THE LIMITS OF HEREDITY 187 



Galtoii (1883) made a study of twins, which con- 

 tains many facts of great interest. In response to 

 inquiries he obtained descriptions of about eighty 

 pairs of closely similar twins, thirty-live of which 

 entered into full details. He says (p. 21C): " In a 

 few of these not a single point of difference could be 

 specified. In the remainder the colour of the hair 

 and eyes was almost always identical; the height, 

 weight, and strength were nearly so. Nevertheless, 

 I have a few cases of a notable difference in height, 

 weight, and strength, although the resemblance was 

 otherwise very near. The manner and personal 

 address of thirty-five pairs of twins are usually 

 described as very similar, but accompanied by a 

 slight difference of expression, familiar to near 

 relatives, though unperceived by strangers. The 

 intonation of the voice when speaking is commonl}' 

 the same, but it frequently happens that the twins 

 sing in different keys. Most singularly, the one 

 point in which similarity is rare is the handwriting. 

 I cannot account for this, considering how strongl}' 

 handwriting runs in families, but I am sure of the 

 fact. I have only one case in which nobody, not 

 even the twins themselves, could distinguish their 

 own notes of lectures, etc., barely two or three in 

 which the handwriting w^as undistinguishable by 

 others, and only a few in which it was described as 

 closely alike. On the other hand, I have many in 

 which it is stated to be unlike, and some in which 

 it is alluded to as the only point of difference. It 

 would appear that the handwriting is a ver}- delicate 

 test of difference of organisation— a conclusion which 

 I commend to the notice of enthusiasts in the art ol 

 discovering character by handwTiting."* 



Galton cites a number of remarkable similarities 

 in these thirt3'-five pairs of twins and others. In 



* Cf. p. 172. 



