2/4 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



clearly trace to a natural cause. He 

 knows as well as we do the general in- 

 ertness of the human mind, and how 

 readily multitudes abandon the search 

 for natural causes in favor of supernatu- 

 ral explanations that, in their eyes, have 

 the double merit of saving them trouble 

 and ministering to their love of the 

 marvelous. Is this a disposition that a 

 man of culture should set himself to 

 aggravate and render more potent for 

 the fabrication of mischievous illusions ? 

 That is what Dr. Abbott is now doing, 

 however, and we scarcely understand 

 how he can be blind to the fact. 



The other hypothesis — that after a 

 gradual and voluntary subjection of the 

 nature to sin in some form or other the 

 individual passes under the power of a 

 fiend — errs in the direction of super- 

 fluity. If Dr. Abbott should elect to 

 stand by this view of the matter, and, 

 in spite of his very recent indorsement, 

 to dismiss his theory of twenty years ago 

 about amiable and respectable people 

 becoming the victims of diabolical pos- 

 session, we should then only have to ask 

 him how he distinguishes between slav- 

 ery to a devil and that slavery to evil 

 propensities long indulged which the 

 world has for ages recognized as a famil- 

 iar and deplorable phenomenon. The 

 devil in this case seems to be a fifth 

 wheel to the coach, and even worse 

 than a fifth wheel; for it is hard to see 

 how the weight of the vehicle is going 

 to be made to rest, in the slightest de- 

 gree, on so unnecessary an adjunct. 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



Natural Inheritance. By Francis Gal- 

 ion. London and New York : Macmillan 

 & Co. Pp. 259. Price, $2.50. 



The name of the author of this work is 

 identified with studies of problems that lie 

 at the base of the science of heredity, more 

 closely, perhaps, than that of any other who 

 has written upon the subject. Upon it he 

 has published five books and fifteen mem- 

 oirs and review articles, the earliest of 

 which appeared in 1869. That work, which 



covered the subject of " Hereditary Genius," 

 could only have been the fruit of long-con- 

 tinued, careful studies, such as Mr. Galton 

 is still pursuing, but under more and more 

 methodized forms. This volume contains 

 the more important of the results of these 

 continued researches, set forth in an orderly 

 way, with more completeness than has hith- 

 erto been possible, together with a large 

 amount of new matter. The inquiry relates 

 to the inheritance of moderately exception- 

 al qualities by brotherhoods and multitudes 

 rather than by individuals. Among the 

 problems to be dealt with to which particu- 

 lar attention is called are the one that refers 

 to the curious regularity observed in the sta- 

 tistical peculiarities of populations during a 

 long series of generations, in which certain 

 marks that may not recur prominently in 

 the groups most closely related to one anoth- 

 er, appear most distinctly through the whole ; 

 the average share contributed to the person- 

 al features of the offspring by each ancestor 

 severally ; and the nearness of kinship in 

 different degrees. The discussion is opened 

 with an account of the processes in heredity, 

 in which a distinction is marked between 

 natural and acquired peculiarities, and fam- 

 ily likeness and individual variation, latent 

 characteristics, blending and mutually exclu- 

 sive heritages, and petty influences are con- 

 sidered. The man being usually one twelfth 

 larger than the woman, a rule is found for 

 transmuting female into male measures so 

 as to fix a uniform standard, applicable to 

 either sex. The term "particulate inherit- 

 ance " is defined as relating to the bits of 

 elements which we inherit from this pro- 

 genitor and that, and as covering the incalcu- 

 lable number of small and mostly unknown 

 circumstances that influence our develop- 

 ment. In a chapter on " Organic Stability " 

 the effort is made to show, by familiar illus- 

 trations from common things, how types 

 may come about and be perpetuated ; how 

 " sports " may suddenly appear and then en- 

 dure ; and, from this, that evolution is not 

 by minute steps only, but may occur by 

 jumps. The account of the method by 

 which the author's " schemes " and his rules 

 for estimating the value of his results were 

 prepared is minute and exact, hard as a 

 mathematical demonstration to follow, but, 

 like a mathematical demonstration, clear 



