vident.
Let the genealogist, then, bring together data on every trait he can
think of. As a guide and stimulus, he should read the opening chapters
of Herbert's Spencer's _Autobiography_, or of Karl Pearson's, _Life,
Letters and Labors of Sir Francis Galton_, or C. B. Davenport's
study[172] of C. O. Whitman, one of the foremost American biologists. He
will also find help in Bulletin No. 13 of the Eugenics Record Office,
Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York. It is entitled, _How to Make
a Eugenical Family Study_, and gives a list of questions which should be
answered, and points which should be noted. With some such list as this,
or even with his own common-sense, the genealogist may seek to ascertain
as much as possible about the significant facts in the life of his
ancestors, bearing in mind that the geneticist will ask two questions
about every trait mentioned:
1. Is this characteristic inherited?
2. If so, how?
Nor must it be forgotten that the geneticist is often as much
interested in knowing that a given character is not inherited under
certain conditions, as that it is.
It is highly desirable that genealogists should acquire the habit of
stating the traits of their subjects in quantitative terms. They too
often state that a certain amount is "much"; what should be told is "how
much." Instead of saying that an individual had fairly good health, tell
exactly what diseases he had during his lifetime; instead of remarking
that he was a good mathematician, tell some anecdote or fact that will
allow judgment of the extent of his ability in this line. Did he keep
record of his bank balance in his head instead of on paper? Was he fond
of mathematical puzzles? Did he revel in statistics? Was the study of
calculus a recreation to him? Such things probably will appear trivial
to the genealogist, but to the eugenist they are sometimes important.
Aside from biology, or as much of it as is comprised in eugenics,
genealogy may also serve medicine, jurisprudence, sociology, statistics,
and various other sciences as well as the ones which it now serves. But
in most cases, such service will have a eugenic aspect. The alliance
between eugenics and genealogy is so logical that it can not be put off
much longer.
Genealogists may well ask what facilities there are for receiving and
using pedigrees such as we have been outlining, if they were made up.
All are, of course, familiar with the repositories which the diffe
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