-fourths." {The Pathology of the Mind, 3d 

 edition.) Toulouse cites the estimates of various authors on the 

 frequency of hereditary insanity as follows: 



Ellis 15.5 per cent. 



Morel 20 



Esquirol (Statist, de CharenLon) 24. 50 



Esquirol (Statist, de la maison d'lvry) 56.81 



English Asylum Statistics 20. 5 " 



Prussian Asylum Statistics 27 .96 



Guislaid 45 



Moreau 90 



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The following statements may be added from recent authors: 

 Mott, "The large majority of the insane are hereditarily dis- 

 posed." Clouston, "An evil nervous heredity commonly under- 

 lies all other causes. Without its existence there would be very 



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