VARIATION. 



Ill 



suffered some trifling modification in the 

 germ -plasm, or in the earlier stages of the 

 embryo's growth, sufficient to produce poly- 

 dactylism, which has thus become hereditary, 

 or as much so as might be expected where 

 one parent is normal and the other abnormal. 

 But having regard to the marvellous com- 

 plexity of the mechanism, and the delicacy 

 of the forces that automatically build up the 

 minute details of the organism, and to the 

 accidents that beset the foetus in its growth, 

 it is surprising that deviations "monstros- 

 ities" are not more common than they 



are. 



1 Since writing the preceding a very interesting case of 

 polydactylism has occurred. 



On January 7, 1903, an inquest was held by Dr W. West- 

 cott, coroner for Shoreditch, respecting the death of Charles 

 Nicholls, aged three days, son of William Nicholls, packer, 

 residing at 24 Styman Street, City Eoad, London. The 

 father stated that five or six months ago his wife was fright- 

 ened by a fowl flying across her face, and fainted, but sub- 

 sequently did not appear to have suffered from the fright. 

 When, however, the child was born it had six fingers on each 

 hand and six toes on the right foot, which had the appear- 

 ance of a duck's. On the previous Friday the child was 

 seized with convulsions and died before a doctor could be 

 had. 



Dr James Trevor Williams, who made an autopsy by 

 instruction of the coroner, said that in addition to the ex- 

 ternal malformation, the internal viscera were imperfectly 

 formed, due, in his opinion, to the fright of the mother. 



Dr Williams, at my request, made further inquiries of the 

 parents, and reported that they knew there had been no 



