THE LAW OF
BIRTHS & DEATHS

THE LAW0/BIRTHS
and DEATHS • BEING A

STUDY OF THE VARIATION IN
THE DEGREE OF ANIMAL FER-
TILITY UNDER THE INFLUENCE
OF THE ENVIRONMENT • By

CHARLES EDWARD PELL

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD
LONDON: ADELPHI TERRACE

First published in 1921

(All ri gilts reserved)

PREFACE

.

THIS little work, as its title suggests, is an attempt to
place the problems of animal fertility and the birthrate
on a more scientific footing than they have hitherto
held. It endeavours to show that the decline of the
birthrate cannot be explained on the hypothesis that it
is due to the deliberate evasion of child-bearing ; but
that it can be explained as the result of a natural law
the function of which is to adjust the degree of fertility
to suit approximately the needs of the race.

The accepted theory cannot, by any stretch of in-
genuity, be made to account for many of the most
significant features of the birthrate problem. It cannot
account for the vast and increasing proportion of com-
pletely sterile marriages among the intellectual classes
in all countries, among the British nobility, and among
the wealthy classes generally — unless, indeed, its advo-
cates are prepared to make, without a particle of reliable
evidence in its support, the remarkable assumption that
anything up to 25 per cent, of these classes take the
most elaborate and troublesome precautions, from the
very marriage eve, to avoid having a single child. It
cannot account for rises in the birthrate such as took
place during the early part of last century in England
and recently in Japan. It cannot account for the seasonal
fluctuations of the birthrate. It ignores the fact that
the use of contraceptives involves the most elaborate
and troublesome precautions at a time when the parties

5

4CG633

6 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

concerned are least in the mood for such precautions,
and assumes that the readiness to adopt these precautions
increases in direct proportion with the absence of the
need for them ; while the desire to avoid having a single
heir is assumed to increase steadily with the acquisition
of wealth and position which should, apparently, tend to
make the arrival of an heir desirable and keenly desired.

On the other hand, all the phenomena of the fluctuating
birthrate may be satisfactorily explained as the effects
of a natural law, the action of which can be clearly traced
among unicellular organisms, throughout the vegetable
and animal kingdoms and throughout human society.

It is true that commissions have sat in Australia,
France and England to investigate the problem, and that
their reports have been in favour of the accepted view ;
but the blight of preconceived opinions was upon all
their works. The National Birthrate Commission in this
country, for example, had before them ample evidence
in support of the view that there has been a vast decline
in fertility due to natural causes ; while the evidence
upon which they based their report in favour of the
opposite hypothesis is quoted in this work as providing
the strongest possible confirmation of the interpretation
they rejected. It is a mistake to suppose that an indi-
vidual acquires as a commissioner an analytical faculty
and sound judgment as to the value of evidence which
he did not possess in a private capacity — that one who
has shown no aptitude for grappling with a problem in
the latter role acquires the necessary capacity as soon
as he assumes the former. Fifty indifferent cooks will
not make one good cook. Fifty mediocre musicians do
not, when taken collectively, constitute a great artist.
And to gather together forty or fifty individuals, not
one of whom has shown the ability to deal with the

PREFACE 7

problem singly, is not the way to solve it. A wholly
exaggerated importance is attached to the reports of
commissions.

The conception that the fluctuations of the birthrate
are governed by a natural law, and that luxurious con-
ditions are unfavourable to fecundity, is not new.
Saddler, in particular, in his work, The Law of Population,
brought together a considerable body of evidence in
support of this view, and quoted in its favour the testi-
mony of Hippocrates, Herodotus, Aristotle, Bacon,
Rousseau, Adam Smith and other notable men. Even
before Saddler, many medical men, among others Dr.
Short, Dr. Black, and Dr. Buchan, were alive to the
fact that, as Bacon had put it, " Repletion is an enemy
to generation," or, in Dr. Black's words, that " high
refinement is an obstacle to propagation."

Saddler summarises Dr. Short's views, as set forth in
his work, New Observations, etc., on Bills of Mortality,
etc., as follows : "He asserts over and over again, and
throughout his whole work, that poor food and hard labour
are conducive to prolificness, and consequently. that * the
poorest and most laborious part of mankind,' to use
his own words, ' are the fruitfullest.' He even carries
this idea so far as to conclude that the most laborious
and toilsome months of the year are the most fruitful
of conceptions, and attributes the great fruitfulness of
the Israelites in Egypt, as a secondary cause, to their
bondage and affliction. He explains the inferior fecundity
of town breeders as compared with those of the country
as arising, among other things, from the more plentiful
eating and drinking, and the greater idleness, which
prevail in populous towns, observing that the most
voluptuous, idle, effeminate and luxurious are the
barrenest ; and he delivers what I believe to be an

8 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

incontrovertible axiom, that though e idleness may be a
friend to venery, it is not so to prolificness.' ' (The
Law of Population, vol. ii. p. 579.) Seeing that Dr.
Short's work was published as far back as 1750, this
is sufficiently noteworthy. But Short offered no expla-
nation of the mechanism by which these results are
brought about.

Saddler summed up his own views as contrasted with
those of Malthus and his followers in the following passage :
" They contend that production precedes population ; I,
on the contrary, maintain that population precedes, and
is, indeed, the cause of production. They teach, that
man breeds up to the capital, or in proportion to the
abundance of food he possesses ; I assert that he is com-
paratively sterile when he is wealthy, and that he breeds
in proportion to his poverty : not meaning, however, by
that poverty a state of privation approaching to actual
starvation, any more than, 1 suppose, they would contend
that extreme and culpable excess is the grand patron
of population. In a word, they hold that a state of ease
and affluence is the great promoter of prolificness ; I
maintain that a considerable degree of labour, and even
privation, is a more efficient cause of an increased degree
of human fecundity." (The Law of Population, vol. ii.
p. 570.) Saddler's work was published in 1830, when
the birthrate was rising.

Quoting such evidence as that provided by the failure
of the peerage to reproduce itself, Saddler furnished a
very effective refutation of many of the conclusions of
Malthus ; but he failed to offer any explanation of the
mechanism by which the law operates, and he embodied
his own conclusions in the assertion that " fertility varies
inversely as the density of population." The transparent
absurdity of this formula delivered him as an easy prey

PREFACE 9

to Macaulay, who took advantage of the opportunity
with his usual ruthlessness and lack of any sense of fair
play where his preconceived ideas and middle-class pre-
judices were concerned. Saddler brought together a
bulky, and in some parts valuable, body of evidence
bearing on the subject in his two volumes, but his
formula does not call for extended criticism.

The best hypotheses yet put forward in the effort to
explain the law governing fertility, known to the writer,
are those of Doubleday and Herbert Spencer. They are
analysed and criticised in the body of this work.

During later years a hypothesis has been developed
by Dr. John Brownlee that the declining birthrate is the
result of a recurrent fluctuation of " germinal vitality."
His theory is that there are vast periodical fluctuations
of fertility, and that periods of high fertility, which he
identifies with periods of high germinal vitality, are
accompanied by the birth of large numbers of great men ;
while during periods of low germinal vitality, or low
fertility, great men are rare. Dr. Brownlee illustrates
the theory with a large body of interesting facts and
statistics. The weaknesses of the hypothesis lie chiefly
in the facts that there is very little reliable evidence
bearing upon birthrate fluctuations in past ages, as periods
of racial expansion are not necessarily due to a high
birthrate ; that estimates of the relative greatness of the
men who appear at different epochs are largely a matter
of individual taste, " greatness " being, in a large pro-
portion of cases, merely the result of exceptional luck
in the advertising line, or " the flatness of the surround-
ing country " ; that the theory is not a necessary de-
duction from the principles of organic evolution, its
relation to which is not explained ; and that it offers
no clue to the mechanism which controls fertility.

10 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

Any hypothesis put forward as an explanation of the
laws which regulate fertility should be a deduction from
the principles of organic evolution, since the degree of
fertility is one of the most potent factors governing the
survival and evolution of species. It is obvious that
there has been a steady decline of fertility from uni-
cellular organisms up to man, and we may, therefore,
ask ourselves : To what law, or laws, must the degree
of fertility have conformed in the past to produce the
results we see ?

But to obtain by deduction a hypothesis which satis-
factorily covers all the facts is not an easy matter. For
if it be asserted that good feeding and improved sur-
roundings generally are conducive to high fertility, a
multitude of facts can be quoted in support of that view
and also against it. And if it be argued that hard con-
ditions are favourable to fertility, an equally imposing
body of facts can be quoted both for and against. The
evidence, indeed, seems to be a hopeless mass of contra-
dictions and inconsistencies. Yet I trust that the diffi-
culty has been successfully overcome in this work by
applying to fertility the principle of the vital optimum,
and distinguishing between fluctuations due to the several
factors : seasonal instincts, sexual fertility, asexual fer-
tility and ovulation. It has been the lumping together
in the past of the varying response of these several factors
to the same conditions which has been largely the cause
of the apparent confusion. When the governing abstract
principles are accurately stated, the evidence falls readily
into line.

This is not a history of the birthrate problem, and it
has not been thought necessary to go at length into those
aspects of the problem already fully dealt with in other
works and worn threadbare by discussion. The non-

PREFACE 11

essential parts of the problem have been dismissed as
briefly as possible in order to economise space for the
main purpose of the work.

Among the most puzzling facts of anthropology and
history have been the small apparent advance in intellect
made by the human race during thousands of years,
and the invariable decline of ancient races after reaching
a high pinnacle of wealth and civilisation. The facts
cease to be very mysterious, however, in the presence
of a law which causes the birthrate to decline with the
deathrate, and renders the race sterile when a certain
stage of development has been reached. Humanity has
been likened to a candle which perpetually burns away
at the top and is renewed from below. It is obvious
that, if this is so, progress beyond a certain level will
be impossible unless the difficulty be grappled with, the
obstacle to further evolution overcome, and an intelligently
regulated birthrate among the abler sections of the com-
munity secured. It is time that the matter was thoroughly
threshed out.

The problem of the declining birthrate is now a critical
one for the French nation. In a decade or so, at the
present rate of progress, we shall have reached the point
where France stands now. So it behoves us to make
up our minds whether we will initiate an intelligently
directed inquiry, determined to leave no stone unturned
to solve the problem, or persist in barking up the wrong
tree until our civilisation crumbles beneath our feet.
The whole future of the human race depends upon the
solution of the problem of the birthrate and population.
Compared with it, troubles in Ireland, unemployment,
or even such events as the recent great war, are merely
passing ripples on the surface of our civilisation. It is
a problem which has interested every great thinker upon

12 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

social questions, from Plato and Aristotle down to Darwin
and Herbert Spencer.

Failure to grapple with it successfully seems to have
been the chief cause of the decline of manv ancient

+f

empires, the names of which have come down to us out
of the remote past, or whose remains still lie scattered
over the surface of the earth. This was almost certainly
the case with Ancient Rome and Greece, for even where
there has been no actual decline of population there has
been a replacement of the homogeneous native race by
a heterogeneous collection of aliens. Neither of these
alternatives can be contemplated by a high-spirited
nation with equanimity ; yet either may overtake the
leading nations of the world within a measurable period
unless the problem of the birthrate be successfully grappled
with. This work will have fulfilled its purpose if it assists
inquiries directed towards that end, and if the problem
is brought one step nearer solution.

/ would like, to express here my obligations to Dr.
Halford Ross, Dr. John Brownlee, and Dr. Leonard Hill,
who have been among the foremost in pointing out the
inadequacy of the " race-suicide " theory to explain the
facts, and to whom I am indebted for valuable help in
various ways. They are, of course, in no way committed
to the particular theories and interpretations expounded
in this work. Also I am indebted to old friends — in
particular to Mr. Horace F. Bastings, Mr. W. H.
Trimble, and Mr. G. Richardson — in Dunedin, New
Zealand.

CONTENTS

PREFACE .

CHAPTER I
RACE SUICIDE OB A NATURAL LAW? . . . .15

CHAPTER II
THE PRINCIPLE DEDUCED . . . • .37

CHAPTER III

THE PRINCIPLE AS MANIFESTED IN THE VEGETABLE
KINGDOM . . . . . . .44

CHAPTER IV
ON NERVOUS ENERGY . . . . . .56

CHAPTER V
THE PRINCIPLE AS MANIFESTED IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM . 71

CHAPTER VI
THE PRINCIPLE AS MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY . . 96

CHAPTER VII

THE PRINCIPLE AS MANIFESTED AMONG UNICELLULAR

ORGANISMS ....... 138

CHAPTER
ASEXUAL GENESIS AND OVULATION . . . .147

13

14 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

CHAPTER IX

PAGE

SOME POSSIBLE CRITICISMS ANTICIPATED . . . 155

CHAPTER X
MAI/THUS ........ 162

CHAPTER XI
SPENCER ........ 166

CHAPTER XII

DOUBLEDAY'S THEORY AND RECENT EXPERIMENTS . . 177

CHAPTER XIII
THE FUTURE . . . 183

THE LAW OF BIRTHS
AND DEATHS

CHAPTER I
RACE SUICIDE OR A NATURAL LAW?

So accustomed are we to the small families usual in
the more prosperous European countries, that we seldom
realise how vast is the gap which separates the full potential
fertility of the human race from its actual or realised
fertility. A family of five or six is looked upon as quite
large in England, while a family of ten or a dozen is
regarded as enormous. Yet the average family among
the French-Canadians is said to be over nine, and Dr.
C. E. Woodruff asserts that there are fifteen to twenty
births per family among the Philippinos even yet.1

The period of potential fertility among the women of
civilised communities is from fifteen to about fifty years.
A rate of even one child per annum would thus give a
potential fertility of about thirty children for a woman
who married before twenty and lived until past fifty
years of age. Nor is this the full story. " Aristotle
mentions a woman who had five children at a birth four
times successively ; Menage one who had twenty-one
children in seven years." 2 Mulhall also mentions one

1 Expansion of Races, Woodruff, p. 177.
1 Dictionary of Statistics, Mulhall.
15

16 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

woman?' who had fifty-seven children ; another who had

; a -id a third who had fifty-two, "never less
than three at a birth." Yet, " according to Bertillon
and other authorities, the European average shows that
100 married women will have in their life 420 children," *
or an average of 4*2 per marriage. To what is this
enormous difference between the potential fertility and
the actual fertility of the race due ?

There are, of course, many incidental causes, such as
late marriages and early deaths, diseases and various
peculiar customs among many races ; but such causes
go only a trifling way towards explaining the vast differ-
ence. As regards disease, there is no ground for believing
that those diseases which are most likely to cause sterility
are more prevalent now than they were when the birth-
rate was at its highest, so that factor as a possible ex-
planation may be dismissed.

Apart from merely incidental factors, we may assume
the difference between the potential and the actual
fertility of the race to be due to one of two causes : a
natural law which regulates the degree of fertility to suit
approximately the needs of the race, or evasion of child-
bearing by artificial methods. The second of these is
the explanation usually adopted.

During the first three-quarters of last century the
birthrate was substantially higher than it is at present,
although it was, even then, only a fraction of the potential
fertility of the race. Then, as now, the largest families
were produced among just those classes which could
least afford to rear them, and the inevitable hardships
which resulted led to the formation of the Neo-Malthusian
League, the express purpose of which was the dissemina-
tion of information as to the means by which excessive

1 Dictionary of Statistics, Mulhall.

RACE SUICIDE OR A NATURAL LAW? 17

*. child-bearing might most readily be avoided. Into the
controversy which has raged as to the desirability of
spreading such information it is not necessary to enter
here.

It so happened that just about the time that the Neo-
Malthusian League propaganda in England was getting
well under way — about the year 1876 — the birthrate
began to decline. Drs. Newsholme and Stevenson find
that the decline began generally about 1876, and is much
the same for all the countries studied.1

Naturally, such a coincidence has led to a belief that
the decline is due to deliberate restrictive measures.
Yet the decline has been continuous in France for a
century or more, and vast fluctuations of the birthrate —
increases as well as decreases — have occurred, and still
occur, even in countries where the influence of that league
is unknown. Under Francis I French families averaged
seven children ; under Louis IV, five ; in 1789, four ;
in 1890, three ; and by 1914 the average had declined
to about two.2 Malthus quotes M. Necker and M. Muret,
showing that the demographic phenomena in both France
and Switzerland were exactly the same at the end of
the eighteenth century as now, the poorer districts being
much more fertile than the richer.3 As will presently
be shown, it is very probable that the coincidence between
the commencement of the decline of the birthrate and
the activities of the Neo-Malthusian League in England
was merely due to the fact that the same development
of education and intellectual activity which led to the
decline led naturally to speculation as to the means by
which large families could be avoided.

