vii.] DISCUSSION OF THE DATA OF STATURE. 89 



that ideal personage to whom we have already been 

 introduced under the name of a Mid-Parent. Stature 

 has already been spoken of as a well-marked instance 

 of the heritages that blend freely in the course of 

 hereditary transmission. It now becomes necessary to 

 substantiate the statement, because it is proposed to 

 trace the relationship between the Mid-Parent and the 

 Son. It would not be possible to discuss the relationship 

 between either parent singly, and the son, in a trust- 

 worthy way, without the help of a much larger number 

 of observations than are now at my disposal. They 

 ought to be numerous enough to give good assurance that 

 the cases of tall and short, among the unknown parents, 

 shall neutralise one another ; otherwise the uncertainty 

 of the stature of the unknown parent would make the re- 

 sults uncertain to a serious degree. I am heartily glad 

 that I shall be able fully to justify the method of deal- 

 ing with Mid-Parentages instead of with single Parents. 

 The evidence is as follows : — If the Stature of children 

 depends only upon the average Stature of their two 

 Parents, that of the mother having been first trans- 

 muted, it will make no difference in a Fraternity whether 

 one of the Parents was tall and the other short, or 

 whether they were alike in Stature. But if some children 

 resemble one Parent in Stature and others resemble the 

 other, the Fraternity will be more diverse when their 

 Parents had differed in Stature than when they were 

 alike. We easily acquaint ourselves with the facts by 

 separating a considerable number of Fraternities into 

 two contrasted groups : (a) those who are the progeny 



