158 THE SHAPES AND SIZES OF ANIMALS 



possessed by a man, and the average of that 

 possessed by the population at large, then the Law 

 of Regression may be described as follows : Each 

 peculiarity in a man is shared by his kinsmen, but 

 on the average in a less degree. It is reduced to 

 a definite fraction of its amount, quite independ- 

 ently of what its amount might be. The fraction 

 differs in different orders of kinship, becoming 

 smaller as they are more remote." In other 

 words, according to Mr. Galton's Law of Regres- 

 sion, any tendency to individual deviation say, 

 from the normal stature whether in the way of 

 excess or of diminution, is counteracted by an 

 inexorable law, which acting to a definite degree 

 in each succeeding generation, constrains return to 

 the normal height. 



