•22 
GEORGE H. BAILEY. 
ily traditions and the cumulative humanities of at least four or 
hve generations.’ ” 
And Rev. DeWitt Talmage says that “ the physical and 
mental and moral qualities are inheritable, is patent to every 
•one who keeps his eyes open. The longer I live the more I 
believe in blood—good blood—bad blood—proud blood—honest 
blood—thieving blood and cowardly blood. As Indian blood 
means roving disposition, Roman blood means conquest, and 
the Jewish faculty for accumulation, you may trace back to 
Abraham, of whom the Bible says, ‘ He was rich in silver and 
gold and cattle. ’ ” 
No hereditary disease is hereditary in every instance, even 
inherited syphilis is very feebly contagious, while acquired 
syphilis is actively so. We hear a great deal about the scrofu¬ 
lous diathesis, the predisposition and susceptibility of tuberculo¬ 
sis, and if these terms are to be interpreted as applying to men 
or animals who have had transmitted to them weak, frail and 
debilitated bodies, as opposed to those who have descended from 
parents whose stamina and vigor were sufficient to overcome 
and resist tuberculosis, and all other germ diseases that practi¬ 
cally amounts to immunity ; or that men and animals that have 
descended from Uiberculoits pai^ents inherit a special or consti¬ 
tutional predisposition to the disease. I accept their logic, just 
as in “ seed time and harvest,” all seeds will grow more readily 
in favorable soil and climate than on stubborn, rocky ground, 
so the systems of animals differ in their attractability or recep¬ 
tivity to propagate disease. 
The predisposition to scrofulosis has also been attributed to 
a weakness or imperfection of the lymphatic system, and great 
stress has been placed on the importance of an imperfect circu¬ 
latory and respiratory apparatus as a predisposing cause of tu¬ 
berculosis ; but I am not aware that a person thus consump¬ 
tively inclined is therefore of necessity possessed of less power 
of resistance against other infectious diseases; and that able 
physician. Dr. Mitchell, of Bowdoin College, has said he 
thought it at least unfortunate that people were born with sus- 
