GENEOLOGICAL. 421 



In this connection a recent suggestion of much in- 

 terest has been made by Professors Mark Baldwin, 

 Lloyd Morgan, and Osborn, namely, that adaptive 

 modifications may act as the fostering nurses of con- 

 genital variations in the same direction. An illus- 

 tration will make the general idea clear. 



Let us suppose a country in which a change of 

 climate made it year by year of the utmost impor- 

 tance that the inhabitants should become swarthy. 

 Some individuals with a strong natural or congenital 

 tendency in this direction would doubtless exist, and 

 on them and their similarly endowed progeny the 

 permanent success of the race might wholly de- 

 pend. On the other hand, there might be many in- 

 dividuals in whom the constitutional tendency in 

 the direction of swarthiness was too weak and in- 

 cipient to be of use. If these, however, made up for 

 their lack of natural swarthiness by a great suscepti- 

 bility to acquired swarthiness, it is conceivable that 

 the modification, though never taking organic root, 

 would serve as a life-saving screen until coincident 

 congenital variations in the direction of swarthiness 

 had time to grow strong. 



Practical Conclusions. It seems then that the 

 scientific position at present should be one of active 

 scepticism leading on to experiment. It also seems 

 to us necessary at present to give a verdict of non- 

 proven for the affirmative, with a strong presumption 

 in favour of the negative answer. 

 If this be so, how should the scientific position re- 

 act upon conduct ? Supposing that the negative be 

 the answer, what should be our attitude to education, 

 physical culture, amelioration of function, improve- 

 ment of environment, and the like? There can be 

 no doubt that these should become increasingly im- 