1 Expansion of Races, Woodruff.

1 North American Review, December 1919.

* The Principle of Population, Book II, chap, v, and Book IV, chap. v.

2

18 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

Moreover, we find that, although the poorest classes
have the least means available for rearing children and
the strongest reasons for avoiding them, it is they, never-
theless, who have the largest families ; while the wealthiest
classes, who have no lack of means for rearing children,
have the fewest, and a large proportion of them with
large fortunes and titles to transmit to their heirs are
childless. It is attempted to explain these facts by
" the theory of social capillarity." As people become
more highly educated, it is argued, and advance in life
their wants and ambitions expand, while the struggle
for social prominence grows ever keener. They display
more * prudence and foresight, and this results in the
careful limitation of the number of their children. There
is an element of truth in this ; but if the decline in the
birthrate were due to such causes, we should expect to
find the smallest families among the lower middle classes,
who have to fight most keenly for a place in the sun,
and who are certainly not lacking in prudence or foresight
where their worldly interests are concerned. But the
lower middle classes have larger families than the very
wealthy. Statistics by the most reliable authorities show
that the degree of fertility declines steadily from the
very poorest classes to the very richest, and that the
smallest families are found among the most wealthy
people, to whom the theory of social capillarity has no
real application.

A fallacy which can be briefly dealt with and dismissed
is the belief that religion powerfully affects the birthrate.
It has been asserted that the Roman Catholic Irish are
very fertile because their religion forbids the restriction
of the family by artificial methods, and that the Jews
are fertile for similar reasons. The truth is that Pro-
testants, Roman Catholics and Jews are alike infertile

RACE SUICIDE OR A NATURAL LAW? 19

or fertile according to whether they are rich or poor,
prosperous or unprosperous. Giving evidence before the
National Birthrate Commission, the Chief Rabbi declared
that the use of contraceptives was strongly condemned
among the Jews as unclean and demoralising. It may
be added that from time immemorial childlessness has
been looked upon among the Jews as something akin to
a disgrace. Yet he pointed out that the Jewish birth-
rate varied greatly in different countries. " In some it
is higher than in Whitechapel (it rose during the period
1886-90 owing to the immigration of poor Jews in White-
chapel from 35* 7 to 38*2). For instance, in Bulgaria it
is 39* 6 ; Galicia, 38 ; Russia, 36 ; while in others it is
lower than the French birthrate. For instance, 16*2 in
Bavaria in the year 1913, while in 1906 in Breslau the
Jewish birthrate was 15*3.*' l Roman Catholic France
has about the lowest birthrate in the world for any
country as a whole, while the Roman Catholic Irish
become just as infertile in America as any other race.
Dr. C. E. Woodruff mentions that the degree of fertility
of the various races in the United States is said to be
in the following order : Bohemians, Russians, Hun-
garians, Italians, Scotch, Scandinavian Canadians, English,
Germans, French, Irish.2 Thus, according to this list,
the Irish become the least fertile of all races in America.
And speaking of the Roman Catholic French-Canadians,
Dr. Woodruff says : " Though the French-Canadian
birthrate (49*08) is still more than double that of the
English -Canadians, (23- 41), the big families are becoming
rare." 3 At present the French-Canadians are kept back-
ward and ignorant by the dominance of a reactionary

1 The Declining Birthrate, p. 67.

* The Expansion of Boce*, Woodruff, p. 178.

• Ibid., p. 181.

20 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

priesthood ; but it may be confidently predicted that
with the spread of education among them their religion
will in no way prevent the usual gradual decline of the
birthrate.

Another factor much quoted as being largely responsible
for the decline of the birthrate is the alleged spread of
the practice of abortion. This also can be briefly dealt
with and dismissed. The practice is familiar even to
the very lowest races, and there is not the slightest trust-
worthy evidence that it is more prevalent now than at
any other time. Miscarriage may be more frequent
owing to the much greater sensitivity and more highly
strung character of the modern woman ; but the belief
in a large increase of the practice of induced abortion
appears to be based on nothing more substantial than
the stories which Tom tells Dick, and which Dick repeats
to Harry. Thus Mr. 0. C. Beale, in his volume Racial
Decay, mentions a tale he was told of a person in the
suburbs of Melbourne who claimed to procure " twelve
hundred abortions annually at a uniform fee of one pound
each. She has no further trouble, but the victims trail
away, all injured, some to die such lingering deaths that,
if described, they would chill the reader's blood with
horror." This yarn is typical of the rest, and illustrates
the utter lack of critical faculty with which they are
retailed. Here is a woman alleged to procure about four
abortions daily, earn twelve hundred pounds a year,
and deal out wholesale death and mutilation without
the slightest trouble from the police, although they are
continually on the watch for these things, and although
we know that to be mixed up in one of these cases means
professional ruin to a chemist or medical man. A whole
budget of similar stories might be quoted, but they are
not worth criticising. What is needed is a proper sense

RACE SUICIDE OR A NATURAL LAW? 21

of perspective. Abortion is probably most common
among just those classes where, and during just those
periods when, the birthrate is at its highest.

As regards the effect of increased age at marriage,
evidence given before the National Birthrate Commission
was to the effect that the age of the man made little
difference, whereas it was found that there was a loss
of about one-third of a child for each additional year
of the wife's age at marriage.1 As the age at marriage
is stated to have increased only a little more than a year
on the average this would account for but a small frac-
tion of the decline, especially when we remember that
in India, where child marriages are common, early
child-bearing is found to result in early cessation of
the child-bearing function.

The case for those who believe that the decline of the
birthrate is due to artificial measures must be based
upon the use of contraceptives, or means for preventing
conception. This deserves more serious consideration,
though, as will be presently shown, it is not necessary
to discuss it at great length. It will suffice to point out
that these things, to be made effective, must be used
with regularity, as a single omission might result in
conception, assuming that there has been no decline in
natural fertility. Now, according to information gathered
by the French Ministry of Finance, there were in the
year 1890 2,000,000 married couples in France without
children ; 2,500,000 with only one child ; 2,300,000 with
two children ; 1,500,000 with three children ; and only
about 1,000,000 with more than three.2 So if we assume
that the decline of the French birthrate is due to the
use of contraceptives, we must assume that they are

1 The Declining Birthrate, pp. 206-7.
8 The Times, June 23, 1890.

22 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

used with regularity by the vast majority of married
couples of child-bearing age from week to week, and this
would be true of all the other leading countries of the
world. This would necessitate a trade comparable in
magnitude with that in some of the commoner necessaries
of life, such as mustard or salt. No evidence has ever
been produced of the existence of a trade of such magni-
tude. The fact that many shops are devoted to their
sale in London or Paris proves little. Over the greater
part of the country they can seldom be seen exposed
for sale at all. The onus of proof rests with those who
assert the existence of such a trade, but though com-
missions have sat in France, Australia and London, they
have never yet obtained evidence of the existence of a
trade comparable in magnitude with the effects it is
supposed to have produced.

These commissions, indeed, failed to concentrate on
the really essential question. They should have investi-
gated the subject by asking if there has, or has not, been
a vast decline in the birthrate due to natural causes,
and which could not be due to the use of contraceptives
on no matter how vast a scale. But their examination
of this aspect of the problem was perfunctory in the
extreme. To prove that prevention is practised on a
considerable scale is not to prove that there has been
no decline in the birthrate due to natural causes ; and if
there has been such a decline, it is clear that we cannot
solve the problem of the birthrate until we have ascer-
tained its extent, character and cause. And by asking
ourselves this question we go straight to the essential
point and avoid an immense amount of tedious and un-
profitable discussion. It is possible to answer it by the
use of test cases.

We will first take the results of three inquiries carried

RACE SUICIDE OR A NATURAL LAW? 23

out respectively by the National Birthrate Commission,
Lady Willoughby de Broke and the Fabian Society.1
In each case circulars were sent out to middle-class families
selected very much at random, putting the direct question
whether measures were taken to limit the families and
asking for particulars. In the case of the first-mentioned
inquiry 477 definite replies were received, and of these
287 claimed to be restricting the number of children
as against 188 who claimed that their families were un-
limited, or a proportion of 60' 6 per cent, against 39*4.
Even if these figures were worth their face value, they
would not account for the facts, since, had the English
race been still as fertile as, for instance, the Philippinos,
we should still find enormous families among those who
do not use restrictive means ; but this we do not find.
Some of the replies, however, contained particulars of
the methods employed, and it appears that only 98 used
any chemical or mechanical device, and that the remain-
ing 105 who gave particulars merely restricted marital
intercourse to those periods when conception is least
likely. But there is no period when conception is not
possible. It is merely a matter of the chances of con-
ception being smaller at some periods than at others,
and if the race were still as fertile as the Philippinos,
conception would be certain in the course of a few weeks.
Only one conception every twelve months or so is necessary
to produce the largest families. Now, if we assume that
the same proportion prevails among those who gave no
particulars, we find that of the 477 who gave definite
replies only about 140, or less than a third, claim to be
taking any really effective measures to limit their families,
a proportion utterly inadequate to account for the general
decline.

1 The Declining Birthrate, p. 21 et. seq.

24 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

The small inquiry conducted by Lady Willoughby
de Broke yielded very similar results. Some 94 definite
replies were received, and of these 75 claimed that the
families were limited as against 19 which asserted that
no limitation was practised. But 70 replies gave par-
ticulars, and it seems that in only 33 cases were artificial
methods used against 37 in which the only method was
voluntary restraint. Thus we find that only a little
more than a third of the definite replies claimed that
any really effective methods of limitation were adopted.

In the case of the Fabian Society's inquiry (conducted
by Mr. Sidney Webb), of 316 marriages 242 were reported
to be limited as against 74 unlimited. In this case no
particulars of the methods used were given, but if we
assume the same proportion to prevail in this case as
in the others between those who took definite measures
to limit the family and those who merely confined inter-
course to the supposed " safe " periods — quite a reasonable
assumption — we again find that only about one-third
were taking any really effective contraceptive measures.

But the most striking fact has yet to be mentioned.
In the case of the first inquiry the number of children
per marriage (excluding childless marriages) was actually
greater among those families claiming to be limited than
among those where no contraceptive measures were
taken. The average number of children per family in
the one case was 2-4, in the other T6. Lady Willoughby
de Broke's inquiry showed that the average " limited "
family was 3J, whereas in the " unlimited " families the
average was only 2|. The Fabian inquiry showed that
the " limited " family numbered on the average 2' 7
and the " unlimited " family 2 -88 ; but the average
duration of the former was only fourteen years against
eighteen years for the latter.

RACE SUICIDE OR A NATURAL LAW? 25

These inquiries were conducted mainly among the
middle-classes, and that of the Fabian Society was con-
fined to its own members, the subjects ranging from
skilled artisans to professional men, but " (with few
exceptions) the tiny fraction of the population who have
incomes from investments exceeding £1,000 a year "
were excluded. Thus the individuals selected by the
Fabian Society were almost exclusively people of limited
means, active intelligence and considerable ambition.
Had it been desired to select that section of the earth's
population which, above all others, was most likely to
be using contraceptives, no better choice could have
been made. Yet, in spite of this, only about one-third
appear to have been taking real contraceptive measures ;
while in the case of two inquiries out of three the number
of children per family was actually smaller in those
families which were unlimited than in those where it was
claimed that contraceptive measures were taken.

In face of these facts the National Birthrate Com-
mission brought in a verdict that there is no evidence
of a decline in fertility due to natural causes, and met
the fact that the " limited " families were larger than
the " unlimited " by declaring that " this divergence
could no doubt be explained in many ways." No attempt
was made, however, to give even a single explanation.
To any one with an unprejudiced mind it must be obvious
that these facts, if they can be regarded as trustworthy,
provide decisive proof that the use of contraceptives is
not on a scale sufficient to account for the decline of the
birthrate, and that there has been a decline of natural
fertility sufficient to account for the whole phenomenon.
The verdict of the National Birthrate Commission is one
more striking example of the hypnotic effect of pre-
conceived ideas.

26 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

Quite apart from the above facts, the commission had
before it an abundance of testimony that there has been
a decline of fertility due to natural causes. Dr. Mary
Scharlieb l testified that as the result of her inquiries
among women she finds that those who do not interfere
with nature do not now have such enormous families.
Out of 160 cases of childless women which came under
her notice in only seven instances was this due to de-
liberate prevention. A considerable number of leading
scientific and medical men and women testified to the
reality of the decline of fertility apart from the use of
contraceptives . 2

An abundance of evidence can readily be found by
those who will consent to look at it and do not allow
themselves to be hypnotised by preconceived opinions.
On this point some interesting facts will presently be
given, but first it will be well to point out that the best
test of whether there has or has not been a decline of
natural fertility is to be found in the proportion of com-
pletely sterile marriages among the very rich, and among
those people who we may suppose would have been keen
to have at least one or two children. It is the testimony
of every intelligent observer of human nature that the
desire for one or two children is almost universal among
those people who have adequate means to support them.
Therefore, if there has been no decrease of natural fertility,
we cannot expect to find any great increase of completely
infertile marriages among people of means and intelli-
gence ; whereas if there has been a great decrease of
fertility due to natural causes, we may expect to find
a proportionate increase of completely childless families

1 The Declining Birthrate. .

8 Including Dr. John Brovvnlee, Prof. Leonard Hill, Dr. Halford Ross,
Dr, Chalmers and others.

RACE SUICIDE OR A NATURAL LAW? 27

among the well-to-do. And these childless marriages
among the wealthy provide the best test, because here
the use of contraceptives as an explanation may be ruled
out almost with certainty ; whereas where there are
children, even though only a few, it is possible to argue
that there are as many as are desired ; while in the case
of childless people of limited means it is possible to argue
that they do not feel that they can afford to support
children.

We can now examine a few interesting test cases.
Darwin mentions that 19 per cent, of the English nobility
are childless, " which is more than three times the average
for the rest of the nation." l As the English nobility
have titles and usually considerable wealth to transmit
to their heirs, and as they generally marry for the express
purpose of obtaining heirs, this fact requires some other
explanation than the use of contraceptives. The late
Sir Francis Galton suggested that childlessness among
the peerage was frequently due to marriages between
the peers and heiresses, who are often the only children
of their parents and therefore of infertile stock. This
may sometimes be a contributory cause, but as an ex-
planation it is utterly inadequate. Only a fraction of
the peers marry heiresses, and of these only a small
proportion will be of infertile stock. Moreover, the
argument is negatived by Galton's own principle of
Regression to Mediocrity. If parents are so infertile as
to have only a single child during a normal length of
married life, they will, in respect of fertility, be abnormal
variations — variations, that is, a long way from the
mean or average of the race. According to the law of
Regression to Mediocrity an abnormal variation usually

1 Dictionary of Statistics, Mulhall. I believe that the percentage is
now considerably larger.

28 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

reverts back towards the mean or average of the race
in the next generation. As fertility is subject to the
laws of variation, the only child of infertile parents should
be less infertile, on the average, than the parents were.
There seems to be no escape from the conclusion that
the large proportion of sterile marriages among the English
nobility is due to the circumstances under which they live.
In his work, The Family and the Nation, Dr. Whetham
has given figures showing the degree of fertility among
" men of specialised ability occupying permanent posts
in the University of Cambridge." It appears that in
1909 there were forty childless couples who had been
married for periods of five years or longer, while seventy
married couples whose youngest child was over ten years
of age had produced 199 children. Although the way
in which the figures are given obscures the proportion,
it is evident that there is a remarkably large number
of completely sterile couples. Apparently it is con-
siderably greater than that shown by the peerage. But
there can be no question of heiresses in this case. Shall
we then assume that they have used contraceptives
from the very marriage eve ? Dr. Whetham admits
that " the large proportion of childless couples may
indicate that men and women of academic distinction
are often not fertile and inclined to late marriages, while
the average number (2-84) of children to a marriage
which produces any offspring is closely concordant with
that in other sections of the educated class, and is probably
determined by the same causes." So, while Dr. Whetham
is disposed to acquit the completely sterile couples of
being so unnaturally selfish as to take the most trouble-
some precautions from the very marriage eve to avoid
having a single child, yet he assumes that those who
have a few children must be limiting their families. But

RACE SUICIDE OR A NATURAL LAW? 29

we shall find as we proceed ample evidence that intel-
lectual activity is inimical to fertility, and if this result
is so marked among the completely sterile it should be
capable of reducing the average fertility of the rest.
Why is it necessary to appeal to natural infertility in one
case and not in the other ?

