The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-09-14
One of England's Most Eminent
Thinkers Dispels Some Misapprehen-
sions About Eugenics and Discusses
the Vital Importance of the Right
Kind Of Marriages.
BIZ SIR JAMES, BARR.
M. D., LII. D., F. r. C. p. F. RS. EDIN.

from Weismann that acquired characteristics
are not transmitted. do not know Of one
spark of original genius which he ever e1.
hibited, and his name Is not to be mentioned In
the same breath with Darwin, Kelvin. Lister.
Lodge. Ramsay and host OF others. You have
got to study the innate qualities when you are
considering the question Of heredity.
There is another point which troubles good
many people, as to how to explain the great
mental and physical differences which are Of
ten observed among members of the same
family. This is no puzzle for the disciples of
Mendel. You have only got to probe deeply
into the family history and you will find the
different characteristics in previous genera
lions. In many families there Is often bad
strain latent. and when It crops up 1t should be
eliminated soon possible. Clever parents
may not always produce clever children, but
feeble-minded parents never will. The Men.
delian law Of inheritance is we'll exemplifed in
the lower creation. My friend Mr. R. d. Lau.
rie has shown that II you cross black Anda
lusian fowl with white one. all the Offspring
of the cross will be blue. If you proceed 10
these blue birds among themselves Ok
per cent. OF their eggs will hatch into white
birds like grandparent 25 per cent. into
black birds like the other grandparent. and so
per cent. into blue birds like their immed,ata
parents.
Moreover, the blacks or whites transmit on,v
blackness or wilderness. respectively n,hara..
the blues have the same powers of transu,,.;
as their blue hybrid parents. That is r. GO -
the characters blackness and whfteness 10y.
unit characters, capable of independent 81
mission, the heredty of which moreon - aAs'
be definitely prophesied, and the intens;t ean
which is not weakened during the nrocas y.
crossing. They segregate in adeinite war ~
the grandflial generation. This princin1s ~
segregation OF distinct unit characters VI
been found experimentally to hold in the c .as
OF large variety of characters numbered 10
hundreds Of animals and plants AZ
Jacob OF old rather forestalled Mend., =,
was a willy old Hebrew and anything ~ ,ie
he did not know not worth Known -,
those days Witness how he selectod ~ ~
dominant coiors for himself. and all he had
got TO do was TO put few dominant s,rtnad
bulls among the herd and then there wouId he
at most 20 per cent for Laban His striped rods
were makebelieve. except they were used for
oriving away the recessive bulls. He also Sc
lected the black or brown sheep, and we know
that Dlack is dominant to white; so poor
La6an, who was then living three miles away
had not the ghost OF chance with his willy
son-1n-iaw in fact, as he confesses Laban only
got the weakings.
1t would seem to me that the great financial
apllty OF the Jews is inherited from this willy
that OF Mendel would explain the origin of two
such opposite characters as Esau and Jacob
ION ION the same parents, and they afford an ex
GAonipie VI tHe QlHlCulty which have
IN arriving at the survival value of different
characteristics CIV
IL mas been statstically found that there are
a greater number of detectives amonp tba arst
porn than among later members of families
ana on this account some would abolish the law
OF prlmogeniture. In my opinion these defects
the worry and anxiety of marriage and the In.
discriminate love-making. which frequently
follows does not give the frst-born a fair
Ghance. "hen parents begin to understand the
nd
responsibility in the production of children. this
state OF matters will be put right. Under nor.
mai healthy conditions. apart from accidents
at BIRTH there Is no reason that can Gee nh.
the nrst.born child should not be as good as any
which follows. The ilegitimate or chance
child. the result of strong passion rather than