18 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXX. No. 757 



on the farm." He also says he merely re- 

 peated a statement he had heard frequently 

 and which he had never heard challenged. 



Mr. Spillman, however, doubts the signifi- 

 cance of the facts which I presented in Sci- 

 ence, April 9, drawn from "Who's Wlio in 

 America " showing that centers of population 

 of 8,000 and over have produced about twice 

 their expected ratio of persons included in 

 this volume. I do not myself claim that these 

 figures give a final refutation to the belief 

 which Mr. Spillman holds, that there is a 

 special value to be assigned to life on a farm 

 during early boyhood, but there appears to be 

 certainly no evidence at present to support 

 such a view. Future investigation may show 

 that the farms give a higher ratio than the 

 small towns and villages, but the inference from 

 such data as we have is in favor of concen- 

 trated centers of population against sparsely 

 settled regions in general. This idea must 

 stand until special researches show that it does 

 not apply to towns and villages against farms. 

 In any event, the actual farms have probably 

 produced much less than 70 per cent, of the 

 total leaders of the present day, since 30 per 

 cent, are found from the cities alone, and this 

 would leave nothing for the towns and villages. 



Mr. Spillman's second letter contains so 

 much that requires discussion or correction 

 that I am forced to quote nearly the entire 

 article, taking the points up one at a time. 



Although I thank him for his complimen- 

 tary references to my study of heredity in 

 royalty, still I am sorry that he has introduced 

 this more complicated discussion just here. 

 But since in the first part of his article he 

 has' done so, I would like to correct one or 

 two misinterpretations of my position on the 

 question of environment versus heredity. Mr. 

 Spillrt an says : 



I have only one criticism of Dr. Woods's reason- 

 ing. In studying heredity in royalty he purposely 

 chose this class because it could be assumed that 

 their characters were formed under the most uni- 

 form environment, which purpose was of course 

 entirely legitimate. 



This was really not my purpose in choosing 

 royalty as a basis of study; and, furthermore. 



I do not think that their characters were 

 formed under a uniform environment. I have 

 found in studying their lives the greatest 

 variation in their environments, all the way 

 from the supposed advantages of a wholesome 

 family life, with famous tutors to give them 

 learning, or the call of warfare to grant op- 

 portunity, down to the foul atmosphere of 

 some Bourbon court, or the mouldering walls 

 of a prison cell. 



On all this I have dwelt in the same book 

 which Mr. Spillman here alludes to.' On page 

 9 I say: 



Although all have the highest social rank, they 

 have lived in different countries, in different cen- 

 turies, and under varying circumstances, with 

 different educations and opportunities. 



The same theme is expressed more fully on 

 page 284, and occurs here and there through- 

 out the whole work. 



Mr. Spillman goes on to say: 



But it must be remembered that this [royal] 

 environment is the best possible for the develop- 

 ment of character and ability. , 



I do not see how Mr. Spillman can feel 

 justified in making a positive assertion on this 

 point, so many diverse opinions are held. 

 Besides, it is begging the issue which I raise, 

 that no one has shown that any ordinary civil- 

 ized environment is more influential than any 

 other in molding the rough outlines of char- 

 acter or determining the end product of 

 achievement. I should say that we have no 

 . means of knowing whether the royal environ- 

 ment is on the whole favorable or unfavorable. 

 Some investigators like Jacoby and Galippe, 

 along with journalistic writers, have assumed 

 it to be very unfavorable, though without any 

 satisfactory proof. 

 Mr. Spillman adds: 



It would be gratifying to me to see Dr. Woods 

 make a similar study of some class of human 

 beings subjected to an unfavorable environment. 

 I believe he would find, as I have stated above, 

 that even in that class native ability and natural 

 impulses would prove to be purely a matter of 



' " Mental and Moral Heredity in Royalty," 

 New York, Holt, 1906. 



