428 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIII. No. 1108 



ies, reported in the main by field-workers. 

 Eacii individual is rated (by the author ap- 

 parently) as nomadic or non-nomadic. From 

 this point on, the argument concerns the ex- 

 planation of apparent exceptions to expecta- 

 tion by the hypothesis, and of numerical di- 

 vergences from the ratios expected by the 

 hypothesis. 



It seems to the reviewer that the technique 

 of this and similar studies might easily be 

 very much improved by having the individ- 

 uals who are to be classified (for nomadism 

 or neuroticism or intelligence, or whatever the 

 quality may be), rated quantitatively and in- 

 dependently by, say, half a dozen competent 

 persons. Where, as here, records of persons, 

 not the persons themselves, are to be rated, 

 this means of reducing errors in the rating is 

 very easy to apply. Its importance consists in 

 the fact that at least ninety-five per cent, of 

 the mental traits which have been measured 

 objectively show no signs of a multi-modal 

 distribution; and that consequently the 

 a priori chances are at least 19 to 1 that the 

 strength of the nomadic impulse varies from 

 a single mode at moderate amount up toward 

 extreme nomadism and down toward extreme 

 domesticity. To begin work by classifying 

 men on the supposition that the strength of 

 the nomadic impulse is distributed with one 

 mode of nomads and one mode of home lovers 

 seems therefore peculiarly unwise. If we can 

 not have objective measurements we can at 

 least use the average of a number of subjec- 

 tive ratings and have these made by a scale 

 detailed enough to measure the nomadic im- 

 pulse as probably stronger in a man who " is 

 a wanderer and has left home repeatedly and 

 been away for months at a time . . . does not 

 like to stay in one place long; likes to bum 

 and tramp around " than in one of whom 

 nothing more nomadic is recorded than that 

 he was " a stage-driver." 



With respect to the inheritance of tempera- 

 ment, the hypothesis defended is that " There 

 is in the germplasm a factor, E, which induces 

 the more or less periodic occurrence of an ex- 

 cited condition (or an exceptionally strong 

 reactibility to exciting presentations) and its 



absence, e, which results in an absence of ex- 

 treme excitability. There are also the factor 

 C, which makes for normal cheerfulness of 

 mood, and its absence, c, which permits a more 

 or less periodic depression. Moreover, these 

 factors behave as though in different chromo- 

 somes, so that they are inherited independently 

 of each other and may occur in any combina- 

 tion." 



The author classifies individuals by their 

 zygotic formulae as choleric-cheerful, choleric- 

 phlegmatic, choleric-melancholic, nervous- 

 cheerful, nervous-phlegmatic, nervous-melan- 

 cholic, calm-cheerful, calm-phlegmatic, calm- 

 melancholic. 



He assumes further that " there is typically 

 a difference in the mood of a person with two 

 doses or only one dose of a determiner; that 

 two doses of the E factor produce the choleric 

 temperament, while only one dose results in 

 the nervous temperament; that two doses of 

 the C factor result in a normal, cheerful 

 state, while if only one dose is present the in- 

 dividual has a tendency to appear phlegmatic, 

 and if C is wholly absent, to appear melan- 

 cholic." 



The argument concerns, of course, the close- 

 ness of the fit of the ratios found to those ex- 

 pected and the explanation of the apparently 

 unconformable eases. 



The difficulty of classification may be ap- 

 preciated by the reader who will try to assign 

 each of these cases to some one of the nine 

 classes, have scientific friends do likewise 

 and compare the results with Davenport's as- 

 signments. 



1. Subject to sprees; suicided with poison. 



2. Had acute mania; violent and destructive. 



3. Sx.;i restless and twitches. 



4. Surly and disagreeable; was hypererotic and 

 brutal to wife and children. 



5. Has a swaggering air and manner; ran away 

 from home; put in a reform school for rape. 



6. Wild and hot-tempered; profane and ugly 

 towards his wife; takes whisky regularly to forget 

 his business worries. 



7. Jailed at 14 years for rape; hung himself. 



8. Eough and uncouth; easily excited, passion- 

 ate; has fits of temper. 



1 Sx. means unduly sexual. 



