76 EVOLUTION, SOCIAL AND ORGANIC 



in breadth round the place at which the moth- 

 er's leg had been broken, and upon the same 

 leg." When this incident was related to Weis- 

 mann, he replied, "It is a pity that the black 

 wool was not arranged in the form of the in- 

 scription *to the memory of the fractured leg 

 of my dear mother/ " 



Writing in the following year Weismann 

 says, "Furthermore, the mutilations of certain 

 parts of the human body, as practised by dif- 

 ferent nations from time immemorial, have 

 not in a single instance, led to the malforma- 

 tion or reduction of the parts in question. 

 Such hereditary effects have been produced 

 neither by circumcision ngr the removal of 

 the front teeth, nor the boring of holes in the 

 lips or nose, nor the extraordinary artificial 

 crushing and crippling of the feet of Chinese 

 women. No child among any of the nations 

 referred to possesses the slightest trace of 

 these mutilations when born ; they have to be 

 acquired anew in each generation.'' 



While it is undoubtedly true that much in 

 Weismann's position lacks experimental de- 

 monstration, it is equally true that when the 

 heat of the discussion somewhat subsided, his 

 theories were well to the fore, and they have 

 since secured a wide acceptance among com- 

 petent authorities. It is hardly to be expected 



