370 TRANSMISSION 



that is inconceivable under any law of physiology that is known 

 or that can be imagined. 



The non-development of parts is another and quite a different 

 matter. If the non-development be due to a defective germ, it 

 of course does not come under the present inquiry. If, however, 

 it be due to an injury at an early stage, resulting in arrested 

 development, it may or may not be equivalent to a mutilation. 

 If the non-development be due to the destruction of cells, as 

 in chemical dehorning, it is to all intents and purposes a mutila- 

 tion, as conditions were present for full development. If the 

 non-development be due to malnutrition, the case is different, 

 and belongs among cases to be considered later. 



The essential weakness of the whole theory that mutilations 

 may be transmitted lies in the fact that the characters in question 

 are present, fully developed and functional, until removed by vio- 

 lence, all of which is conclusive evidence of a natural capacity 

 for complete development. In view of our inability to conceive 

 how the removal of a part can possibly affect the corresponding 

 portion of an undeveloped and even unfertilized germ ; in the 

 absence of reliable experimental data and with the certainty that, 

 were the injuries due to the multitude of accidents occurring to 

 all forms of life transmitted all species would soon be disfigured 

 by an overwhelming mass of inherited mutilations, in view of 

 all these facts we are certainly warranted in feeling assured that 

 injuries to the fully developed body are not transmitted. 



SECTION IV EVIDENCE FROM FOOD SUPPLY 



This is a very different matter from mutilation. Of all the 

 conditions of life this is, par excellence, the limiting element, not 

 only in body building and in functional activity, but in constitu- 

 tional vigor as well. 



That the amount of food available is a controlling factor in 

 the development of size is a matter too well known to require 

 discussion. In the presence of abundant food, animals and plants 

 of all species attain their maximum size and their maximum 

 development in all respects. If the supply be limited, the effect 

 is invariably seen in under-development, even though the total 