What are the implications if, as Dr. Whetham admits,
the sterility of the childless marriages is due to natural
causes ? It is impossible to assume that the environ-
ment has picked out a certain number of couples and
annihilated their fertility, while leaving the fertility of
the remainder unaffected. When wild animals are con-
fined it is found that the very fertile types are rendered
only moderately fertile ; that the moderately fertile
types are rendered only slightly fertile ; and that the
slightly fertile types, such as parrots, are rendered com-
pletely sterile. So, then, with the wives of Cambridge
professors and others. We should expect that conditions
which render completely sterile those whose natural
fertility is very slight would render the moderately fertile
individuals only slightly fertile, and the very fertile
individuals only moderately fertile. The low average
fertility, therefore, is the logical consequence of condi-
tions which render so large a proportion completely
sterile.

Those classes the members of which combine a com-
fortable income with a considerable degree of intellectual
activity have invariably a very small average family,
and a very large proportion of completely childless couples.
Thus the average number of children among the English
intellectuals is about 1*5, and the proportion of childless
marriages among any selected body of them will usually
work out at from 25 to 33 per cent. Taking a list of
twenty-eight of the leading members of the Eugenics

30 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

Society, I found that the average size of their families
was 2 '33, and that 25 per cent, of the marriages were
childless. The Eugenics Society is composed of able
people who believe that it is desirable to secure the
largest possible proportion of children from the ablest
sections of the community, and that the present position
in which the least capable are reproducing most rapidly
is likely to be disastrous to the efficiency of the race in
the long run. It is not at all likely that they would
publicly expound such beliefs and yet take measures to
limit their own families, seeing that they are themselves
among the abler sections of the community. Here again
the number of completely sterile marriages provides the
best test, and by far the most probable explanation is
that the vast proportion of such marriages among them
is due to the same causes which have produced a similar
result among the staff of Cambridge University. The
proportion is greater than among the nobility, and illus-
trates the fact that intellectual activity seems to be more
potent in reducing fertility than social position. It may
be added that the families do not consist almost exclu-
sively of one or two children as we should expect on the
contraceptive theory, but of sterile marriages, with ones,
twos, threes, fours and fives, scattered in just the random
fashion we should expect from a natural law.

A still more instructive case is that of the members
of the National Birthrate Commission. Here is a body
of people who sincerely believe that unless some means
are found of grappling successfully with the birthrate
problem we run the gravest risk of ultimate disaster.
So strongly do they feel on this point that they give
their services gratis for a considerable time in order to
investigate the problem. Yet I find that the average
number of children per family among them is only T76,

RACE SUICIDE OR A NATURAL LAW? 81

and that sixteen out of the forty-one whom I was able
to look up are childless ! 1

Of course, a good deal of cheap cynicism might be
indulged in over the fact that over one-third of them
are without children, and that they brought in a verdict
that there is no evidence of a decline of fertility due to
natural causes ; but my own explanation of the case
is that it is just because they were conscious, in each
individual case, that their childlessness was the result
of natural causes that they consented to sit on the com-
mission. In truth, the cynical attitude which many
people mistake for a knowledge of human nature really
represents a profound ignorance of human nature. Had
infertility in this case been due to anything but natural
causes, they would have avoided that Commission. A
curiously similar instance is provided by the case of the
Emperor Augustus. He only obtained one child from a
sequence of three wives himself, yet all his measures to
combat the declining birthrate of Rome were based on
the assumption that there was no decline of natural
fertility. It may be added that a footnote to Gibbon
mentions that the marriages of the Emperors were usually
infertile.

Statistics show that there are as many as 25 per cent,
of completely infertile marriages among sections of the
native-born population of the United States, and this
appears to be the rule among those people who combine
considerable means with considerable intellectual activity.
Why intellectual activity and infertility should go together
will be explained later, but now we may inquire whether
these childless people desire children or not. The develop-
ment of the birthrate problem has seen the invention

1 According to the figures given in Who's Who, not necessarily accurate
to a decimal point, but probably not far out.

32 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

of a strange being who may be best described as the
" demographic woman." She bears to this problem
much the same relation that the " economic man " bore
to the science of political economy during the first half
of last century. That is to say, she resembles nothing
actually living on the earth, but is a weird, phantom
creature invented in the attempt to justify untenable
theories. By some strange process she has lost every
trace of her natural instinct. Far from having a natural
desire for children, she is prepared to take the most
troublesome precautions from the very marriage eve to
avoid having a single child, yet, strange to say, is said
to lavish more affection on a pet dog or cat than would
suffice for a houseful of babies. Many people have heard
of her, but very few people have met her. She is vaguely
referred to as the " Society woman," though whose society
she frequents it is difficult to say. For those who talk
so knowingly about her would be indignant if it were
suggested that she is to be found among their own wives,
their own mothers, their own sisters, or even among their
relatives and friends. The " demographic woman " is
invariably someone else's wife, sister, or friend.

Of course, this strange creature is mainly the product
of undisciplined imaginations. She is the result of seeing
everything in false perspective and raising the exception
to the position of the rule. The most unnatural specimens
of femininity to be discovered are seized upon and repre-
sented as typical of the whole. A taste for short skirts
or transparent stockings is regarded as a sure sign of
degeneration ; while the natural tendency of childless
women to lavish affection upon cats and dogs is repre-
sented as clear proof that they are devoid of all natural
instincts. The worst possible construction is placed
upon everything they say or do. It would be more

RACE SUICIDE OR A NATURAL LAW? 33

charitable to infer that their peculiar affection for cats
and dogs is due to the absence of more natural objects
of affection through causes beyond their control.

Surely it is time to call a truce to these extravagant
and rather libellous assumptions put forward in the
effort to justify untenable beliefs. In face of the enormous
proportion of completely childless marriages among the
intellectual classes generally, the wives of the leading
members of the Eugenics Society, the wives of members
of the staff of Cambridge University, and other sections
of the community, it is not unreasonable to ask people
to reflect upon the implications of these assumptions.
At any rate, before accepting the view that there has
been a wholesale degeneration of the natural instincts
of the wives of the ablest members of the community
we are justified in asking for proof, and thus far not a
scrap of trustworthy evidence in support has been supplied.

All the evidence points to the conclusion that these
childless couples keenly desire children. Nearly every
doctor or other authority competent to express an opinion
is emphatic in his testimony that the overwhelming
majority of married women want one or two children,
and anyone who will note the hungry looks of childless
women in the presence of children will easily confirm
this opinion. The following passage, written by an acute
observer of human nature during a visit to the United
States, and descriptive of the attitude of the American
people towards children, is typical of the impression
made upon those who do not happen to be trying to
justify preconceived ideas at the moment : ' You may
see that couple later — or a couple that might have been
them — in a suburban house — a real home for the time
being — with a colourable imitation of a garden all about
it, and ' the finest suburban railway service in the world '

3

34 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

just round the corner : the whole being a home and
environment for the rearing of children. I have sat at
dinner in such houses, and the talk was of nothing but
children ; and anybody who possessed any children, or
any reliable knowledge of the ways of children, was sure
of a respectful hearing and warm interest. If one said :
' By the way, I think I may have a photograph of the
kid in my pocket,' every eye would reply immediately,
' Out with it man — or woman ! — and don't pretend you
don't always carry the photograph with you in order to
show it off ! ' In such a house it is proved that children
are unmatched as a subject of conversation. And the
conversation is rendered more thrilling by the sense of
partially tamed children — children fully aware of their
supremacy — prowling to and fro unseen in muddy boots
and torn pinafores, and speculating in their realistic
way on the mysteriousness of adults. * We are keen on
children here,' says the youngish father frankly." l Such
a passage needs no comment beyond pointing out that
in these very circles the number of childless marriages
may be anything up to 25 per cent.

One striking confirmation of the view that childless
women usually desire children is to be found in the growth
of a large demand for children for adoption in this country.
The supplying of this demand — which comes from all
classes, ranging from miners to millionaires — has been
organised by the National Children Adoption Association,
and nearly fifteen hundred applications for children for
adoption have been received. Curiously enough, these
are not all from childless couples, but frequently come
from people who have one child and want another. Per-
haps they have a boy and want a girl, or vice versa. Girls,
it seems, are in much greater demand than boys. This

1 Arnold Bennett, Harper's Magazine, November, 1912.

RACE SUICIDE OR A NATURAL LAW? 35

demand for children for adoption is symptomatic of a
much larger desire for children, since for every couple
who are prepared to adopt the children of strangers
there will be hundreds of couples who keenly desire
children of their own, but hesitate to adopt children of
doubtful heredity.

An account of a similar and much larger demand for
children for adoption in the United States appeared in
the Cosmopolitan Magazine for September 1910. It was
even stated that the demand exceeded the supply ; but
as I have not been able to confirm these statements, I
do not insist upon them. Yet it stands on historical
record that there was a decline in the birthrate of Ancient
Rome and Greece similar to that which we are witnessing
to-day, and the practice of adopting children sprang up
among the childless then even as it is doing now. Then
also the current explanation was that the people were
deliberately evading child-bearing, and that, out of "pure
cussedness " and wrongheadedness apparently, they pre-
ferred to adopt the children of strangers rather than have
children of their own. Are a few thousand more years
to pass before the world will consent to make the common-
sense recognition of the fact that these things are governed
by natural laws not yet under our control ?

The statesmen of Ancient Rome were not blind to
the dangers which threatened their country as the result
of the declining birthrate. The Emperor Augustus chased
the red herring of " race suicide " to far greater lengths
than the statesmen of to-day have done, and offered the
most lavish privileges to the parents of large families.
But it was all in vain. The matter was not within the
parents' control. In spite of all efforts to check the
decline, the ancient Roman race practically died out, and
was replaced -by a miscellaneous collection of aliens. The

36 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

same fate overtook the Ancient Greeks, and the surface
of the earth is covered with the ruins of ancient civilisa-
tions which rose to power, became great, and then were
stricken with a mysterious decline. The same fate may
overtake our civilisation of to-day unless our statesmen
rouse themselves, investigate the problem along scientific
lines, and grapple with the question as a true statesman
would.

CHAPTER II

THE PRINCIPLE DEDUCED

IN considering the problem of animal fertility the subject
may be divided into two parts : —

(1) The variation of the inherited potential degree of
fertility as between species and species ; and

(2) The variation of the actual degree of fertility of a
given species under the direct influence of the environment.

The second of these is the really important question.
The first is only important from our present point of
view from the fact that its solution may lead to the
solution of the second. If we can obtain a generalisation
accurately defining the facts of the first problem, we
may be able to deduce therefrom the solution of the
second.

The theory of evolution assumes the development of
the higher forms of life, through an ascending grade of
types, from the most primitive life-cells. A rate of
reproduction suitable for the lower types will not be
suitable for the higher. As the most primitive life-cells
have a rate of reproduction which makes an individual
the ancestor of billions in the course of a few days, it
follows that from these up to man and the still slower-
breeding elephant the rate of reproduction must be
graduated down according to definite principles. Our task
is to express these principles in a single generalisation.

The necessary condition of the continued existence of
any species is that its reproductive capacity should be

37

38 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

sufficient to maintain its numbers in the environment
under which it lives. On the other hand, it is a necessary
condition of progressive evolution that the reproductive
capacity should diminish as the survival-capacity of the
organism increases. In other words, that the birthrate
should diminish as the deathrate diminishes. For, except
under exceptional circumstances, where there is ample
opportunity for expansion, it is obviously impossible to
have a high birthrate and a low deathrate. If the birth-
rate does not diminish, then the deathrate cannot, in the
long run, diminish either. On the other hand, where
the deathrate is high, the birthrate must be high also,
or the species will become extinct. "The condor1 lays
a couple of eggs and the ostrich a score, and yet in the
same country the condor may be the more numerous
of the two ; the fulmar petrel lays but one egg, yet it
is believed to be the most numerous bird in the world.
One fly deposits hundreds of eggs, and another, like the
Hippobosca, a single one ; but this difference does not
determine how many of the two species can be supported
in a district. A large number of eggs is of some import-
ance to those species which depend on a fluctuating
amount of food, for it allows them to rapidly increase
in number. But the real importance of a large number
of eggs or seeds is to make up for much destruction at
some period of life, and this period in the great majority
of cases is an early one. If an animal can in any way
protect its own eggs or young, a small number may be
produced, and yet the average stock be fully kept up ;
but if many eggs or young are destroyed, many must
be produced, or the species become extinct." 2

In short, it is a necessary condition of the success of
the whole evolutionary scheme that the birthrate and
1 See p. 170. * Origin of Species, Darwin, chap. iii.

THE PRINCIPLE DEDUCED 89

the deathrate should, in the long run, compensate each
other. Therefore we may express the facts in the follow-
ing generalisation : —

The inherited potential degree of fertility of a species
in comparison with that of another species will bear an
inverse proportion to its capacity for survival under the
environment to which it is adapted.

The validity of this generalisation is almost self-
evident. The fact that a species survives in undiminished
numbers is conclusive evidence that its rate of reproduc-
tion bears a suitable proportion to its capacity for sur-
vival under that environment. To illustrate this, we will
take the case of the mouse in comparison with that of
the brown rat. Although the rat is many times larger
than the mouse, their rates of reproduction are approxi-
mately similar. The mouse, however, is tolerated where
the rat is fiercely persecuted. The former, owing to its
smaller size, can find its way into places inaccessible to
the latter, is less conspicuous, and can live upon scraps
of food which would be utterly insufficient for the rat.
As a consequence, the brown rat, in spite of its greater
size, strength and cunning, needs as high a rate of repro-
duction as the mouse in order to maintain its numbers.
Again, the water-rat, although somewhat smaller and
weaker than the brown rat, has a much lower rate of
reproduction. That this low rate of reproduction is
sufficient is shown by its survival in undiminished numbers.
It is subject to little persecution, has great powers of
evasion owing to its semi-aquatic habits, and lives on
vegetable food which it can find in abundance all the
year round.

Thus we see that each species has a normal rate of
reproduction approximately suitable to the conditions of
its environment. The potential degree of fertility will

40 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

be fixed by the general principles of variation and adapta-
tion which govern evolution as a whole. Into the nature
of these principles it is no part of our purpose to enter
here. Suffice to say, that as the factors which make for
survival develop fertility must diminish. The chief of
these factors will be cerebral development, size, weapons
of defence and organs of locomotion. All of these will be
important, but, as a factor making for survival, cerebral
development overshadows all the rest. Man, who is
deficient in all the other factors, is nevertheless enabled
to increase rapidly in numbers with a rate of reproduction
lower than that of any animal save the elephant. The
paramount importance of this factor should be borne in
mind in considering the next part of our subject.

We now come to the really important part of the
problem. The question which we have to answer is :
What law governs the variation of the degree of fertility
in response to the direct action of the environment ?
We have seen that it is a necessary condition of the
success of the evolutionary scheme that the variation of
the inherited potential degree of fertility between species
and species must bear an inverse proportion to their
capacity for survival. But the actual degree of fertility
is decided by the direct action of the environment, and if
this generalisation is to hold good for the larger problem,
it must also hold good for the net result of the variation
of the degree of fertility under the direct action of the
environment. And this may be effected in one of two
ways : the birthrate and deathrate may rise and fall
together ; or periods of relative barrenness and great
mortality may alternate with periods of great fertility,
as we see among the lower organisms.

To produce the first result it is necessary that the same
combination of causes which results in a high deathrate

THE PRINCIPLE DEDUCED 41

should produce also a high birthrate, and that the same
combination of causes which produces a low deathrate
should produce also a low birthrate. As the purpose of
this work is to elucidate the law which governs the degree
of fertility in human society, and as in human society
both births and deaths are fairly regular from season
to season, it follows that this is the method with which
we are most concerned. Therefore we will deal with
this method first, leaving the alternative method for
later discussion.

We may express the necessary condition of survival
and of progressive evolution in the following generali-
sation : —

The net result of the variations of the degree of fertility
under the direct action of the environment will bear an
inverse proportion to the variations of the capacity for
survival.

And in order that birthrate and deathrate may rise
and fall together it is necessary that —

The variation of the degree of animal fertility in response
to the direct action of the environment shall bear an
inverse proportion to the variation of the survival-capacity
under that environment.

This generalisation will need an important qualification
which can be considered later. But we need something
more definite than this. We need to know the factor
in the organism which controls the variation. Can this
be deduced from the above generalisation ?

It is clear that such a phenomenon as the variation of
fertility must bear a definite relation to some factor
within the organism. It cannot be wholly " in the air."
Our task, then, is to find out to what factor or factors
it bears this relation and what the relation is. Clearly,
if the degree of fertility is to bear an inverse proportion

42 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

to the capacity for survival, it must bear a similar relation
to the factors which make for survival. As these factors
wax, fertility must wane, and vice versa. What, then,
are the factors which affect survival-capacity and which
vary with the environment ?

