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xvi
Hereditary Genius
before it is eaten, in order to destroy the poison. Many of the Eastern
Archipelago islanders live on sago. Pastoral tribes eat meat occasionally,
but their usual diet is milk or curds. It is only the hunting tribes who
habitually live upon tough meat. It follows that the diminishing size of the
human jaw in highly civilized people must be ascribed to other causes, such
as those, whatever they may be, that reduce the weight of the whole
skeleton in delicately nurtured animals.
It seems feasible to subject the question to experiment, whether certain
acquired habits, acting during at least ten, twenty, or more generations, have
any sensible effects on the race. I will repeat some remarks on this subject
which I made two years ago, first in a paper read at a Congress in Paris,
and afterwards at the British Association at Newcastle. The position taken
was that the experiments ought to be made on a large scale, and upon
creatures that were artificially hatched, and therefore wholly isolated from
maternal teachings. Fowls, moths, and fish were the particular creatures
suggested. Fowls are reared in incubators at very many places on a large
scale, especially in France. It seemed not difficult to devise practices
associated with peculiar calls to food, with colours connected with food, or
with food that was found to be really good though deterrent in appearance,
and in certain of the breeding-places to regularly subject the chicks to these
practices. Then, after many generations had passed by, to examine whether
or no the chicks of the then generation had acquired any instinct for
performing them, by comparing their behaviour with that of chicks reared in
other places. As regards moths, the silkworm industry is so extensive and
well understood that there would be abundant opportunity for analogous
experiments with moths,
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