Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 86.djvu/511

Rh number of native-born scientific men of Jewish family is smaller than might have been anticipated. Two families are Japanese; none is known to be of Negro or of North American Indian descent.

The scientific men have been divided into four groups in accordance with the merit of their performance. These are: I. those among the leading hundred of our scientific men; II. those among the second and and third hundreds; III. those below this rank in the thousand; and IV. those who in the second arrangement fell below the thousand. As shown in the previous paper, the first three groups cover about equal ranges of merit, and this also holds in a general way for the fourth group. In Table II. is given the nationality of the parents of the scientific men in accordance with these grades. Those of American parentage are of average standing; those of British parentage are below and those of German parentage are above the average. Those of other nationalities are slightly above the average. Among the leading hundred men of science seven are of Jewish family. The Jewish race thus appears to show superior intellectual ability. The differences in the other nationalities and races are so small as to indicate practical equality. The slight superiority of the Germans is due to several men who have come to this country to fill scientific positions, half of whom are of Jewish descent.

The occupations of the fathers of 885 scientific men are given in Table III. Forty-three per cent, belong to the professional classes; 21.2 per cent, to the agricultural classes and 35.7 per cent, to the