There are two parties to this question : the organism
and the environment. There are factors in the environ-
ment which act on the organism and make for survival
or elimination ; and there are factors within the organism
which react to the environmental factors. The factors
in the environment which act on the organism may be
broadly stated as follows : —

Food : both quantity and quality.
Climate : hot or cold ; moist or dry.
All those varied factors which make for greater
or lesser mental and physical activity.

If we can find within the organism a factor which
reacts to all these environmental factors, and is at the
same time the factor above all others which makes for
survival, that factor we may be sure is the one we seek.
Where shall we look for it ?

We have seen that the development of the nervous
system is the factor above all others which makes for
survival in the struggle between species. So we may
first direct our search there. The mass of the nervous
system, though it may be largely developed by the action
of the environment, will bear a fairly constant ratio to
the rest of the organism throughout life after maturity
is reached. Is there any factor within or developed by
the nervous system capable of reacting to all the varied
factors of the environment — a factor which will vary
with the environmental factors, forming an approxi-
mately accurate measure of the survival-value of the

THE PRINCIPLE DEDUCED 48

whole ? There is such a factor. It is known as nervous
energy.

If our food varies, whether in quantity or quality, it
will have an immediate effect on the sum of our nervous
energy.

If the climate varies, hotter or colder, moister or dryer,
it will have an immediate effect on the sum of our nervous
energy.

And any factor in the environment, no matter what,
which makes for greater or lesser mental or physical
exertion will have an immediate effect on the sum of our
nervous energy.

Nervous energy, moreover, is the factor above all
others which makes for survival.

As this factor answers all the necessities of the case,
and as it appears to be the only factor within the animal
organism which does answer all these necessities, it
follows that —

The variation of the degree of animal fertility in response
to the direct action of the environment will bear an
inverse proportion to the development of nervous energy.

We shall see later that in human society birthrate
and deathrate rise and fall together with remarkable
regularity. The most obvious inference which we can
draw from this is that the same combination of causes
that produces a high deathrate produces also a high
birthrate, and that the same combination of causes that
produces a low deathrate produces also a low birthrate.
In order that this result may be, the factors which make
for death or survival must be co-ordinated and their
survival-value measured with approximate accuracy. The
great co-ordinating factor of the animal organism is the
nervous system, and nervous energy is its active agent.

CHAPTER III

THE PRINCIPLE AS MANIFESTED IN
THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

As both the animal and vegetable kingdoms are, without
doubt, governed by the same biological laws, our principle
should apply to the latter as well as to the former, though
clearly not in its present form, as plants possess, so far
as is known, no nervous energy. But the function of
the nervous system in animals appears to be fulfilled
in plants by protoplasmic extensions connecting cell with
cell, and, as the functions of the various parts of a plant
are mutually co-ordinated, we must assume the presence
of some co-ordinating factor. Otherwise we should have
an effect without a cause. If this factor should at any
time be located, it will take the place in our formula
occupied by nervous energy. In the meantime we may
substitute the term " vitality " as expressing that general
vigour of growth which springs from a favourable com-
bination of circumstances.

The variation of the degree of vegetable fertility in
response to the direct action of the environment will bear
an inverse proportion to the development of vitality.

This term will be sufficiently precise for our purpose,
but the principle will need an important qualification.
It is clear that in an environment that is absolutely
barren and devoid of nourishment no seed will be pro-
duced. Seed will only be produced where there is a
supply of nutrition, as Nature does not make bricks

44

IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM 45

without straw. We have seen that the maximum degree
of fertility of which the plant is capable will be decided
by inheritance. Clearly, then, from absolute barrenness
the degree of fertility will develop in a direct ratio with
the supply of nutriment until the inherited potential
maximum is produced. It is then, and only then, that
the above rule will become operative. The full principle,
then, may be set forth thus : —

The variation of the degree of vegetable fertility in
response to the direct action of the environment will
be directly proportional to the development of vitality
(or protoplasmic energy) until the optimum point for
fertility is reached ; it will thenceforward be inversely
proportional to the development of vitality.

Thus this generalisation really represents the applica-
tion of the principle of the vital optimum to the question
of fertility. For the organism there is always a best
point, degree, or quantity of every factor in the environ-
ment. There is always a best temperature for the
organism, a best degree of moisture, a best quantity of
any nutritive factor. This best point or degree is not
always the same, even for the same organism, but is
subject to variation. Yet, no matter what may be the
optimum point at any given time, any variation of con-
ditions away from that optimum is to that extent harmful
to the organism.

Obviously there must also be an optimum or best
point for fertility for any factor in the environment,
and the arrangement set forth in the generalisation given
above seems to be the only one possible. The organism
must be able to adjust its rate of increase, not only to
conditions to which it is well adapted, but to conditions
of extreme richness and extreme poverty. As the maxi-
mum potential degree of fertility will be decided by

46 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

inheritance and must be adjusted to a certain ideal
combination of conditions, it follows that any variation
from this ideal in any direction must result in lessened
fertility.

The potential degree of fertility being inherited and
subject to variation, it follows that those domesticated
plants which are cultivated for a heavy yield of seed
will be much more fertile than similar wild types. The
heavy yield of seed under favourable conditions will be
produced by selection.

Darwin, it is true, expresses a somewhat different
opinion : " With those plants which are valued for their
seed, the direct selection of the more fertile individuals
has probably much increased their fertility ; and in all
cases this may have occurred indirectly, from the better
chance of some of the numerous offspring of the more
fertile individuals having been preserved. But . . . with
plants like carrots, cabbages and asparagus, which are
not valued for their prolificacy, selection can have played
only a subordinate part, and their increased fertility
must be attributed to the more favourable conditions
of life under which they have long existed." 1

This last sentence is an example of the explanation
which explains nothing. Why should a long continuance
of favourable conditions have produced a high degree
of reproductive fertility in some plants, whilst, as we
shall presently see, it has produced in others almost
complete sterility ? It is notorious that all those plants
which are valued for their seed crop, such as corn, peas,
beans, etc., have reached their present high degree of
fertility through long and careful selection. But what
of those plants which are not valued for their seed ?
These plants may be divided into two classes : those which

1 Variation oj Animals and Plants under Domestication, chap, xviii.

IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM 47

are propagated by seed, and those which are propagated
asexually by means of cuttings, buds, tubers, etc. When
a nurseryman raises a crop of cabbages for seed it is
obviously to his advantage that they should give as
large a yield of seed as possible. In such cases, unlike
apples, pears or oranges, the heavy yield of seed in no
way interferes with the edible qualities of the vegetable,
and if he can obtain as much seed as he requires from
a hundred cabbages instead of having to raise a thousand
it will make a considerable difference to his profits. As
a consequence, all plants which are propagated by seed
will be cultivated for a heavy yield of seed. On the other
hand, those plants in which a heavy yield of seed interferes
with their edible qualities are usually propagated asexually,
and the general rule is that asexually propagated plants
are selected for seedlessness.

In examining the facts, then, we may expect from
our principle certain broad results. As wild plants are
usually developed under conditions of severe competition,
they will be adapted to produce their maximum degree
of fertility under relatively unfavourable conditions.
Consequently we may expect, as a general rule, that
their fertility will decline when they are transplanted to
the highly favourable conditions of cultivated gardens.

We may expect tha.t plants which are cultivated for
a heavy yield of seed, or are propagated by seed, will
increase in fertility with increased favourability of con-
ditions up to a certain point (the optimum point for
fertility) ; but that when a certain point of favourability
has been passed fertility will begin to decline.

We may expect that asexually propagated plants will
show a steady decline of fertility (i.e. production of fertile
seed) in proportion as they are highly cultivated.

These anticipations are borne out by the facts with

48 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

remarkable uniformity. It may be noted here that the
theory is a theory of fertilisation, and, for reasons to be
made clear later, has no application to asexual repro-
duction.

Darwin, in his Variation of Animals and Plants under
Domestication, brought together a large body of evidence
bearing on this question. As this body of evidence repre-
sents the observations of many years, and as Darwin was
the most indefatigable and reliable of observers, we may
fairly take it as accurately representative of the facts
as a whole. The following extracts will show that the
general rules deduced from the principle are fully borne
out by the facts.

"It is notorious that many plants in our gardens and
hot-houses, though preserved in the most perfect health,
rarely or never produce seed. I do not allude to plants
which run to leaves, from being kept too damp, or too
warm, or too much manured ; for these do not flower,
and the case may be wholly different. Nor do I allude
to fruit not ripening for want of heat, or rotting from
too much moisture. But many exotic plants, with their
ovules and pollen appearing perfectly sound, will not
set any seed. The sterility in many cases, as I know
from my own observation, is simply due to the absence
of the proper insects for carrying the pollen to the stigma.
But after excluding the several cases just specified, there
are many plants in which the reproductive system has
been seriously affected by the altered conditions of life
to which they have been subjected." 1

Darwin then proceeds to give many instances showing
the sterility of wild plants when transplanted to cultivated
gardens, together with exceptions to this rule. He gives
no instance of a plant whose fertility is directly increased

1 Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, chap, xviii.

IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM 49

by cultivation without the intervention of selection.
We are justified in inferring, although Darwin does not
make this point perfectly clear, that the wild plants
which seed freely in cultivated soil are, as a rule, less
fertile at first than in a wild state.

He goes on to say : " Too much manure renders some
kinds utterly sterile, as I have myself observed. The
tendency to sterility from this cause runs in families ;
thus, according to Gartner, it is hardly possible to give
too much manure to most Graminse, Cruciferse and Legu-
minosse, whilst succulent and bulbous-rooted plants are
easily affected. Extreme poverty of soil is less apt to
induce sterility, but dwarfed plants of Trifolium minus
and repens grown on a lawn often mown and never
manured were found by me not to produce any
seed." i

Observe that the plants mentioned as being difficult
to reduce in their fertility by heavy manuring are pro-
pagated by seed, or cultivated for a heavy yield of seed
in a rich soil. We must expect considerable variation
between different varieties in their response to a given
combination of conditions, as they will represent different
degrees of adaptation.

" Many of our most valuable fruits, although consisting
in a homological sense of widely different organs, are
either quite sterile, or produce extremely few seeds. This
is notoriously the case with our best pears, grapes and
figs, with the pineapple, banana, breadfruit, pomegranate,
azerole, date-palms and some members of the orange
tribe. Poorer varieties of these same fruits either habitu-
ally or occasionally yield seed. Most horticulturists look
at the great size and anomalous development of the
fruit as the cause and sterility as the result, but the

1 Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, chap, xviii.

4

50 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

opposite view, as we shall presently see, is the more
probable/' *

It is, no doubt, probable that sterility may in some
measure react on the size of the fruit. But it is a neces-
sary deduction from the principles of organic evolution
that the degree of fertility shall be decided by the condi-
tion of the organism as a whole, and not vice versa. To
allow the environment to act directly on the reproductive
system, and through the resulting effects modify the rest
of the organism, would, from an evolutionary point of
view, be absurdly futile. This would make a species the
mere appendage of its reproductory system instead of
making the reproductory system serve the purpose of
maintaining the species. It is no reply to this to point
to the effects of castration on the rest of the organism.
The effects of castration are not the effects of sterility
resulting from the action of the environment, but are
the results of the loss of certain hormones caused by the
extirpation of the glands which produce them. Observe
that the fruits which are notorious for sterility are in-
variably propagated asexually, and consequently are not
selected for the production of fertile seed, but usually
for seedlessness. As a result the principle has full play,
and these fruits become more infertile in proportion as
they are highly cultivated.

With plants which are cultivated for a heavy yield of
seed the result is directly opposite. " With respect to
plants, no one would expect wheat to tiller more, and
each ear produce more grain, in poor than in rich soil, or
to get in poor soil a heavy crop of peas or beans. Seeds
vary so much in number that it is difficult to estimate
them, but on comparing beds of carrots in a nursery
garden with wild plants, the former seemed to produce

1 Variation of Animals and Plants under Domesticationt chap, xviii.

IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM 51

about twice as much seed. Cultivated cabbages yielded
thrice as many pods by measure as wild cabbages from
the rocks of South Wales. The excess of berries produced
by the cultivated asparagus in comparison with the wild
plants is enormous." l

Though these plants have been cultivated for a heavy
yield of seed under favourable conditions, yet, if these
favourable conditions are carried to excess, sterility results.

" Plants which from any cause grow too luxuriantly
and produce leaves, stems, runners, suckers, tubers, bulbs,
etc., in excess, sometimes do not flower, or if they flower
do not yield seed. To make European vegetables under
the hot climate of India yield seed, it is necessary to
check their growth, and when one-third grown, they
are taken up and their stems and tap-roots cut or
mutilated." «

This mutilation being obviously to check nutrition is
a conclusive refutation of Darwin's own contention that
the luxuriant growth of certain fruits is more probably
due to sterility than that sterility is due to luxuriant
growth.

The operation of the principle as a whole is admirably
illustrated by the following : " With the varieties of
many plants, the adaptation to climate is very close.
Thus it has been proved by repeated trials * that few
if any of the English varieties of wheat are suitable for
Scotland/ but the failure in this case is at first only in
the quantity, though ultimately in the quality of the
grain produced. The Rev. M. J. Berkely sowed wheat
seed from India, and got * the most meagre ears ' on land
which certainly have yielded a good crop from English
wheat. In these cases varieties have been carried from

1 Variation of Animal* and Plants under Domestication, chap, xviii.
• Ibid.

52 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

a warmer to a cooler climate ; in the reverse case, as
* when wheat was imported directly from France into
the West Indian Islands, it produced either wholly barren
spikes or furnished with one or two miserable seeds,
while West Indian seed by its side yielded an enormous
harvest.' " *

Nothing could be more obvious than the application
of the principle to these facts. As the optimum point
for fertility will be a certain ideal combination of condi-
tions, therefore English, Scotch, French and Indian seed
will each be adapted by selection to a different combina-
tion of conditions. It follows that any material change
in these conditions in either direction can only result
in lessened fertility. The English farmer looks for plenty
of sun and rain at the right seasons, together with a rich
soil, to produce a heavy crop of wheat. Yet European
seed transplanted to the West Indies, where all these
things are present in excessive abundance, is rendered
almost completely sterile. These same varieties could
be adapted by careful selection to any reasonable com-
bination of conditions. Yet they would still remain
subject to the general principle which governs the varia-
tion of the degree of fertility in response to the direct
action of the environment — the law of the optimum point
of fertility.

Herbert Spencer, advocating the view that the degree
of fertility is directly proportional to the surplus of nutri-
tion over and above the cost of individuation, says of
fruit-trees : " Were it otherwise, dunging the roots of
a fruit-tree would be in all cases impolitic, instead of
being impolitic only when the growth of sexless axes is
still luxuriant. Were it otherwise, a tree which has
borne a heavy crop should, by the consequent depletion,

1 Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, chap. xxiv.

IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM 53

be led to bear a still heavier crop next year ; whereas
it is apt to be wholly or partially barren next year —
has to recover a state of tolerably high nutrition before
its sexual genesis again becomes large." x

Spencer does not make it clear why, on his theory,
it should be impolitic to dung the roots of a fruit-tree
while the growth of sexless axes is still luxuriant. On
the theory sketched out here, it is because the growth
of sexless axes is a sign that the degree of nutrition has
passed the point which is adapted to produce the maxi-
mum degree of sexual fertility. As Spencer points out,
the change from the production of seed-bearing fruit to
the production of sexless axes is a change from sexual
to asexual genesis. This latter can be dealt with later,
but it may be noted that Spencer's theory makes no
provision for the fact, clearly shown in the above extract,
that the conditions most favourable to asexual genesis
are inimical to the sexual process.

In the large body of evidence brought together by
Darwin bearing on this question, not a single fact is
mentioned inconsistent with the theory. A number of
facts are given which at first sight appear capricious
or of ambiguous interpretation. Thus a plant is men-
tioned which " is a native of the moderately warm banks
of the Plata, seeds freely in the hot, dry country near
Lima, and in Yorkshire resists the severest frosts, and
I have seen seed gathered from pods which had been
covered with snow during three weeks." 2 But this
merely points to a wide range of adaptation due to some
peculiarity of constitutional organisation, such as that
which enables some men to endure vast changes of tem-
perature and suffer little inconvenience, while others are

1 Principles of Biology, vol. ii, chap. ix.

* Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, chap, xviii.

