Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 7.djvu/248

236 works. Here he has attempted to analyze the "Natural History of the English Men of Science of the Present Day," and to determine, if possible, the effect of the circumstances in which they have lived, including the consideration of their antecedents, their hereditary qualities, their education, and of the influences which have made them what they are.

His definition of a man of science, for the purpose of his inquiry, is characteristically English, although it may be, on the whole, the best attainable one for the special questions of which he treats; he selects, then, only members of the Royal Society of England, and among these he still further separates those who have received a medal for scientific work; those who have presided over a section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science; those who are members of a certain literary and scientific club of London, etc., etc. On these grounds 180 men have been selected, who are presumably representative English scientific men.

The author estimates that at least 300 men could have been selected, and that this gives (having regard to age) about one scientific man to every 10,000 in England.

His question then is, "What are the conditions of nature and the various circumstances and conditions of life—which I include under the general name of nurture—which have selected that one and left the remainder?" The data available for the solution of this question are "the autobiographical replies to a very long series of pointed questions addressed severally to the 180 men" previously described. Of course, these replies were given in confidence, and it is not possible for the reader to connect the various replies, which are often given in detail, with any one person interrogated.

The first inquiry is into the "Race and Birthplace" of the subjects of the inquiry. Out of ten scientific men, five are pure English, one pure Scotch, etc.; their birthplaces are usually in towns away from the seacoast. "The branch of science pursued is often in curious disaccord with the surrounding influence of the birthplace. Mechanicians are usually hardy lads, born in the country; biologists are frequently pure townsfolk."

The occupation and position in life of the parents are next considered, and the chief point of interest here developed is that, out of every 100 scientific men, only three or four have had clergymen for their fathers. Although so many of the graduates of the English universities take holy orders as a means of securing fellowships, yet it is noteworthy that, in a fairly-selected list of 660 separate appointments on scientific councils, only sixteen have been divines, and these have chiefly been proficients in the astronomical and mathematical sciences, and not a single biologist is to be found among them. The inquiry proceeds to physical peculiarities of parents, and the conclusion is reached that out of 165 cases examined these peculiarities were in harmony seventy-eight times, in contrast thirty-one times; from examination of special conditions, such as the height, color of hair, corpulency of the parents, the general result is that the parents of scientific men are decidedly more in harmony as to their physical characteristics than in contrast.

In some of these discussions we confess to a slight feeling of doubt as to the trustworthiness of the conclusions. Although "figures will not lie," there may be an accidental accumulation of coincidences in a small number of cases which will quite mask the real law, and statisticians need excessive care in drawing such conclusions.

In general, this caution is evident throughout the volume. We have given enough to elucidate the author's method; and we will only note those conclusions which seem most interesting, referring the reader to the book itself for details.

The average number of living children of scientific men seems to be, on the whole, decidedly smaller than that of the parents of these men; their health relatively to their parents is not so good; in one out of every three cases their marriages are sterile. In contrast to this, it may be said that their health, relatively to that of the average man, is better and their energy greater. Still the conclusions above noted do not promise well for the continuation of the race as pure blood.

Chapter II. deals with the qualities of the men themselves, as derived from their answers to the questions proposed to them.