the grandson a superior person.... We are, in our inheritance, exactly what our ancestors made us by the work they performed before reproducing. Whether our descendants are to be better or worse than we are will depend upon the amount and kind of work we do before we produce them."
The question of the influence of parental age on the characters of the offspring is one of great importance, for the solution of which the necessary facts have not yet been gathered together. The data compiled by Mr. Redfield are of value, but his interpretation of them can not be accepted for the following reasons.
- In the light of modern psychology, it is absurd to lump all sorts of mental ability under one head, and to suppose that the father's exercise of reasoning power, for example, will store up "energy" to be manifested in the offspring in the shape of