lO THE RELATIVE STRENGTH OF 



correlating with the child's character. Unfortunately 

 data enabling us to determine the relationship of any 

 mental or physical character of the parent with the 

 environment which is supposed to influence the child 

 is rarely forthcoming. We have, however, some 

 information which may help us indirectly in our 

 consideration of this part of the enquiry. 



After this preliminary warning as to the diffi- 

 culties of the problem of heredity and environment 

 I propose to consider what evidence is available 

 for determining the relative intensity of nature and 

 nurture in the case of man. The material at my 

 disposal may be summed up as follows : 



I. The Report on the Physical Condition of 

 fourteen hundred school children in the City of 

 Edinburgh, with some account of their homes and 

 surroundings, issued by the Charity Organization 

 Society. Information is given as to the number 

 of children, living and dead, the number of rooms, 

 rent, father's work and wages, mother's work, work 

 and wages of other members of the family, and age, 

 height, weight, intelligence, condition of teeth, eyes, 

 ears, nose and throat of the school children, and an 

 account of the home in each case ; information is 

 given as to the drinking of the parents, cleanliness 

 of the home, morality of the parents, &c. 



In this splendid piece of research school teachers, 

 doctors, and workers belonging to the C. O. S. 

 have combined ; information has been sought from 

 many sources and infinite pains must have been taken. 

 It is a pleasure to work from such a report, but one 

 longs at the same time that the numbers were ten 



