What is eugenics? / by Leonard Darwin.

  • Leonard Darwin
Date:
1932
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Credit: What is eugenics? / by Leonard Darwin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    СНАРТЕЕ I Domestic Animals WHEN the time comes for the old dog to die and when with sorrow we shall have to replace him, will not the breed of our new companion be our first thought ? Farmers in all ages of which we have any records, and in all countries, have paid great attention to the breed of all their flocks and herds. Owners of cattle have always known that care in the selection of stock for breeding purposes will pay them well in the long run. Do not all who keep poultry discuss the relative merits of Leghorns and Light Sussex, or of whatever may be the favourite breeds at the time ? Pigs, pigeons, canaries, bees, to say nothing about vegetables—ask those who take a practical interest in rearing them what would be the chance of anyone winning a prize who was careless as to breed. Lastly, the publication of stud books proves what careful consideration is given to the performances of the ancestors of existing horses. And if men, however savage or how¬ ever cultivated, have always given so much time to the study of the breed of the animals they own, why have they not paid equal or more attention to their own breed ? Before a marriage is contracted many questions may be asked as to the amount of money likely to be inherited by the bride, while no consideration is usually given to the quahties of mind or body which she is likely to pass on to her children—to her breed, in fact. The aim of eugenics is to prove that the breed of our own citizens is a matter of vital importance when considering the future welfare of our country. First of all let us see what advantages have actually been gained for man by improving the breed of his domestic 1