HEREDITARY INFLUENCE. 
537 
ease. Even the man of letters is not without his generaliza- 
tion on the transmission of genius : “ All men of genius/ 5 he 
tells you, “have had remarkable mothers;’ 5 in support of 
which generalization he counts off upon his fingers the illus- 
trations which occur to him, perfectly heedless of the mass 
of cases in which the mothers have not been remarkable. 
The various theories imply variety of interest in the ques- 
tion, and a practical need for the solution. A subject at once 
so interesting and important may well claim some attention 
from us here ; and we shall endeavour to disengage it from 
all technical difficulties, so as to present it in a form intelli- 
gible to the general reader, and to clear up many misconcep- 
tions, popular and scientific, which at present obstruct the 
question. The three works referred to in this paper,* with 
many others less directly bearing on this subject, will supply 
us with abundant facts, and may be recommended to 
readers desirous of pursuing the inquiry. Dr. Lucas has, in 
two bulky octavos, gathered from far and wide a mass of ma- 
terial, good, bad, and indifferent, with laudable diligence, but 
with a want of discrimination not so laudable. He is erudite, 
but he has les dtfauts de sa qualite . His erudition is utterly 
uncritical ; and yet it is obvious that the sole value of the 
cases collected depends on their authenticity. It is the 
common error of erudite men to imagine that quantity sup- 
plies the place of quality. They fancy themselves rich when 
their purses are filled with forged notes ; and so long as these 
notes are kept from presentation at the bank, their delusion 
is untroubled. Dr. Lucas has far too many of these notes in 
his purse : the reader must take up his volumes with great 
caution. Mr. Orton makes no such erudite display ; but he 
has collected some curious facts, both from his own expe- 
rience and from the experience of other breeders. M. Girou 
is one of the authorities most frequently referred to by 
writers on this topic. To vast practical experience in cattle- 
breeding he adds very considerable physiological knowledge 
and force of intellect. 
Heritage ( Vhtsredite ), or the transmission of physical and 
mental qualities from parents to offspring, is one of those 
general facts of nature which lie patent to universal observa- 
tion. Children resemble their parents. Were this law not 
constant, there could be no constancy of species ; the horse 
* c Traite de l’Heredite Naturelle dans les Etats de Sante et de Maladie 
du Systeme Nerveux.’ Par le Dr. Prosper Lucas. 
e On the Physiology of Breeding.’ Two Lectures delivered to the 
Newcastle Farmers’ Club. By Reginald Orton, M.R.C.S. 
‘De la Generation.’ Par M. C. Giron de Buzareingues. 
XXIX. 
69 
