Page:George Archdall Reid 1896 The present evolution of man.djvu/318

306 The following table shows the extent of child sickness and mortality among the whites in India:—

It is not necessary to pursue this subject any farther. I take it that the facts are indisputable. No one doubts that races which dwell within the area infested by any prevalent and death-dealing disease are more resistant to it than races from beyond the area; the only possible question is as to how this difference in resisting power arose. It is commonly said to be due to "acclimatization," a word which, when applied to races, even by the ignorant, is practically a synonym for evolution, though this is not generally understood; a race that has undergone acclimatization is of course one that has undergone evolution. But this acclimatization, this evolution, is popularly supposed to result from the accumulation of acquired traits. I trust I have sufficiently proved that such is not the case, but that it results solely from the accumulation of inborn variations.