54 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

sensitive to the slightest change. If the organism can
remain unaffected by the change, there seems no reason
why its reproductive system should be affected.

On the other hand, Darwin mentions that a very slight
change, such as a little more or less water at some period
of growth, will sometimes determine fertility or sterility.
This, again, is in no way inconsistent with the principle.
A very slight cause may have a very powerful effect on
the vitality of the organism as a whole, and thus affect
the degree of fertility. We shall see later good reason
to believe that a little more or less moisture in the atmos-
phere may, by its direct effect on the individual, and by
its indirect effects through its influence on social habits,
powerfully affect the fertility of the human race.

These few remarks on the influence of the environment
on the degree of vegetable fertility are little more than
a digression from our main purpose. But they have
served to complete the statement of the principle and
to show that it applies to vegetable as well as to animal
fertility ; while that the same general law runs through
the whole scheme of organic reproduction will be shown
as we proceed. In considering the facts it should be
borne in mind that the degree of sexual fertility must
be judged by the number of fertile seeds, not by the
amount of fruit. It should also be borne in mind that
we cannot expect from a general principle a detailed
explanation of particular cases, or an apparent conformity
in every case. Within the scope of every general principle
there are at work numbers of minor and counteracting
principles. These often obscure the action of the main
principle and produce results at first sight contradictory
or inconsistent.

The attitude of many people towards a general principle
may be illustrated thus : Let us suppose ourselves stand-

IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM 55

ing on the banks of a river and explaining the principle
of gravity to an intelligent savage, illustrating the argu-
ment by the flow of the stream. He might reply : " You
say that water always flows towards the centre of gravity
by the line of least resistance, and that water, therefore,
does not flow uphill. But see that back-eddy. If the
stream is flowing downhill, the water which is flowing
back upstream must be flowing uphill. Clearly you must
be wrong."

We have here a principle and a general rule deduced
from the principle. Our savage friend confounds the
two. For while there can be no real exceptions to a
principle properly so called throughout the class of facts
to which it applies, there may be many exceptions to
a general rule. In considering the facts, then, it should
be borne in mind that we have a principle and a number
of general rules deduced from the principle. While there
can be no real exceptions to the principle throughout
the class of facts to which it applies, there may be many
exceptions to the general rules.

CHAPTER IV
ON NERVOUS ENERGY

THE nature of nervous energy is very obscure. The
facts essential to the theory, however, may be noted by
the intelligent reader in his own experience. The term
" nervous energy " should not be confounded with the
term " energy " when the latter is used in the sense of
a well-developed liking and capacity for work. It would
be difficult to excel the plodding industry of a Chinese
peasant, but he is not conspicuous for nervous energy.
An individual may be of a very indolent disposition
and yet possess a highly charged nervous system. Such
an individual will usually have a strong aversion to
drudgery, but yet be capable of great exertions when
stimulated by interest or necessity. This temperament
is often associated with genius. Dr. Johnson was an
example.

The amount of energy developed tends to proportion
itself to the needs of the organism. If much is expended,
much will be produced. If little is expended, little will
be produced. If a man accustomed to heavy physical
labour takes a holiday, he will find in his muscles a feeling
of unusual strength. This is due to the accumulation
of energy. If the holiday be prolonged, the feeling will
gradually fade away ; and if very prolonged, he may
find, on resuming work, that it will take him some time
to regain his full working capacity. This power of the
organism to produce an increased supply of energy on

56

ON NERVOUS ENERGY 57

demand is taken advantage of in the training of athletes,
the aim being to stimulate the production of energy by
suitable exercises. Both mental and physical labour
tend to the production of nervous energy ; but if either
is carried to excess, the resources of the system are
unequal to the strain, and chronic exhaustion ensues.
In countries having short hours of labour as much work
is usually put through as in countries having longer
hours. The capacity of the nervous system has its
limits. Long hours soon show their effects in reducing
the energy of the workers to a low ebb, and they have
less time for recovery. As a consequence they work
more slowly.

" According to Pfluger, when a nerve is stimulated,
whether by a mechanical shock, an electrical discharge,
or by the action of the will, a phenomenon occurs which
this physiologist calls the nervous avalanche.

" Just as a lump of snow detached from a mountain-
top grows as it descends the snowy slope, and when it
reaches the valley is of larger size than when it set out,
so the stimulus received by the nerve is multiplied in its
passage through the conducting filament, and is much
more intense when it reaches the muscle than it was
when first produced.

" The nerve would then be a reinforcing as well as
a conducting apparatus : it would increase the intensify
of the stimuli which it transmits, as the microphone
increases the intensity of the sounds which pass
through it.

" If Pfluger's theory is correct, and if the nerve really
has the power of amplifying the stimuli received by the
muscle, we may believe that this power is developed
by exercise like all the physiological functions of working
organs. The motor nerves of a man who devotes himself

58 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

to bodily exercise should then become more capable of
reinforcing voluntary stimuli." l

From this passage it would appear that the question
as to whether the amount of nervous energy produced
can be increased by exercise is regarded by physiologists
as quite a debatable one. Yet that such is the case
can be shown by a few simple considerations and a few
simple facts. In the first place the power to regulate
the supply to suit the demand is a necessary condition
of the capacity of the organism for direct adaptation to
its environment. For if the amount of energy produced
by the system were a fixed quantity under all conditions,
then no man, however much he was trained or practised,
would be able to perform work which required more than
a moderate expenditure of nervous energy, or if able to
perform such work, when not doing so his system would
be irritable with energy which would allow him no rest.

This is illustrated by a passage from the same writer :
" When a vigorous horse has been kept in the stable
for a long time, we see it when first brought out make
leaps and turns, and show by its lively paces a great
desire for movement. We then say that the animal is
frisky. This great vivacity has not, however, as its sole
object the manifestation of the joy it feels at being again
at liberty : it expresses the need for exercise which the
animal feels. Similarly, it is under the influence of the
need for exercise that the wild beasts in a menagerie
constantly prowl about their cages ; that children coming
out of the classroom leap and run about the recreation
ground, and that dogs run after each other in the streets." 2

The obvious explanation of this need for exercise is
not that the animals referred to have an intelligent

1 Physiology of Bodily Exercise, Fernand Lagrange, part i, chap. i.
* Ibid., part v, chap. i.

ON NERVOUS ENERGY 59

realisation of the value of exercise, but that their nervous
systems are irritable with energy which demands an
outlet. In the above cases the nervous energy will have
accumulated during the period of muscular inactivity.
And if the supply is not utilised it will gradually abate
and proportion itself to the amount used.

Thus the same authority continues : " But it is very
necessary to yield promptly to the solicitations of this
instinct, for the sense of need for exercise tends very
soon to disappear if its satisfaction is delayed. If not
heeded, it lessens day by day ; if inaction is immoderately
prolonged, it disappears entirely, and the time arrives
when the organism which has too long led an inactive
life shows a marked tendency to become more and more
inactive. This is because too prolonged repose has
brought about new organic conditions, uniting as it does
all the circumstances which lead to the production of
every kind of fatigue." *

Clearly, the disappearance of the sense of need for
exercise is due to the fact that the nerves are no longer
highly charged with energy.

An abundance of facts could be quoted to show that
the amount of energy available is increased by exercise.
Different kinds of athletic exercises lead to the expenditure
of different amounts of nervous energy, and it is necessary
to train for them by different methods. Thus sprint-
running requires the expenditure of an enormous amount
of nervous energy in a very short time. But long-distance
running is rather a matter of muscular endurance. An
appreciable interval of time elapses between the nervous
discharge and the contraction of the muscle which follows,
and it was established by Helmholtz that the length of
the latent period is inversely proportional to the strength
1 Physiology of Bodily Exercise, Fernand Lagrange, part r, chap. i.

60 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

of the nervous discharge. Therefore, to obtain more
rapid contraction it is necessary to expend energy on a
larger scale, and the swift sprint-runner expends a much
larger amount of nervous energy in a given time than the
long-distance runner.1

It would never do to train a man who is to run in
sprint races on the same system as the man who is to
run in long-distance races. Long-distance runners some-
times run in short-distance races with the object of im-
proving their speed. They are usually given a long
start, but are invariably hopelessly beaten. The sprint-
runner is generally of a more highly strung type than
the long-distance runner. The difference in the con-
stitutional organisation required for exercises of speed
and exercises of strength can be seen in the difference
between a race-horse and a cart-horse. The muscles of
the former cannot compare in bulk with those of the
latter, but the race-horse is the very embodiment of
nervous energy. The cart-horse, though possessing enor-
mous muscular strength, is of a placid disposition and
relatively deficient in nervous energy. If, then, speed
depends rather on nervous energy than muscular strength,
we can understand why a method of training suitable
for long-distance running is not suitable for sprint-running.
The exercises in the first case will be adapted to increase
muscular endurance ; in the second case mainly to increase
nervous energy. But if exercise does not increase the
amount of energy available, a special form of training
would practically be useless.

A prize-fight demands an enormous expenditure both
of nervous energy and muscular strength. Throughout
the whole fight the contestant must keep his muscles
in a state which is known as " latent stimulation." The

1 Physiology of Bodily Exercise, Fernand Lagrange, part i, chap. i.

ON NERVOUS ENERGY 61

muscles are stimulated but not contracted. This con-
dition enables the fighter to reduce the period of latent
contraction — the period which elapses between the stimu-
lation and contraction of the muscle — to the lowest limit,
since the already stimulated muscle contracts almost
instantaneously on receiving the additional stimulus, and
thus enables him to seize in a flash any opening that
occurs. But this maintenance of the muscles in a state
of latent stimulation requires an enormous expenditure
of nervous energy. It would be clearly impossible for
the fighter to expend energy on such a scale for such a
length of time if his training did not increase the amount
available. Quite apart from this question of latent
stimulation, to train the muscles of a prize-fighter without
increasing the amount of nervous energy available would
be very like increasing the supply of dynamite cartridges
without increasing the supply of detonators. The analogy
is not quite exact, since the trained muscle contracts
with greater force in response to a given stimulus, and
thus economises nervous energy to a considerable extent.
But such economy goes but a trifling way towards explain-
ing the wonderful endurance shown by trained men in
contests in which muscular strength and nervous energy
are expended with the utmost prodigality, the nervous
system being drawn upon more and more largely as the
muscles become exhausted.

Again, the effects of exercise on the nervous system
can be readily seen in the difference between the average
town-bred man and the average country-bred man. The
environment and occupation of the former call for con-
siderable mental alertness and usually for activity of
movement rather than the exertion of great muscular
strength. The environment of the latter and his occupa-
tion call for no special mental alertness or activity of

62 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

movement, but usually necessitate considerable muscular
exertion. The result is that the former is, as a rule,
a man of less bulk but of greater nervous energy, the
latter usually developing into a heavy, slow-moving,
slow-thinking individual, conspicuously deficient in nervous
energy. But this result could hardly be produced unless
the nervous system and nervous energy developed with
exercise. The greater quickness of movement which
marks the town-bred man as compared with the country-
bred man is obviously due to a greater expenditure of
nervous energy, and this can only result from an increase
of efficiency or of bulk, or both, on the part of the motor
centres or the motor nerves, or both. Seeing, also, that
the amount of energy developed is powerfully affected
both by the nature of the food and the climate, it would
be strange if exercise were the one factor by which it
is not affected.

But there is a limit to the capacity of the organism
for producing energy, and this is fixed by its inherent
potentialities. Lagrange points out that exhaustion
will result from work which is beyond a man's strength,
even if he is well. He can perform such work only by
" taking from his nerves " that which his muscles are
unable to give. " The excessive exertion of the will in
work leads to nervous exhaustion. It is thus that we
eee horses rapidly waste and get ill, if they are forced
to draw too heavy a load, and their ardent and generous
nature impels them to go on working up to the last limit
of their strength." l

Probably, most of the physical deficiencies shown by
the race in these days are the result of factory employ-
ment and similar occupations. Under the system of
division of labour it is commonly asserted that this or

1 Physiology of Bodily Exercise, Fernand Lagrange, part iv, chap. iii.

ON NERVOUS ENERGY 68

that occupation is " easy " because it looks simple and
appears to call for no great muscular effort. But such
work generally has to be executed very rapidly, and
consequently necessitates a great expenditure of nervous
energy. The result is that the factory worker, though
employed at work which is called " easy," often suffers
from nervous exhaustion at the end of the day's work,
especially in hot weather.

The effects of nervous exhaustion are peculiar : " There
occurs during an exercise of speed a nervous commotion
resembling that which follows a strong emotion or a
powerful mental strain. These results are especially
marked in impressionable persons, and it is among them
that we may see how fatigue caused by speed is adverse
to the repair of the system. Many children, after running
about too much, can neither eat nor sleep. Many horses
which are too nervous refuse their oats after a hard
day's hunting. We do not see this capricious appetite
in coarsely built animals doing collar work all day." *

The symptoms above described are common among
factory workers, especially during the hot months. It
is also true that the more highly strung types are the
more easily and the more often affected. When we
reflect that boys and girls in their teens, the chief period
of development, are worked all day at occupations which,
although " easy," require a large and incessant expendi-
ture of nervous energy, and that the result is often the
loss of appetite and sleep, there is nothing strange in
the fact that it often produces a marked deterioration
in the physique.

The reason why the symptoms described above are
more common in hot weather is because heat, and
especially moist heat, has an exhausting effect on the

1 Physiology of Bodily Exercise, Fernand Lagrange, part iv, ohap. iv.

64 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

nervous system. Lombard has found that the power to
perform voluntary muscular work is reduced by a decrease
in the atmospheric pressure, and that several successive
days of high temperature, particularly if accompanied
by great humidity, are followed by a considerable loss
of strength.1

Physiologists find that if a given point in a nerve be
repeatedly stimulated, the response of the nerve becomes
weaker after a time until it finally ceases. But if it be
allowed to rest for a period new pulsations can be elicited.
The nerve, while resting, becomes charged with energy.
Evidently the intensity of this charge will at all times
depend on the relation between production and expendi-
ture. Now, the term " development " in our formula is
hardly an adequate expression of the principle. The
potential degree of fertility, at any given moment, will
bear an inverse proportion, not to the amount of nervous
energy developed or produced, but to the intensity of
the nervous charge at that moment. The term " nervous
charge " must not be taken literally in the sense in which
a wire is charged with electricity. What goes on in the
nerve is, as yet, an almost complete mystery. The phrase
must be taken to apply to the nutritive condition which
favours the production of energy, and is the best hypo-
thetical statement of the case which can be given.

The nervous charge will be an approximately accurate
reflection of the circumstances of the moment. " A "
is a Society woman of means, and with little need for
active exertion. She will produce a moderate amount of
nervous energy, but will also expend moderately. Being
highly fed, she will have a nervous system always highly
charged. " B " is, say, a successful professional woman.
She owes her success to a great natural fund of nervous
1 The Growth of the Brain, H. H. Donaldson, chap. xiv.

ON NERVOUS ENERGY 65

energy. She expends on a large scale, but also produces
on a large scale. She has a great capacity for work,
which means that her system replaces the energy almost
as fast as it is expended. She also will have a nervous
system almost always highly charged. Thus one will
have a highly charged system because she expends little,
the other because she produces much. They may be
equally fertile or infertile. " C " is, say, a sweated worker
of the East End of London. She is over-worked for
very long hours and under-fed. The result is that she
is chronically tired and deficient in energy. Her nervous
charge will be always low. If she is married, we may
expect a large family.

The variation of the degree of animal fertility in
response to the direct action of the environment will
bear an inverse proportion to the intensity of the nervous
charge.

The nature of the food consumed, both quantity and
quality, will have a powerful effect on the amount of
nervous energy produced. As Snyder puts it : " There
is a close relationship between the nature of the food
consumed and mental activity, also the ability to satis-
factorily perform physical labour." 1 The effect of the
quality of the food may be seen in the difference between
a grass-fed and a corn-fed horse.

The chief constituents of food are broadly divided into —
Proteids.
Carbohydrates.
Fats.

There are also certain salts which play a part of some
importance. The first of these classes is generally con-
sidered to be the main factor in the production of nervous
energy. This view receives strong confirmation from

1 Human Foods, Snyder.
5

66 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

the fact that races living upon foods poor in proteids
are both deficient in nervous energy and very fertile.

