38 Heredity and Child Culture 



nine of these common law has fixed the age for 

 girls at twelve years. 



The tendency in modern society to postpone 

 the marriage age is not regarded with favor by 

 eugenists. It is largely due to economic causes 

 and is especially noted among the educated and 

 desirable classes. It is highly important that 

 efforts should be made by some sort of social re- 

 adjustment to render it easy for this class to 

 marry earlier in life. Good health should be 

 a prerequisite at any age. 



Another view is advanced by Casper L. Red- 

 field,^ who has made an extensive statistical 

 study of heredity. He believes that very early 

 marriages are apt to produce children lacking 

 in stamina and mental power. He considers 

 that as each individual undergoes certain physi- 

 cal and mental changes during life, those condi- 

 tions which characterize parents at different 

 ages are transmitted to the offspring produced 

 at those ages. This is especially exemplified in 

 mental aptitudes, as the children of youthful 

 parents are usually marked by the character- 



1 Control of Heredity — ^Monarch Book Co. 



