10 



HEREDITY 



[CH. 



which are not connected by intermediates. Further, 

 in cases of continuous variation it will appear that 

 one size is more common than any other, and, in the 

 simplest cases, that the individuals are progressively 

 rarer as the size of the structure considered diverges 

 more and more from the most frequent value. The 

 most frequent condition is named the ' mode,' and its 



76 



75 



74 



«73 



72 



71 



70 



«69 



JC68 



g67 



•-■66 



65 



64 



63 



62 



61 



300 



400 



500 600 



700 



800 



900 100O 



Fig. 1. Curve illustrating stature, the vertical scale representing 

 heights above 60 inches, the horizontal scale numbers of indi- 

 viduals who are supposed to be placed side by side in order of 

 their height. 



size the 'modal value' for the character. For ex- 

 ample, if the heights of a large number of men were 

 measured, it might be found that they ranged by 

 every gradation from 60 to 7Q inches. If the measure- 

 ments were taken to the nearest inch, it might then 

 be found that a greater number had a stature of 

 68 inches than any other height, that the next most 