Without entering into the controversy between the
advocates of a meat diet and the vegetarians, it may be
said that meat appears to be more stimulating to the
nervous system. Of course, it must be borne in mind
that meat is a complete food, whereas vegetables are
not, so that the meat-eater is much less likely to be living
on a diet short of some essential constituent than the
vegetarian. But even allowing for that, a meat diet
seems to be more stimulating. Giving evidence before
the National Birthrate Commission, Dr. Starr Jordan
mentioned that in the course of an experiment carried
out at Stanford University of feeding rats, some upon
a vegetable and some upon a meat diet, it was found that
the meat-fed rats ran over 50 per cent, more ground
than the others. That suggests a more stimulating effect
from the meat. One authority says : "If proteid food,
therefore, be regarded as a nervous food, a diet rich in
it will make for intellectual capacity and bodily energy,
and it is not without reason that the more energetic
races of the world have been meat-eaters.

" The difference, in fact, between an animal fed on
a highly nitrogenous diet, and one supplied with little
nitrogen, is the difference between a steam-engine at
half-pressure and one that is producing its full horse-
power. It is the difference between a tiger pacing its
cage and a cow lying upon the grass : both are healthy,
but the type or degree of health is very different in the
two cases." *

Quantity is of importance as well as quality. An
under-fed man is very similar to an over-worked man.
Both are deficient in nervous energy.

1 Food and the Principles of Dietetics, Robert Hutchinson, chap. x.

ON NERVOUS ENERGY 67

Climate also has a very powerful effect upon the nervous
system. A cold, dry climate is very favourable to the
production of nervous energy, but it tends to be expended
through the medium of physical exertion in the main-
tenance of heat. A cold, wet climate has a depressing
effect unfavourable to nervous energy, and much of the
bodily energy appears to be expended in maintaining
heat. A hot, moist climate is very unfavourable to
nervous energy. The climate of the West Coast of Africa
leaves the average European as limp as a wet rag.
Curiously enough, the climate of this region seems to leave
the native black races comparatively unaffected. Perhaps
this is due to the fact that their energy is mainly muscular.
The climate of the United States is an example of one
that is very favourable to the development of nervous
energy. The children of stolid European peasants born
and reared in the United States develop all the nervous
activity of the children of native Americans. This is
largely due, no doubt, to the bright dry air, as well as
to a diet rich in proteids. A mild, dry, bracing climate
is the one above all others which favours nervous energy.
The effect is both direct, in its stimulating effect upon
the nervous system, and indirect, through its influence
upon the social habits of the people.

There is an optimum point for moisture and tem-
perature as for all other environmental factors. Ellsworth
Huntingdon, in his Civilisation and Climate, mentions
that the data for New England show that extreme dryness
does more harm than extreme humidity. Another point
which he brings out is that the optimum point is not
constant, but shifts continually. The optimum point of
to-day is not the optimum point of to-morrow. A change
of temperature is as beneficial as a change of air.

As nervous energy is a product of the nervous system, it

68 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

follows that a higher development of the nervous system
will, other things equal, lead to a higher development
of nervous energy ; but quantity is not of so much
importance as quality. Idiots sometimes have very large
brains. Then there is the fact that brains increase in
average size as we proceed northward — a fact which
probably has something to do with the maintenance of
heat. Again, there is what Herbert Spencer once called
" a small brain in a state of intense activity." The
possessors of the higher forms of intellect are often excelled
in nervous energy by people of a lower intellectual order.
The cerebral system being developed by exercise, an
environment leading to incessant mental activity is
favourable to the development of nervous energy. Mental
activity does not necessarily mean study or any of the
higher forms of intellectual effort. The complex environ-
ment of a modern city leads to an enormous and almost
unsuspected amount of mental activity. The mind,
and more particularly the unconscious mind, is constantly
occupied in recording or acting upon myriads of sugges-
tions which beat upon it from all sides. It is evident
that the more complex the environment the greater
will be the multitude of suggestions and the greater the
multitude of cerebral reactions. Hence the larger brains,
the greater mental activity, and the higher development
of nervous energy in the average city man as compared
with the average country man.

The amount of nervous energy produced is affected by
many subtle influences. Thus bad news usually has a
depressing effect, and tends to take the energy out of the
average individual. Sometimes, however, it stimulates to
feverish activity, as when news is received of a danger
which may be avoided by exertion. The subtlety of the
nervous force is seen in the ease with which a man of

ON NERVOUS ENERGY 69

genius will stimulate a vast body of men to intense
activity by means of a few skilfully adjusted phrases. A
mediocrity, on the other hand, will take all the spirit out
of his followers with a little verbal clumsiness. Gloomy,
insanitary and ill-smelling surroundings have a depress-
ing effect on the nervous system. A bright, cheerful and
pleasant environment has a very stimulating effect.

Thus we see that this subtle force is the most reliable
measure of all the factors in the environment which
make for survival or elimination.

The factors, then, which make for the maintenance
of a highly charged nervous system may be broadly
summarised thus : —

A complex environment leading to incessant mental
activity.

A moderate amount of physical exertion.

A plentiful diet rich in nutriment in proportion to its
bulk and rich in proteids.

A rather dry, bright, bracing climate.

Cheerful and pleasant surroundings generally.

As these are the factors which lead to a low deathrate,
it follows that if the degree of fertility is to bear an inverse
proportion to the survival-capacity of the race, it must
vary inversely with these factors, and also, therefore,
with nervous energy.

The principle when applied to the animal kingdom
will need a similar qualification to that found necessary
when applying it to the vegetable kingdom. Although
it is a necessary condition of the success of the evolu-
tionary scheme that a heavy deathrate should be accom-
panied by a heavy birthrate, yet there comes a time
when an increased birthrate is no longer an advantage.
In times of famine, for instance, it would merely add to
the mischief. As the principle will be adjusted to the

70 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

needs of the species, it follows that the qualification will
come into play when a further increase of the birthrate
is useless. In point of fact, it is known that both famine
and illness cause sterility.1

All this, of course, is merely another illustration of
the principle of the vital optimum, and we may apply
that principle to the variation of the degree of animal
fertility thus : —

The variation of the degree of animal fertility in response
to the direct action of the environment will be directly
proportional to the intensity of the nervous charge until
the optimum point for fertility is reached : it will thence-
forward bear an inverse proportion to the intensity of
the nervous charge.

1 Principles of Heredity, Dr. Archdall Reid.

CHAPTER V

THE PRINCIPLE AS MANIFESTED IN
THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

THE amount of evidence available as to the operation
of the principle in the animal kingdom is comparatively
limited. We are compelled to rely chiefly on the evidence
supplied by the effect of change of environment on domes-
ticated animals, and the effect of captivity on wild animals.
It is of little use in this connection to make comparisons
between the fertility of wild and domesticated animals.
These latter have been adapted to the requirements of
man by a course of selection extending over innumerable
generations, and fertility is one of the attributes for which
they have been selected.

It is true Darwin says that with " cats, ferrets, and
dogs," and other animals " which are not valued for their
prolificacy, selection can have played only a subordinate
part " 1 ; but to this it may be replied that prolificacy
is always a valuable quality in a valuable animal. Ex-
perience with wild animals in captivity shows that when
animals were first domesticated they would probably be
relatively infertile. Darwin has himself shown that the
principle of selection is in some measure understood even
by primitive tribes. It is impossible to imagine that
people who were capable of domesticating wild animals,
an extremely difficult feat, would be blind to the fact
that they would be more likely to obtain a large number

1 Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, chap. xvi.

n

72 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

of these valuable animals by breeding from the more
fertile rather than from the less fertile individuals. Even
when individual merit is of more importance than numbers,
the chances of obtaining a good specimen are obviously
greater in a large than in a small litter. To this day
fanciers who have to pay a large stud fee for the services
of the best males will, as far as possible, use only females
of proved fertility. If the litter is a small one, the chances
of obtaining a good specimen are correspondingly small.
If, on the other hand, the litter is a large one, the chances
of obtaining a good specimen are correspondingly large,
and the surplus can be disposed of.

In a wild state, it should also be borne in mind, the
degree of fertility is largely governed by certain inherited
instincts which determine at what period or periods,
and how often during the year, the breeding activities
shall be carried on. The theory under discussion is a
theory of the laws which govern the union of sperm cell
and ovum after copulation has taken place, and offers
no explanation of the conditions which determine how
or when it shall take place. Scientists are apt to expect
too much from a general principle. Thus Spencer attempts
to make his formula cover the whole field of animal and
vegetable fertility. He attempts to make it explain
those seasonal recurrences of the breeding instinct
which can only be explained by inherited, instinctive
associations.

The varying periods of gestation among animals render
it necessary that copulation shall take place at different
periods of the year in order that the young may be born
at the most favourable season. These cases cannot be
all governed by a simple physiological reaction. They
must be governed by inherited instincts of the same
character as the nest-building instinct or the migratory

MANIFESTED IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM ?a

instinct, and these instincts will be awakened by certain
seasonal associations.

" At any rate it is not correct to say with Dr. Gruenhagen,
that * the general wedding feast is spring, when awaken-
ing nature opens to most animals new and ample sources
of living.5 This is certainly true of reptiles and birds,
but not of mammals ; every month or season of the year
is the pairing season of one or another mammalian species ;
but notwithstanding this apparent irregularity, the pairing
time of each species is bound by an unfailing law ; it
sets in earlier or later, according as the period of gestation
lasts longer or shorter, so that the young may be born at
the time when they are most likely to survive. . . . Far
from depending on any general physiological law, the
rut is then adapted to the requirements of each species
separately." J

Under domestication, where warmth, shelter, and food
can be obtained in abundance all the year round, these
instincts tend to fall into abeyance, and domesticated
varieties lend themselves readily to manipulation by man.
Manipulation is, indeed, an important cause of the in-
creased fertility of domesticated varieties. Thus when fowls
become broody various ingenious devices are resorted to
in order to get rid of the brooding instinct, such as putting
the bird under a bucket. In some varieties of fowls the
brooding instinct has been almost eliminated by selection.

We may now examine the evidence bearing upon the
principle provided by domesticated animals. Darwin will
again be the principal source of information. Speaking
of race-horses he says : " During eleven years a record
was kept of the number of mares which proved barren
or prematurely slipped their foals ; and it deserves
notice as showing how infertile these highly nurtured
1 The History of Human Marriage, Westennarck.

74 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

and rather closely inter-bred animals have become that
not far from one-third of the mares failed to produce
living offspring. Thus during 1866, 807 male colts and
816 female colts were born, and 743 mares failed to produce
offspring. During 1867, 876 males and 702 females were
born, and 794 mares failed." *

As the cases of the mares which slipped their foals
are not separated from those where the mare proved
barren, the actual degree of sterility is not clear, though
it was apparently very large. This failure to distinguish
between failure of instinct, failure of ovulation, failure
of fertilisation, and cases of miscarriage impairs the
value of much of the evidence collected by Darwin,
and illustrates the necessity of a thorough analysis.

Perhaps the most conspicuous attribute of race-horses
is a very high development of nervous energy. This
they owe, partly to selection and inheritance, for they
have been bred for speed for many generations, and speed
is dependent rather upon nervous energy than muscular
strength ; partly, also, to the system of training and
feeding. They are regularly exercised, which stimulates
the production of nervous energy, and fed chiefly on
oats, which have about the highest proteid content of
any vegetable food. Of course, when the mares are taken
for breeding this regimen is usually abandoned, and they
are generally turned out to grass. Nevertheless, much
of the effect must remain.

Another writer speaking of race-horses says : "At all
events it is found in practice, that though the majority
of maiden mares will become stinted while at work, yet
that a large number require a run at grass before they
become in foal." 2

1 Descent of Man, chap. viii.

* The Horse in the Stable and in the Field, Stonehenge, chap, xi.

MANIFESTED IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 75

The difference between a horse at work and a horse
at grass amounts to this, that the former obtains regular
exercise and is fed on a diet of corn. The exercise, if
regular and not excessive, will, coupled with a diet which
is very rich in proteids, and very nutritious in proportion
to its bulk, stimulate the animal's system to a high develop-
ment of nervous energy. The horse at grass feeds on
the most bulky and innutritious of foods, a food con-
sisting mostly of water and waste products and deficient
in proteids. In order to satisfy its bodily needs it must
be eating nearly all day. This bulky and relatively in-
nutritious food entails a disproportionate amount of
work on the part of the digestive system. With the
corn-fed horse probably much more energy is expended,
but far more is produced, and the animal, if properly
managed, will invariably be in high condition. With
the grass-fed horse, though little is expended, except
in the disproportionate amount of digestive work, little
is produced. The difference in the amount of energy
produced by the corn-fed and the grass-fed horse is too
notorious to need emphasising. Thus we see that condi-
tions which lead to a high development of nervous energy
are apt to cause sterility, whilst conditions the main effect
of which is to reduce the amount of nervous energy lead
to increased fertility.

Darwin mentions a fact which at first sight seems
inconsistent with those detailed above. He says that
" mares which have been brought up on dry food in the
stable are often infertile when first turned out to grass." l
Though Darwin does not give the fact on the authority
of his own observation, yet it is probably correct. On
the hypothesis under consideration it is susceptible of a
very simple explanation. We have seen that the amount

1 Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, chap. xvi.

76 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

of energy tends to proportion itself to the amount used.
When the mare is first turned out to grass she will be in
the high condition which comes of regular work and high
feeding. The system will for a time continue to produce
energy from its own resources on the same scale as before.
Not being used, it will accumulate, and for some time
the animal's system will be highly charged. The abate-
ment will be gradual. After a time, not being used, and
owing to the very bulky and relatively innutritions food,
the supply will abate and the animal will become more
fertile. This accumulation of energy is seen in horses
which have been confined to the stable for a few days.
When first brought out they are very " fresh " and
often dangerous to drive until the surplus energy is
worked off.

" Nervous, vicious animals are not so likely to breed
as those of milder temperament. Aged animals, especially
mares that have not been bred for some time, are extremely
difficult to impregnate. This is well illustrated in the
difficulty experienced in breeding mares that have been
used for racing until they are ten or twelve years old.
A large percentage of them fail to become pregnant.
Mares that have been bred frequently often will continue
to breed after they are twenty years of age. Fat animals
are seldom good breeders, and it is often difficult to im-
pregnate them. Animals intended for breeding should
be in very moderate flesh. Active exercise just before
the animal is fed is conducive to fertilisation." *

Vicious animals are usually nervous animals which
have been spoiled when young through mismanagement.
Nervousness is one of the signs of a highly developed
nervous system. Witness the difference in this respect
between the highly strung race-horse and the placid
1 The Diseases oj Animals, Mayo.

MANIFESTED IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 77

cart-horse. With the effect of old age on the degree
of fertility there will be occasion to deal later.

Another writer says : "In the mare barrenness is
equally due to a variety of causes. In a number of
breeding studs the proportion of sterile mares has varied
from 20 to 40 per cent." Among a number of other
causes specified are " high condition (plethora) with pro-
fuse secretion and excitement, low condition, with imper-
fect maturation of the ova and lack of sexual desire." *
Here we have both aspects of the principle clearly set
forth. The same writer says again : " An irritable womb,
with frequent straining, and the ejection of a profuse
secretion, may sometimes be corrected by a restricted
diet and full but well-regulated work. Even fatigue
will act beneficially in some cases ; hence the practice
of the Arab riding his mare to exhaustion just before
service."

This last fact is particularly significant. The Arabs
have been famous horse-breeders for centuries. Probably
the custom originally arose through the more or less
accidental observation that the mare was more readily
impregnated when fatigued. This observation would
be confirmed by subsequent experience. Now the most
obvious effect of fatigue is to exhaust the nervous energy
of the animal. Doubtless there are other effects, but
the fact fits in with the theory in a most striking way.

Discussing the best period for sending the mare to the
horse, a writer says : " As, however, mares are very uncer-
tain animals, he will do well to take advantage of the
first opportunity after March, as by putting off the visit
to the horse he may be disappointed altogether, or the
foal may be dropped so late that winter sets in before
he has acquired strength to bear it. These remarks
1 The Diseases of the Horse, United States Department of Agriculture.

78 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

apply to maiden mares only ; those which have dropped
a foal are generally put to the horse nine or ten days
afterwards, when almost every mare is in season. For
this reason, valuable thorough-bred mares are often sent
to foal at the place where the sire stands who is intended
to be used next time.

" The mare then remains to be tried at intervals of
nine or ten days, and when she is stinted the foal is strong
enough to stand any length of journey with impunity." *

We have here recorded a fact which is noticeable with
most breeds of domesticated animals. The maiden
mare is a " very uncertain " animal. That is, she does
not always come into season at the proper time, and
when in season is apt to be very difficult to impregnate.
When, however, a mare has dropped a foal, and has
suckled the hungry youngster for nine or ten days, it is
seldom that much trouble is experienced in getting her
to conceive. Why ? On the hypothesis under discussion
it will be because the drain on the mare's resources will
have diminished her nervous energy.

