loo INHERITANCE 



opinion which is one of the highest privileges and 

 delights of civilised humanity. 



One sometimes hears it said that a microscopist, 

 being occupied with small things, is usually, 

 perhaps of necessity, a man of small ideas. This 

 may possibly be true in individual cases, but as a 

 general statement I believe it to be utterly false. 

 No better justification of this belief could be found 

 than is afforded by the present state of our know- 

 ledge with regard to the subject I have chosen for 

 my address. 



The real nature and modus operandi of Inheri- 

 tance are problems of the widest possible interest 

 and importance, problems which have baffled many 

 in the past, and which are at this moment being 

 attacked by different observers, working from 

 different sides, and along different lines of attack, 

 but all relying for their evidence on microscopical 

 observation. In dealing with the subject of 

 Inheritance it is well to bear in mind that the 

 problem is as yet unsolved, the question still an 

 open one. Neither can I myself make any material 

 contribution towards its solution : all I propose to 

 do here is to indicate the main conditions of the 

 problem, and to point out what appear, in the 

 light of recent investigation, to be the most 

 promising lines of attack. The problem itself is 

 familiar enough, and may be expressed in its 

 simplest form by the question Why is a child like 

 its father ? Why is it ; how does it come about 

 that a young animal resembles and grows into the 

 likeness of its parent ? Stated thus, the problem 



