30 JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS 



and may bear in its constitution and impress from each and all of 

 these that may yet distinctly manifest itself in some of its off- 

 spring. 



I regard this as a particularly profitable subject of investigation 

 in many respects, but chieiiy because it touches man at so many 

 points. We get from it at a glance the origin of national character" 

 istics. How differences and peculiarities at first sight were increased 

 and intensified by environments, seclusion and non-intercourse, and 

 how these are in the present day being softened and moderated, and 

 are likely to get more so. It also gives us an insight into the origin 

 of personal peculiarities — to that pronounced individualism that 

 characteiizes every free community — and how this is likely to increase 

 and become yet more marked and observable. In it also we find 

 an explanation of what appears a puzzle to many, the complete 

 uncertainty as to what may be the development from any given 

 union, and the sometimes startling diff'erences seen between the 

 parents and their children and the oft expressed surprise that these 

 do not always come up to the standard of the parents. 



The question is often asked, " Cannot man be improved as well 

 as his domestic animals ? " I reply, most assuredly he can, if the 

 same methods were followed to secure the same result, and these are 

 all summed up in three words : selection, elimination and rejection. 



Wallace has said that " So far natural selection has done 

 nothing for man." Well, I suspect that is just about as much as it 

 has done for anything else. Let anyone observe nature and its 

 methods and they will soon be convinced that this is not the direction 

 to look for progressive improvement. Its whole tendency is toward 

 uniformity, and uniformity is not favorable to progress. Human 

 history is a running commentary on this great truth. Progressive 

 improvement for man has come so far, principally through the 

 external influences of education, cultivation and refinement ; but 

 these seem to ^ork very slowly and with great uncertainty. An 

 Italian once sarcastically remarked : " Who knows but one of these 

 days a powerful microscope may detect globules of nobility in the 

 blood." We have seen that the microscope has been more scientifi- 

 cally used, and with what results. Edmond About, when commenting 

 on that quotation, said : " I am too French not to enjoy a joke, but 

 I confess ' globules of nobility ' does not offend my reason." We 

 know that dogs are slow or fast, keen scented or keen sighted, 



