New Orleans Republican., 1871-10-01

destroyed by lightning at fourteen, that is
| no reason his children should be born blind
| The president of the section, Professor W.
| Turner, observed that mems teeth were
certainly getting worse, the teeth in ancient
| crania being decidedly better than the
teeth in modern skulls, and his statement
| tallies, as we know, with the belief of emf
nent dentists;. but it is in itself no proof Of
| degeneracy. Some cause or other connect
ed with diet-in all probability the entirely
ew.habit of swallowing hot liquids twice
or thrice q day-does injure modern teeth;
but the teeth Of each successive crop of in
fants come up as perfect as ever. To prove
degeneracy in teeth, we should have to
prove. not that the teeth suffer from our
habits, but that they are worse when they
first start up, and before the habits have
time to tell.
We can not expect DR.. BeddOe to accept
our opinions, though based on the opinions
of much better ply ysiologists than ourselves;
but perhaps he may pay some attention to
the facts collected by NJ. Dunant of Geneva.
That gentleman has carefully examined the
records of recruiting in the canton of Fri
bourg, Switzerland for sixteen years, which
supply every detail respecting II sos young
men OF twenty years OF age, and more
especially their birthplace, their race, their
height. After minute study on that large
scale, he comes to the conclusion that the
one and sole cause Of the immense differ
ences of height among men in Fribourg IS
race; that no other cause, not even the
height Of the village above the sea, has the
smallest effect, and establishes, moreover,
the odd fact that, ON the whole, the tall men
produced an immense propOrtiOn-in fact
all, the figures being 1868 out of 2869-of
those rejected for want of physical health.
1t follows that REGULARITY of race. like
height however originally acquired, is
nearly unchangeable that conditions have
comparatively little to do with it; and
that large size and health have no
1fi'n rhh D4 at Beddss ths points Its
case, must disprove. When he has done so,
perhaps he will account for the case of the
western Jews, who. after thousand years
Of persecution, of living in cities only, of
living in the. most crowded sections of the
most diseased quarters of those cities after
devOting themselves exclusively to seden
tary pursuits, after abstaining for centuries
from war. from military exercises, and from
country sports, are to-day just as large as
other men. just as brave, and in all countries
very exceptionally healthy We believe
that the whole of this popular theory of de-
terioration in cities is originally the protest |
OF the boOr against the superiority of the citi-
zen, whom he preteuds to despise because |
he is pale, but who can and does do double |
bis work; who can outrun him. outleap |
him, and outtalk him. and if he happens to
turn pOacher, defeat him in open fight A |
London rough may be, and very often is.
an obscene brute; but lie will give any
in England. not being a Celt, |
two stone, and then thrash his head Off"
Whom is 1t that he as u mere animal has
legenerated from: the knight whose armor
is three inches too short for him, or the
whose bow he can WELD as easily
as at Agincourtl