Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-04-19

ANFdl w was u lhlEN NtN lOuhhihhh
watch dog, always chained to his kennel,
and this dog had II habit of sitting OF
his hind legs and bowling in the most
doleful and dismal manne Attracted
" the unusual sound. these puppies, to
the number of five or six, would often
gather in II sPmlcircle beyond the limits
of the Newfoundland's chain, and there,
sitting up on their launches, would lu-
dicrously attempt to initiate in "A thin and
strident key kthe lugubrious bowling of
their large and ferOcious. looking neigh
Dor. Not only was the attitude of "beg-
ging" initiated by all the puppies at an
early age, but the very peculiar manner
of bowling which have never heard any
other dog quite equal. Years of con
tinement and practice had made ''baying
the moon IA fine art with this Newfound-
land. With all due respect for Mr..
Lewis | submit that my puppy story is a
fair offset to his.
On the science of breeding, the name
of Charles Darwin is one Uefore whom
all must bow their heads, and his two
volumes upon ''The Variation Of Ami
mails and Plants Under Domestication'
(lS6S) are treasures of knowledge which
breeders should icon and learn by rote.''
From the mass of evidence there collect
ed, classified and discussed, not only are
principles and laws of variation deduced,
but he proceeds to a wider generaliza-
ton, and builds upon these facts his
~well-knOwn theory of Pdn9eneSiS. Many
instances of the apparent transmissibili-
ty of the ~long-cOntinued effects of use
that Corporal, periodical and mental
habits, though the latter have been al
most passed over in this work." become
changed under domestication, and the
%''changes are often inherited" Still, not
withstanding the fact that the transmissi-
bility of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS modiica-
tiOns Is necessary to support his theory
of PdRgeneSiS-Darwin discusses the
question with great caution and consider
able doubt.
Regarding the inherited effects of long
continued use. he asks, ''but who will
pretend to determine how far natural
selection may nave aided in the forma-
ton of structure of such obvious import
ance to auimals?' And again. on
changed habits of life, independently
of the use or disuse of the particular
organs" he refers to the tameness of do
nestle animals. the pointing or retrlev-
ing of dogs, and then says, "How much
of these changes ought to be attributed
to Inherited habit aud how much to the
selection of individuals which have var
led in the desired manner, irrespectively
of the special circumstances under which
they have been kept, can seldom be
told" lChap. n, PIP. 35S and 800.
Francis Cation, the cousin of Charles
Darwin, following the inquiry on the
lines laid down by his illustrious relative.
sums the matter up rs follows:
We might almost reserve our DelIef
that acquired notifications
are barely, if at all, Unbeatable in the
correct sense of that word. If they were
not inheritable, then the second group
of cases q. e., those of acquired as dis
tinguished from cOngenital characters)
would vanish. and WE should be absOlv-
ed from all further trouble if they exist.
in however faint II degree. a complete
theory of heredity must account for
them. | propose. as already stated. TO
accept the %suppositiOn of their being
af.eI.V a..VAIl ..1 g.
them by II modification of ToRgeResiS.
Journal A%nthropol. Inst. 1873, p. 346 .
And so Gallon develops his theory of
strip.
And then comes August Weismann,
the latest great authority on heredity,
and the first, | believe, to m~icroscopical-
~ explore its mechanism, so as to formu-
late a theory from that standpoint, and
he denies absolutely the possibility of
the transmission of acquired characters,
by which he means ''those which are nor
performed in the germ, but which arise
only through special influences affecting
the body or individual parts of it," See
The Germ Plasm," 1893. p. 392, English
translation.
1t is proper to add that the growth of
Prof. Weismaun's book has been very
gradual and has covered a period of 10
years. 1t is dedicated to the memory of
Charles Darwin, for whose opinions the
author expresses the highest respect.
They agree on the main points of evolu-
ton, although Weismann's researches
force him to "A different belief with re-
gard to this vital principle of heredity.
1t may also be mentioned that on the
broad question affecting the environment
of the Organisn-or the outward forces
brought to bear on the individual-Weis-
mann has a formidable antagonist in
Spencer. who combats the sweeping
denial the German scientist makes.
That discussion still, | believe, continues,
and only fragments of it have reached
me, but | have not seen where it deals at
all with the special subject we are treat
Inn Of