PART III TRANSMISSION 



Up to this point the study has been confined to the nature 

 and kinds of variations that may arise, together with the causes 

 that lead to their appearance. We come now to inquire whether, 

 and to what extent, these variations are transmissible. 



This is the all-important question, because variations that 

 are not transmitted are manifestly of no consequence except 

 to the individual. Whether desirable or undesirable, they have 

 no opportunity to affect the race as a whole either favorably 

 or unfavorably. We may therefore disregard, in all questions of 

 race improvement, any and all deviations that are not trans- 

 missible. 



Those that are transmitted, however, are by that fact destined 

 to exert a more or less permanent influence for good or evil. 

 Accordingly we cannot know too much about this class of vari- 

 ations and the circumstances under which they descend from 

 generation to generation and ultimately come to characterize, if 

 not to dominate, the type of the race. 



The student, and the breeder as well, is likely to become con- 

 fused by the ceaseless panorama of characters and variations 

 presented to his view as generations come and go, involving 

 sometimes literally multitudes of individuals of all shades of 

 difference. He must learn to pass this procession before his 

 mental vision with the full realization that a large portion of all 

 that he sees will have no permanent influence upon the race. 

 He must become acute in detecting the significant factors, which 

 are those only that are connected with transmission. 



The study of race improvement is, therefore, essentially a 

 study of the laws that govern transmission, all that has gone 

 before being preparatory to that study. Upon two questions 

 the breeder must fix his attention, What is transmitted, and 

 how is tJie transmission accomplished / 



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