Cattle yield much the same evidence as horses. It
is an interesting commentary on Herbert Spencer's
theory that a condition of plethora is favourable to fertility
that, after the first calf, cows are usually served when
in full milk. A good milking cow in full milk is usually
all points and angles. It is this condition which is most
favourable to fertility ; high condition being notoriously
unfavourable.

Darwin says of sheep : " The amount of food affects
the fertility of the same individuals ; thus sheep which
on the mountains never produce more than one lamb
at a birth, when brought down to lowland pastures
frequently bear twins. This difference apparently is not

1 The Horse in the Stable and in the Field, Stonehenge, chap. xi.

MANIFESTED IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 79

due to the cold of the higher land, for sheep and other
domestic animals are said to be extremely prolific in
Lapland."

If sheep are very prolific in Lapland, the amount of
food will hardly account for the relative infertility of
mountain sheep, since Lapland is not exactly a land
flowing with milk and honey. It appears to be a common
notion that the small size of mountain sheep is due to
scarcity of food. Even if mountain pastures were neces-
sarily poor, it would not follow that the sheep would be
badly fed. Sheep are run so many to the acre, according
to its feeding value. Thus we have one-sheep, two-sheep,
three-sheep pastures, and so on ; while when the land is
very poor it becomes a case of so many acres to a sheep.
Mountain sheep are by no means ill-fed, and are usually
quite fat when killed. If they were ill-fed they would
not necessarily be small. Rather they would tend to
be lean and bony. To what then shall we attribute their
relative infertility ?

Mountain sheep are very active. A writer says : "If
there is one quality for which the mountain sheep is more
remarkable than another, that quality is amazing activity ;
he can get over rough ground at a speed which would
leave a Leicester sheep standing still, and his jumping
powers are comparable with those of the deer."1 These
small-bodied, active animals bear much the same relation
to the big-framed, sluggish lowland sheep as the small-
framed and active townsman bears to the big, raw-boned,
slow-thinking countryman, or as the small-bodied,
energetic and active worker bee bears to the big-framed,
sluggish queen bee. In short, they are conspicuous for
nervous energy. This is probably due to the keen and
bracing air of the high altitudes, and we need not be
1 Chambers1 Journal, December, 1911.

80 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

surprised that they are rather more fertile when brought
down to the relaxing air of the lowland pastures.

In this connection some facts mentioned by Ellsworth
Huntingdon are worth noting. "It is well known/' he
says, " that at high altitudes the number of red corpuscles
in the blood increases enormously, and the capacity to
absorb oxygen and give out carbon dioxide is correspond-
ingly modified."1 He quotes the experiments of Lehman
and Pederson in Denmark and Norway, who found that
a change of atmospheric pressure due to an ascent of
two or three thousand feet made no appreciable difference
to the strength of individuals as measured by the dynamo-
meter, but that a similar descent is accompanied by a
marked increase in strength which, however, disappears
in about four days. It was suggested to him by Prof.
H. E. Gregory that this may account for the fact that
in the horse-races of the pioneer days of the south-western
United States " the poor, scrawny animals brought down
from the mountains by the Indians usually belied their
appearance and outran the better-looking horses of the
white man. They may have had an excess of red cor-
puscles." As the increased energy displayed lasts only
four days, there is nothing in these facts inconsistent
with the fact that mountain sheep become more fertile
in the lowland pastures. But it becomes a question
whether the increase of red corpuscles in the blood at
high altitudes may not account, in some measure, for
the greater activity of mountain sheep, and also for their
relative infertility. It is true that the experiments
showed no increase of strength during the ascent, but
time may be needed for that. It is a remarkable fact
that all mountain species seem to display this abnormal
activity.

1 Civilisation and Climate, p. 60.

MANIFESTED IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 81

Spencer states that a favourable pasture season in
the autumn with ewes consequently in good condition
is usually followed by a high degree of fertility in the
following spring. As the weather most favourable to
pasture is hot and moist, and as a hot, moist climate is
very relaxing to the nervous system, this rather confirms
our hypothesis. But the facts in this connection seem
to require more precise observation.

The pig offers very similar evidence to the horse. The
young sow, known to breeders as a " gilt," is generally
put to the boar for the first time when from six to ten
months old. It is at this time that difficulty is often
experienced in getting her to conceive. The period of
gestation is four months. She suckles her young eight
weeks. When she parts with her litte* a good breeding
sow is usually little more than a framework of skin and
bone. It is in this condition that she is usually put again
to the boar, and if this is done while she is still " poor "
from the effects of suckling her previous litter it is seldom
that any difficulty is experienced in getting her to conceive
again ; and she may go on breeding in this way to the
end of her breeding career. If, however, she is allowed
to reach a highly-fed condition before being put again
to the boar, then trouble is likely to be experienced in
getting her to conceive. High condition, as is well known
among breeders, is inimical to fertility. It is true that
Spencer attempts to establish a distinction between
" normal " and " abnormal " plethora, but this is a piece
of special pleading. As for the " inverse ratio between
the degree of fertility and the cost of individuation,"
the domestic sow not only conceives best when in low
condition, but actually puts on flesh during the period
of gestation, so that by the time the young are born
she is again in good condition. Thus the amount devoted

6

82 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

to individuation and the amount devoted to reproduction
increase together.

" With all highly bred animals there is more or less
difficulty in getting them to procreate quickly, and all
suffer much from delicacy of constitution, A great
judge of rabbits says : * The long-eared does are often
too highly bred or forced in their growth to be of much
value as breeders, often turning out barren or bad
mothers.' " l

Highly bred animals are, generally speaking, those
which have been bred for qualities intimately associated
with or the result of a high development of nervous
energy. Vigour and grace of carriage, brightness of
colouring, and most of the qualities valued by fanciers,
are intimately connected with the vitality of the nervous
system. A highly bred animal or bird is usually a " bundle
of nerves."

Cats and dogs provide no special information beyond
the general facts that with highly bred animals conception
is likely to be uncertain and the litters very irregular in
size, and that high-feeding and lack of exercise are likely
to result in sterility. Together with several other
domesticated species they are not manipulated in such
a way as to throw any special light on the problem of
fertility.

The domestic fowl, however, shows us the operation
of the principle admirably. " Birds offer still better
evidence of increased fertility from domestication ; the
hen of the wild Gallas bankiva lays from six to ten eggs,
a number which would be thought nothing of with the
domestic hen." a It is a notorious fact that domestic
fowls owe their present high degree of fertility to long

1 Variation oj Animals and Plants under Domestication, chap. xvii.
• Ibid., chap, xvi.

MANIFESTED IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 83

and careful selection. This selection is still going on,
and we hear of 200-egg birds and 250-egg birds and so
on. Yet these highly prolific birds are still subject to
the operation of the principle.

The potential degree of fertility is inherited.

The actual degree of fertility is decided by the direct
action of the environment.

" In Europe close confinement has a marked effect
on the fertility of the domestic fowl : it has been found
in France that with fowls allowed considerable freedom
only 20 per cent, of the eggs failed ; when allowed
less freedom, 40 per cent, failed ; and in close confine-
ment sixty out of the hundred were not hatched." *

The question of importance from our present point
of view is not the number of eggs laid but the number
which are fertile. In the case of eggs which fail to hatch
the whole sequence of reproductive phenomena is carried
through except the union of the sperm cell with the ovum.
There is no reason whatever to doubt that the sperm cells
actually come into contact with the ovum. The fact
that the egg is successfully laid shows that there is no
obstruction to the passage of the sperm cells up the female
ducts. Presumably, therefore, sterility is due to the
effect of lack of exercise through the medium of the
nervous system on the condition of the ovum, which,
as a consequence, fails to admit the sperm cell. One
of the principal effects of exercise is the expenditure of
nervous energy.

If the reader sits on a fence and watches a number of
fowls pecking and scratching for hours in a farmyard
or field, he cannot fail to be struck by the immense amount
of energy expended. And if, as is generally the case,
such fowls are only partially fed and are expected to

1 Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, chap, xviii.

84 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

pick up the rest for themselves, they will have a large
amount of exercise with moderate feeding. Compare
this with the case of the race-horse in training. The latter
obtains plenty of exercise, yet is rendered less fertile.
But the degree of fertility will be decided not by the
amount of the exercise but by the effect of the exercise
on the nervous system. The exercise of th., race-horse
is designed, in combination with a diet rich in proteids,
to stimulate the production of nervous energy. The
animal will expend much energy but will produce still
more, and the degree of fertility in either case will
be decided by the relation between production and
expenditure.

Darwin provides a considerable quantity of evidence
showing the effect of confinement upon the fertility of
wild animals. He goes on to say : " Sufficient evidence
has now been advanced to show that animals when first
confined are liable to suffer in their reproductive systems.
We feel at first naturally inclined to attribute the result
to loss of health, or at least to loss of vigour ; but this
view can hardly be admitted when we reflect how healthy,
long-lived, and vigorous many animals are under captivity,
such as parrots, and hawks when used for hawking,
chetahs when used for hunting, and elephants. The
reproductive organs themselves are not diseased, and
the diseases from which animals in menageries usually
perish are not those which in any way affect their fertility.
No domestic animal is more subject to disease than the
sheep, yet it is remarkably prolific. The failure of animals
to breed under confinement has been sometimes attributed
exclusively to a failure of their sexual instincts ; this
may occasionally come into play, but there is no obvious
reason why this instinct should be especially liable to
be affected with perfectly tamed beasts, except indeed

MANIFESTED IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 85

indirectly through the reproductive system itself being
disturbed. Moreover, numerous cases have been given
of varieties which couple freely under confinement,
but never conceive ; or, if they conceive and produce
young, these are fewer in number than is natural to the
species." l

Observe that the effect of confinement on the fertility
of wild animals is exactly similar to the effect of confine-
ment on the fertility of the domestic fowl. There is,
therefore, no reason to assume any mysterious psychological
effect apart from the effects of high-feeding and lack of
exercise. So, as fowls are more fertile when obtaining
plenty of physical exercise and a moderate quantity of
food, we should expect a similar result from wild animals
in confinement. And this we do find.

" Notice has frequently been called to the fact that
lions are so constantly bred and reared in the various
travelling menageries under what most persons consider
great difficulties and disadvantages.

" It must be borne in mind, however, that the circum-
stances under which they exist are most favourable to
them, as they are constantly being roused and moved
about from place to place, sometimes with a reduced
quantity of food, until the courage and temper of the
animals become perfectly African. The natural instinct
and power being thus developed, the animals are far more
healthy and vigorous than the fat, well-fed, lazy, sleepy
occupants of the dens in the London Zoological Gardens." 2

Thus we see that they react in exactly the same manner
as the domestic fowl to similar treatment. They will
no doubt be more healthy than the " fat, well-fed" animals
in the London Zoological Gardens ; but it is not a question

1 Variation of Animals and Plants under Domesticationf chap, xviii.
1 Wild Animals in Captivity, A, D. Bartlett.

86 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

of health merely. They will produce more energy, but
they will also expend more. There will be occasional
spells of fasting or insufficient feeding which, together
with the restless activity which results, will reduce the
nervous charge very low. But the " fat, well-fed "
animals will at all times have a nervous system highly
charged with energy which they have no opportunity
to work off.

Again : " The carnivora in the Zoological Gardens
were formerly less freely exposed to the air and cold than
at present, and this change of treatment, as I was informed
by the former superintendent, Mr. Millar, greatly increased
their fertility." *

This is much the same story. Exposure to the air and
cold would lead to greater physical activity, and probably
the cold would have a more direct effect by diverting
some of the energy to the purpose of maintaining bodily
heat. To anyone watching an animal in confinement
prowling restlessly about its cage or flinging itself against
the bars it is clear that the animal's system is highly
charged with energy which can find no outlet. This
feeling has been experienced by most people when confined
to the house by wet weather or similar causes. The
effect of low temperature in this connection is well stated
by Lagrange : * ' The need for exercise is developed with
more intensity in proportion to the lowness of the tem-
perature ; by severe and piercing cold we are much more
driven to action than by great heat. In this case the
need for exercise is derived from the instinct which leads
us to produce heat by movement." 2

Darwin mentions the great longevity of parrots and
the fact that even in England they are believed to have

1 Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, chap, xviii.
* Physiology of Bodily Exercise, Feruand Lagrange, part v, chap. i.

MANIFESTED IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 87

lived to the age of nearly one hundred years, and adds :
" yet they breed so rarely, though many have been kept
in Europe, that the event has been thought worth record-
ing even in the gravest publications." 1

The difference between the life of a wild parrot and
that of a parrot in confinement amounts to this, that
when wild the birds lead an active life in searching for
their food and playing about among the branches of
the trees, and the food will consist mostly of berries and
fruits of various kinds, bulky and poor in proteids. In
confinement they lead a life of comparative inactivity
and are highly fed on foods rich in proteids. A consider-
able measure of sterility, therefore, is to be expected under
confinement.

In this case, as in others, we should expect that when
given a larger measure of liberty they would prove more
fertile. And we are told that " when Mr. Burton turned
out a large number of parrots in Norfolk, three pairs
bred and reared ten young birds in the course of two
seasons ; and this success may be attributed to their
free life." 2 Apparently the birds were regularly fed in
this case. Had it been possible for them to have picked
up their own living, the results would probably have been
greater.

The parrot is a long-lived, slow-breeding bird of high
cerebral development, as its well-known intelligence
shows. Now, we should expect to find that confinement
has an effect corresponding to the measure of normal
fertility. A very fertile type would have its fertility
impaired but not wholly destroyed by captivity ; while
a relatively infertile type would become almost completely
sterile. Thus we can understand the almost complete

1 Variation oj Animals and Plants under Domestication , chap, zviii.
1 Ibid.

88 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

sterility of the parrot. The effect, too, would be pro-
portionate to the change in the habits of the species from
an active to an inactive life, and also proportionate to
the change from a poor diet to a rich one. For if a species
lives under hard conditions the optimum point for fertility
will be adjusted to hard conditions. These considerations
throw considerable light on certain facts mentioned by
Darwin : —

" We have seen that carnivorous animals are more
fertile under confinement than most other mammals.
The reverse holds good with carnivorous birds." 1 The
change in the habits of the birds is much greater. The
animals are able to obtain a certain amount of exercise
in confinement. The birds, accustomed to traverse
vast distances when at liberty with meals uncertain and
often far between, can do little in captivity but mope
upon a perch all day. Add to this that they will be well
and regularly fed. The tiger is, weight for weight, far
stronger and more formidable than the lion. This points
to a higher development of nervous energy. Consequently
we need not be surprised when we are told that the tiger
is much less fertile in captivity than the lion.

" The carnivora, with the exception of the Plantigrade
division, breed, though with conspicuous exceptions,
about half as freely as ruminants." 2 This represents
about what we should expect in view of the greater change
in the habits of the carnivora. These latter are more
conspicuous for nervous energy than the herbivora.
A lion or a tiger bears much the same relation to an antelope
or other herbivorous animal that a sprint runner bears
to a long-distance runner. The former are capable of
putting forth an enormous amount of nervous energy

1 Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, chap, xviii.
8 Ibid.

MANIFESTED IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 89

in a very short space of time, but their energy is not
enduring. They will usually outrun a herbivore in a
short burst of speed, but they cannot stand the distance.
When at liberty they expend their energy in seeking and
stalking their prey, and they often experience long fasts
between meals. In captivity they have little opportunity
or necessity for exercise, and they are well and regularly
fed. Their meals are of meat, which is one of the richest
in proteids of all foods. The herbivorous animals will
be little better fed in captivity than in a wild state, and
the difference will lie chiefly in the amount of the exercise.

" The most notorious case of an animal not breeding
in captivity is that of the elephant. Elephants are kept
in large numbers in their native Indian home, live to
old age, and are vigorous enough for the severest labour,
yet, with few exceptions, they have never been known
even to couple, though both males and females have their
proper periodical seasons." l In this case failure to
breed seems to be mainly due to failure to couple, rather
than to actual sterility. With such unwieldy animals
coupling is a serious business, not to be lightly undertaken,
a fact of which the animals themselves are probably not
unconscious. Therefore it is probable that the failure
to couple is mainly due to lack of opportunity under
favourable conditions. It may, of course, be due to some
failure of the sexual instinct.

Elephants in India are usually fed partly on a corn
diet, and between a wild elephant and one in captivity
there is a difference very similar to that between a grass-
fed and a corn-fed horse. And when the elephant is
treated in the same manner as a grass-fed horse, it also
becomes more fertile. Proceeding " a little eastward
to Ava, we hear from Mr. Crawfurd that their ' breeding

1 Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, ehap. xviii.

