SCIENCE LECTURE

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2248, 7 September 1914, Page 3

SCIENCE LECTURE

PRINCIPLES OF HEREDITY

DR. DAVENPORT'S VIEWS

1 "Eugenics," as affected by the known principles of heredity, was the eubject of an illustrated lecture delivered in tho Town Hall on Saturday night by Dr. C. B. Davenport, Director of the Department of Experimental Evolution, Carnegie Institution, TJ.S.A. The fact, that the lecturer is regarded as one of tho first authorities in the world on his subject was responsible for an. attendance much larger 'than is usually seen at lectures of this class in Wellington. The chair was taken by Mr. 6. Hogben, Inspeofcor-Geaera'l. of Schools. Prior to the lecture, Professor Chilton, President of the New Zealand Institute, presented the Hutton and Hector Memorial Medals, which are awarded for research in science in New Zealand. In making the presentations, Professor Ohiltoii explained that the Hutton medal was a memorial of the lato Captain Hutton and the conditions provided that it should be awarded once every three years, this being the second. time the award had been made. It was to go for research in botany to Dr. Leonard Cockayne, E. 8.5., whose name was known and honoured by scientists all over the world, and who, besides founding a school of . New Zealand, Botany, had done something to persuade New Zealand legislators that our vegetation was unique and therefore ought to be preserved. The Hector Medal, which Professor Chilton explained was a memorial to the late Sir James Hector, was to go for snthrqpological work to Mr, Elsdon Best, who had been successful in recovering—before it was too latemany valuable memorials of the Maori race. The recipients of both medals made a fow appropriate remarks in reply, and the lecture of tho evening then proceeded. Dr. Davenport, after a few brief introductory remarks, said that in the study of heredity as pursued by the scientists it was not necessary to make use of experiment in the narrow sense because experiment in human heredity had been carried out on an enormous ecalo throughout the worldy and the main thing was to find out the results. Acting on this principle, his department had appointed field workers, who were placed in institutions, which had been set up. by the State for tho detention of those, who for some good reason tyere not permitted to be in the outside world. The field workers, after studying these cases, sought for information of the family history in order to leurn how the -elements of character of the different inmates had been determined. By this means a large amount 1 of knowledge had been obtained in regard to families having undesirable characters. In addition to these spheres of operations, the field workers had also been set to study the populations of small towns, while family histories, , furnished voluntarily, had_ also been "of great value. A popular idea was that heredity was the principle by which children got their traits from their parents, but this idea was not strictly correct. They did not inherit from tlieir parents but from their races. The science of "heredity might be definitely described as that which told them how racial characteristics reappeared in the/i children of two dissimilar parents', and how they appeared again in the grand-children. It was now recognised that different characteristics were inherited independently of one another and'scientists had come to the conclusion that for every character, which the body'developed,'there were what wero .'■ called determiners. Thus there were determiners for the skin pigment, the eye-colour, the mental attributes,' the moral attributes, and tho physical., conformation. All people did not possess these determiners in the same degree. In some instances they were simplex, and m others duplex. By showing several lantern slides of tabulated pedigrees,. Dr. Davenport indicated how insanity'and disease of particular kinds had been known to come down to.families through several generations. It was difficult for a' feeble-minded man-to marry, other than a feeble-minded woman, and, as the fertility of such a man was often very great, this constituted a social problem of grave importance. In certain States in America, there were laws against certain classes marrying, but unfortunately they we're ; not enforced. ■ He urged the. necessity of keeping the race pure so that they , would leave behind them a heritage to, their ohildren that was the most precious of all. On the other side, he had been glad to observe that they weTe clingingto the policy of a TVliite ■ Australia, when the great struggle eventually came, the triumph morally, mentally:;: and physically would be. for the nation's that had maintained their racial purity. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded Dr. Davenport for his address.