No. 517] PARENTAL MODIFICATIONS 



15 



individuals differed by less than one millimeter in length. 

 Of these groups there are 15 which allow of a comparison 

 between cold-room and warm-room descendants. Now 

 the "warm" figures for tail, foot and ear are larger than 

 the "cold" figures in 12, 11 and 10 cases out of the. 15, 

 respectively. The chances for the "accidental" occur- 

 rence of such majorities (in either direction) are roughly 

 1 in 2H, 2 in 17, and 3 in 10, respectively. The cumu- 

 lative improbability, as regards the three cases, is very 

 high, but the exact chances have not been computed. . 



The results to be derived from a consideration of the 

 weight groups need not be detailed here. It must be 

 stated, however, that the figures, although showing the 

 same general tendency as those we have considered, are 

 not, in themselves, as convincing as were the earlier ones. 

 Indeed, when the size groups are broken up into sub- 

 groups according to sex, the figures, for the males, at 

 least, are somewhat equivocal. 



Thus, while the results of these latter measurements 

 on the whole confirm the results obtained earlier in life, 

 they are not as striking as those, and, if taken by them- 

 selves, could not be regarded as demonstrative. This 

 is due, in part, to the fact that we are dealing with smaller 

 numbers of individuals. It is probably also due, in part, 

 to the principle of the "leveling down of initial differ- 

 ences," concerning which I have had much to say in my 

 earlier paper. And lastly, it is possible that unconscious 

 bias in the use of the calipers may have somewhat exag- 

 gerated the differences shown in the earlier series of 

 measurements, although caution was taken to avoid this. 15 



Interpretation 

 Aside from delusion or deliberate prevarication on the 

 part of the writer, several interpretations of these re- 



