THE INHERITANCE OF FAMILY TRAITS 87 



drunk mean and vicious. Some of the mother's brothers 

 stole or were sexually immoral. 



4. A healthy man (Fig. 51, 11,1) employed on a railroad as 

 a fireman and using neither alcohol nor tobacco married a 

 woman who was born in the mountains of West Virginia 

 near the Kentucky line and who shows many symptoms of 

 defectiveness. She has epileptic convulsions as often as 2 

 or 3 times a week, has an ungovernable temper, smokes, 

 chews and drinks, is illiterate and sexually immoral. There 



1 



Sx Sx E tchorea 



fchorea 

 Fig. 51 



are 10 children, of whom something is known about 7. One 

 died early of chorea, one of the others (III, 8) seems normal; 

 III, 1 has killed two men including a policeman; III, 4 had 

 her husband killed and lives with his slayer; III, 6, an epi- 

 leptic and cigarette fiend, convicted of assault; III, 12 has 

 hysterical convulsions and is afraid in sleep; III, 15 has 

 migraine. The combination in the fraternity of migraine, 

 chorea, hysteria, epilepsy and sexual immorality and tend- 

 ency to assault is striking and appalling. 



5. A 10 year old boy (Fig 52, IV, 4) who was precocious as 

 a raconteur at 22 months, does well at school except for inat- 

 tention; is fond of reading and athletics, cheerful, and polite. 

 But he prefers the companionship of older, wild boys and 

 cannot be weaned from them. He lies, runs up accounts in 

 his parents' name, is acquiring bad sexual habits, and runs 



