670 



THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol.. XL VII 



is sufficient to overcome the injured condition, the off- 

 spring is defective. 



The important thing in considering this defective off- 

 spring is the recognition of the fact that not only its 

 soma cells but its germ cells as well are defective, since 

 all were derived from the modified spermatozoon of the 

 injured father. When this offspring with injured germ 

 cells is paired with a similar individual, as has been fre- 

 quently done in the experiments described, the resulting 

 animal body is constituted of cells, all of which are the 

 result of proliferation or division from the primary in- 

 jured egg and sperm cell; thus all of the cells are of a 

 similar inferior nature. Therefore, the young derived 

 from the second generation should be, leaving out of con- 

 sideration the power of a cell to recover from such 

 poisoning, equally as defective as those derived from the 

 treated parents. 



This might be construed to show the transmission of 

 acquired characters, but it can not be properly inter- 

 preted in such a sense. There is in this case no transmis- 

 sion of new or strange characters strictly speaking, 

 merely a weakened or injured cell gives rise to other 

 weak cells. The term ' ' weak" is employed for the lack 

 of a better one, meaning that the cells are below normal 

 in reaction, respond slowly or in a deranged manner and 

 often die or wear out early in their career. 



It may be that in nature such defects as hare lip and 

 cleft palate are transmitted in a fashion similar to the 

 method just suggested. These defects run in families and 

 are said to be inherited. Their character, however, is 

 clearly that of a developmental arrest. Such defects are 

 very probably not truly inherited at all, that is, they are 

 not definite characters or qualities as hair and eye color 

 are, but are due to the fact that the germ cells from which 

 the deformed individual arose, or the uterine environ- 

 ment in which it developed, were not fully normal in 

 vigor. A more careful study of the inheritance of such 

 defects will doubtless reveal the fact that other deform- 



