2 The American Naturalist [January, 
whether the abnormality present in the paternal or maternal 
individual was actually caused by some external interference, 
or arose as an inborn (blastogenic) variation of the germ. Of 
those authors who deny the transmission of acquired charac- 
ters, the pathologist, E. Ziegler (35), approaches most closely 
to the Weismannian point of view, and his valuable papers in 
which he discusses the most recent articles on inheritance and 
the doctrine of descent and their importance for pathology, 
form important supplements to the writings of Weismann. 
Among other things, E. Ziegler emphasizes the fact “that 
pathological characters acquired in the life of the individual 
are not transmitted, and that the first origin of transmissable 
diseases and mutilations is not to be sought in the acquire- 
ment of corresponding changes during the life of one of the 
parents, but in variations of the germ.” 
It is by no means my intention to go into the extensive lit- 
erature on this point.’ The purpose of my article is rather to 
communicate some interesting cases of apparent transmission 
of mutilations, which I learned of by personal experience, and 
was able to test carefully. If even now some of these cases do 
not permit a definite decision, still it may not be useless to re- 
count them here, since, by just such examples which, at first 
glance, let no doubt of the fact of such transmission appear, it 
can best be shown with what extreme care an unpartisan 
observer must prove the true character of the case, and pass 
_ Judgment upon it. 
Before beginning my description, let me call attention to the 
fact that the expression “acquired character” has been used 
by different authors often in a very different sense. Weismann 
has expressed himself on this point as follows: “Since the 
term acquired character is not taken by all the in sharply circum- 
scribed sense in which it is used by zoologists and botanists, I 
propose, in cases where a misunderstanding is possible, to use, 
* I refer especially to the important papers in the appended list, those of Weismann 
atid Ziegler (35), Eimer (9), ae (16), y saver (28), Cas (5) koa yeeie 
In passing, I should like to call to 
inheritance of acquired Geth a was élearly iid  prelgisaiidty by van 
Bemmelen (1), in a historical critical investigation, with reference to the stan standpoint 
taken by Weismann, and with a review of the most important literature. 
