270 SCIENCE FROM AN EASY CHAIR 



shy fish remain in the river, and here is the important 

 point, a well-ascertained fundamental law of heredity 

 propagate their like. They produce shy fish. Every 

 year this selection goes on till you get a race of fish in the 

 well-fished river which are so shy that they cease to rise at 

 all ! This unpleasant result is avoided by the proprietors 

 of trout streams to a certain extent by introducing a race 

 of trout which has not in consequence of over-fishing 

 developed an innate shyness of character (such as the 

 Loch Leven and some others) to mix and breed with the 

 timid over-fished race. 



It is in the same way that the human population of 

 country villages, most sad to see, is every year rendered 

 less intelligent than it was a hundred years ago. All the 

 enterprising, intelligent young men and maidens are 

 " fished " away, drawn by baits and hooks to the great 

 towns ; only the dull and relatively incapable are left in 

 the village to marry and produce a new generation. The 

 village population necessarily becomes made up of a dull 

 stock incapable, as appears from official reports, of being 

 educated beyond a very low stage. In some districts 

 70 per cent, of the children are thus unintelligent, though 

 not unhealthy or imbecile. It is possible that the want of 

 home-training and example in very early childhood is to 

 some extent a cause of the dullness of village children. 

 And so it goes on, generation after generation, as facilities 

 for leaving the village increase and inducements to stay 

 or return decrease. The 30 per cent, of the new genera- 

 tion who have any "wits" leave the village, never to 

 return. And no one re-stocks the village. That must be 

 taken in hand soon, 



