Selective Breeding 39 



istics of youth while the children of older par- 

 ents show more of the characteristics of age. 

 Older parents are thus apt to have intelligent 

 offspring and many historical examples of 

 this are cited, from Aristotle to Benjamin 

 Franklin. 



The follo^\'ing quotation will exemplify his 

 belief on this subject, — ''The period of adoles- 

 cence is a period of sexual intensity and 

 passion, and a child born of parents at this age 

 has the sexual instincts abnormally developed, 

 the same as we have aggressiveness from 

 parents of 25, the love of the beautiful from 

 parents of 35, reasoning and practical useful- 

 ness from parents of 45, and morality and philo- 

 sophy from parents over 50." 



Contrary to Weismann, Redfield believes that 

 traits directly acquired by the efforts of the in- 

 dividual himself can be transmitted. He finally 

 states the following, — ''All that you have 

 learned and all that you have accomplished 

 can and will be transmitted to future genera- 

 tions by others through the medium of records. 

 But in whatever measure you have developed 

 your body and your mind by patient and long- 