90 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

in the domestic state/ or at least in the half -domestic
state in which the females are generally kept, is of every
day occurrence." l This is attributed to the female
being allowed to " roam the forest with some degree of
freedom." Thus there is nothing very mysterious in
their failure to breed under the ordinary circumstances
of captivity.

The same general phenomena are displayed by captive
birds. " Of the small graminivorous birds, many kinds
have been kept tame in their native countries, and have
lived long ; yet, as the highest authority on cage birds
remarks, their propagation is * uncommonly difficult.' " 2
The change in the habits of these birds is from an irregular
and uncertain diet upon seeds of poor quality to regular
feeding upon seeds of the highest feeding value : from a
life of incessant activity to a life of comparative inactivity.
They show the general law in that they are more fertile
when kept in large aviaries, where they can obtain a
fair amount of exercise, than when they are kept in small
cages. Canaries, which breed freely in captivity, have
had their potential degree of fertility increased and
adapted to the conditions of captivity by selection.
Nevertheless, they produce large numbers of infertile
eggs, particularly highly bred birds.

The gratuitousness of the " race-suicide " theory is
admirably shown by several passages from Darwin.
" Monkeys, in the nine-year report from the Zoological
Gardens, are stated to unite most freely, but during this
period, though many individuals were kept, there were
only seven births." 3 We see that conception does not
necessarily follow union. The females, when coupling
took place, must have been impregnated with large

1 Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, chap, xviii.
9 Ibid,

MANIFESTED IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 91

numbers of sperm cells. Many of these must have come
into contact with the egg cells. Why then is conception
under such conditions so infrequent ? There seems no
escape from the conclusion that the result is due to the
effects of high feeding and lack of exercise, through the
medium of the nervous system, on the condition of the germ
cells. And if human beings are subject to the same bio-
logical laws as the lower animals, then a simitar combina-
tion of causes should be followed in their case by similar
effects.

Again : " Although so many of the Felidae breed
readily in the Zoological Gardens, yet conception by no
means always follows union ; in the nine-year report,
various species were specified which were observed to
couple seventy-three times, and no doubt this must have
passed many times unnoticed ; yet from the seventy-
three unions only fifteen births ensued." *

We have already seen that horses which have been
brought up on dry food in the stable, and no doubt
systematically worked during that period, are apt to be
infertile at first when turned out to grass. An analogous
phenomenon is reported by Darwin of wild animals in
captivity. " Those animals which usually breed freely
under confinement, rarely breed, as I was assured, within
a year or two of their first importation." 2 When mares
are turned out to grass they are able to obtain plenty of
exercise in the field, and the change of diet is from one
of very high feeding value to one of very low feeding
value. In spite of this the animal's system will continue,
for a time, to produce energy from its own resources on
the same scale as before, and the abatement will be
gradual. The same phenomenon in the case of wild animals

1 Variation oj Animals and Plants under Domestication, chap, xviii.
* Ibid,

92 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

in captivity will be much more pronounced and of longer
duration. They will be reduced to a life of the utmost
inactivity and well and regularly fed upon rich foods.
It will take a long time for an animal's system to adapt
itself to such a change.

Darwin gives a number of instances showing that insects
are also liable to show diminished fertility as a result
of confinement. But the most remarkable support is
given to the theory by the cases of ants and bees. It
is surely no mere coincidence that the most conspicuous
examples of cerebral development and nervous energy
throughout the insect world should be almost wholly
sterile, and that the fertile members of the ant and bee
communities are conspicuously deficient in those intel-
lectual attributes for which their sterile relatives are
famous. It is an established fact that a fertile, big-bodied,
and sluggish queen, or an infertile, small-bodied, and
active worker may be developed at the will of the nurse
bees from the same fertilised egg if taken within a few
days of being laid. All the larvse are fed upon the same
milk-like pap for the first three days or so, but after that
the workers are weaned and placed on sparser and plainer
diet. Those intended for queens, however, are fed
sumptuously on the original brood food, under the stimulus
of which they grow much bigger than the workers and
develop an enormous fertility. But what they gain in
size and fertility they lose in energy and brain develop-
ment. The workers, reared on a diet of honey and pollen,
develop great brain power and energy, but what they
gain in these directions they lose in size and fertility.
We shall see later that these facts are paralleled by similar
facts in the human race, and we have already seen a some-
what similar example in the case of mountain sheep.
But it is necessary to point out that sterility in the case

MANIFESTED IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 93

of worker bees is not due to the law which governs the
union of aperm cell and ovum, but that there appears
to be a complete failure of the sexual instinct and of
ovulation.

Ants exhibit the same phenomena as bees. The
sterile workers are among the most remarkable examples
of cerebral development in the insect world, and Darwin
considered the brain of an ant to be the most wonderful
speck of matter in the world. The fertile females show
the same intellectual deficiency as the queen bee. The
female of the white ant loses even the power of locomotion,
grows to an enormous size, and becomes a mere egg-
producing machine.

In his Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestica-
tion Darwin provides a mass of evidence bearing on the
problem of fertility. The first impression produced on
examining this evidence is one of hopeless confusion.
The facts appear to be a mass of contradictions and to
conform to no law. When, however, we apply the
principle of the vital optimum and get the abstract
principles straightened out the facts fall readily into line.
It is a necessary deduction from the theory of organic
evolution that the animal and vegetable kingdoms are
governed by the same general biological laws, and
the facts in the two cases are exactly parallel. Plants
are rendered sterile both by excessively favourable and
by excessively unfavourable conditions, and the same
is true of animals. Plants are apt to be rendered less
fertile when first transplanted into the more favourable
conditions of cultivated gardens, and wild animals are
rendered less fertile when first confined and highly fed.
Plants may have their fertility greatly increased by
selection, and the same is true of animals. Both may
be adapted to develop a high degree of fertility under

94 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

favourable conditions, but both show that they still
remain subject to the law by becoming infertile when
the conditions become loo favourable. As plants can
be rendered sterile by high cultivation, so animals may
be rendered sterile by high breeding. But there is some
difference in the facts affecting the last case as between
plants and animals.

In the case of asexually propagated plants the action
of the principle is not antagonistic to the effects of selec-
tion, whilst those plants which are propagated by seed
are not, as a rule, selected for qualities which are peculiarly
antagonistic to fertility. But among domesticated animals
there is no such thing as asexual propagation, and the
animals are often selected for those very qualities which
are most antagonistic to fertility, the qualities, in fact,
most intimately associated with nervous energy.

In the case of the race-horse, for example, we see two
antagonistic tendencies at work. The most fertile mares
will, of course, produce the most young, but the owner
will desire to secure foals from the most successful racers,
and will make special efforts to do so. The effects of
breeding for speed will in some measure be counteracted
by the selection of the most fertile mares ; but in the
case of asexually propagated plants the principle has full
play. So in the one case the result is merely diminished
fertility, and in the other almost complete sterility.

Darwin mentions a number of peculiar and apparently
capricious facts, but nothing inconsistent with the principle.
While some species are rendered almost completely sterile
in captivity, others breed freely under the most unnatural
conditions. This latter result is probably due to some
peculiarity of constitutional organisation. Thus we know
that some individuals are powerfully affected by changes
of climate and others are not. One individual may be

MANIFESTED IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 95

rendered limp and exhausted by a hot, moist climate,
while another scarcely seems to notice it. We know that
the body is provided with a heat-regulating apparatus
which drives the blood into the interior of the body in
cold weather, and thus conserves heat ; while when the
weather is hot the capillaries on the surface of the body
expand, thus allowing the blood to come to the surface
and radiate heat. If in one individual or species the
regulating apparatus is very efficient and in another
relatively inefficient, there will obviously be a great
difference in the way they react to changes of climate,
and there may be a corresponding difference in the degree
of effect upon their fertility. And this will apply to other
factors beside climate. So these apparently capricious
results are in no way inconsistent with the general law,
and, in view of the tremendous complexity of the factors
at work, are to be expected.

It may be pointed out here that we have only to assume
that human beings are subject to the same general biological
laws as animals and plants, and we have an adequate
explanation of the declining birthrate. For the main
effects of advancing civilisation and increasing prosperity
are cerebral development, with ever-increasing nervous
energy, high feeding, and diminished physical labour.
The human race is tending more and more to resemble
the highly bred race-horse, and to be subject to a similar
condition of feeding and training. So if sterility appears
in the race-horse in spite of the effects of careful selection,
what shall we expect in the human species when the
same tendencies and conditions are reproduced in a
highly accentuated form ?

CHAPTER VI

THE PRINCIPLE AS MANIFESTED IN
HUMAN SOCIETY

IN applying the principle to human society it will be well
to set forth certain general rules embodying the results
we should expect to find. The principle is that the
degree of fertility at any given moment will be inversely
proportional to the intensity of the nervous charge.
This requires a qualification similar to that found necessary
in applying it to the vegetable world ; but in human
society the qualification is only likely to become operative
in actual famine conditions. As these are very rare, it
will be possible, for practical purposes, to ignore the
qualification and consider the degree of fertility as varying
inversely with the development of nervous energy. We
have seen that the factors which make for a high develop-
ment of nervous energy are —

A moderate amount of physical exertion.

A plentiful diet rich in nutriment in proportion to its
bulk, and rich in proteids.

A bright and bracing climate.

A bright and cheerful environment generally, with
plenty of mental stimulation.

From these may be deduced the following general
rules to which we may expect the facts to conform,

Generally speaking, the birthrate and the deathrate
should rise and fall together.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 97

In comparisons between different countries, the most
wealthy and progressive should be the least fertile.

As a nation becomes more civilised and wealthy the
degree of fertility will tend to decline.

As we ascend the social scale the degree of fertility
will steadily diminish with the increase of wealth and
prosperity.

In the fluctuations of a nation's prosperity periods of
depression should show an increasing birthrate, whilst
periods of prosperity should show a decline.

These are general rules, from which, owing to the
complexity of the factors, we may expect many exceptions.

It is obviously only through the operation of the law
of averages that such a principle can make its action
apparent. There are enormous differences between the
habits of individuals belonging to the same social class.
The degree of fertility is subject to variation between
individuals like all other inherited potentialities. Also
there appears to be considerable variation in the pene-
trating power of the male cells. Thus the factors provide
for an enormous range of variation in individual cases.
But the law of averages will level up these individual
idiosyncrasies, and comparative statistics will show clearly
the operation of the principle.

Demographers have long noticed the general correlation
between birthrates and deathrates, and many attempts
have been made to explain the connection ; but some
writers, in view of the fact the correlation is not uniform,
are inclined to deny that there is any real connection.
A favourite method of explaining the fact that a falling
deathrate is accompanied by a falling birthrate is to
reverse the proposition and assert that a falling birthrate
is accompanied by a falling deathrate owing to the much
smaller infantile mortality in small families. This, how-

7

98 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

ever, is an altogether inadequate explanation. France, a
country of small families, has a high infantile deathrate ;
while Ireland, where the people are still fertile, has a
low one. The falling birthrate in England during the
last quarter of the last century was accompanied by a
rising infantile mortality, the fall in the deathrate being
due to the saving of life during later years.1 Moreover,
large families among prosperous people are not accompanied
by a heavy infantile mortality.

In this connection some striking facts were mentioned
by Dr. Halford Ross, in his evidence before the National
Birthrate Commission, which came under his notice while
Health Officer in the Suez Canal Zone. " During the
years 1901 to 1910 health measures in this zone produced
a very considerable fall in the deathrate, from 30' 2 per
thousand to 19' 6 per thousand ; the infant mortality was
also reduced very greatly, and it was expected that, after
a lapse of time, the reduction of the deathrate would
result in a rise of the birthrate, and a corresponding
increase in the population. But such was not the case.
When the deathrate fell, the birthrate fell too, and the
number of the population remained the same as before,
even after nearly a decade had passed, and notwith-
standing the fact that the whole district had become
much healthier, and one town, Port Said, was converted
from an unhealthy fever-stricken place into a seaside
health resort. . . . From these observations it would
seem that there is a constant correlation between birth-
rates and deathrates. As one increases, the other increases ;
and if one is reduced, the other falls. In a certain place
a serious epidemic of plague occurred in 1907. The
deathrate rose higher than the birthrate for three weeks,
but very soon the birthrate rose and regained its former

1 The Task of Social Hygiene, Havelock Ellis.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY

99

relation with the deathrate, which remained high for a
time. Then both fell together to their original level as
soon as the plague disappeared. A similar correlation
of birthrate and deathrate was noticed in Cairo in 1910
during a severe fatal outbreak of small-pox. This cor-
relation of births and deaths makes any measures taken
to modify their rates appear futile, because their relation-
ship seems to follow a natural law, which at present is
not understood." l It would be interesting to know
how these facts could be explained on the " race-suicide "
hypothesis. Are we to assume that the population
promptly took to the use of contraceptives as soon as
the deathrate fell, although they did not think it necessary
to use them before ?

An excellent test case showing the operation of the
general law that birthrate and deathrate vary together
under circumstances where it would be absurd to appeal
to the use of contraceptives for an explanation is provided
by India. Here are figures showing birthrates and death-
rates among the various provinces of that country : 2

Bengal

United Provinces

Punjab

Central Provinces

Lower Burmah

Eastern Bengal and Assam

Madras (Presidency)

Bombay (Presidency)

North -West Frontier Provinces

Coorg

Ajmer Merwara

The accuracy of these figures is not guaranteed, and
they are compiled upon the method of giving the number
of births per thousand of population, which is very mis-
leading as a guide to fertility, instead of the number of
births per thousand married women. Yet in spite of

1 Problems of Population, p. 382 et seq. * Racial Decay, Beale.

Births.

Deaths.

37-32

36-08

40-22

39-07

43-70

36-94

51-72

43-47

32-33

27-15

37-38

31-67

30-90

27-40

33-84

35-06

38-60

33-73

26-80

29-26

27-50

32« 22

100 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

these defects the general correlation between birthrates
and deathrates is remarkable. M. Muret, writing in 1766,
was so struck by the fact that a low deathrate is always
accompanied by a low birthrate — a fact ascertained by him
as the result of careful researches in Switzerland — that
he hazarded the conjecture that " God has wisely ordered
things in such a manner that the force of life in each
country should be in the inverse ratio of its fecundity." *
It is in comparing the rates for large areas that the
correlation is most readily traced, and that is because
the principle will act through the law of averages. The
larger the area, the more effectively do disturbing factors
in either direction counterbalance and cancel each other.
If a number of towns be taken, while there is still a general
correlation between birthrates and deathrates, there is
a great deal of irregularity. Much of this is simply
statistical. Movements of population profoundly affect
statistical results, especially when the figures are compiled
upon the system of showing the rates per thousand of
population. For instance, tables compiled upon that
method credit Australia and New Zealand with a higher
birthrate than Ireland. The reason is that there is a
large emigration from Ireland and a large immigration
into Australia and New Zealand. This leaves Ireland
with a disproportionate number of old people and children
in the population left behind, since emigrants consist
mainly of young people in the prime of life. For the
same reason new countries like Australia and New Zealand
have a disproportionately large number of inhabitants
of child-bearing age, and also a better balance between
the sexes. And when tables are given which make the
necessary allowances for these facts it is found that
Ireland has a very high rate of fertility, while Australia
1 The Principle of Population, Malthus, Book II, chap. v.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY JOT

and New Zealand have very low rates, as we shall
presently see.

Now, the connection between birthrate and deathrate
is only indirect. Let us suppose that a certain municipality
provides an excellent supply of pure milk and thus cuts
down the rate of infant mortality. As this will not
affect the adults, there is no reason why it should affect
the birthrate. And now let us suppose that another
municipality, through some neglect, causes a considerable
increase of infant mortality which does not affect the
birthrate either. This will cause a big discrepancy
between the birthrate and deathrate correlation for the
two towns. Yet when the rates for the country as a
whole are worked out these two factors will counter-
balance and cancel each other. That is why the operation
of the principle will always be more clearly seen in com-
parisons between large areas, particularly between different
countries. It will manifest itself through the law of
averages. And while it will be true that the same com-
bination of causes which leads to a high deathrate will
lead also to a high birthrate and vice versa, yet there
will always be a considerable number of factors which
affect one without immediately affecting the other. But
the law of averages will ensure that these factors in the
long run will balance each other, and thus we shall get
comparatively uniform correlations in comparisons between
large areas or long periods of time, coupled with many
irregularities in comparisons between small areas or short
periods.

This is what we do find. The correlation in com-
parisons between countries is remarkably uniform consider-
ing the imperfection of our statistics, while the correlation
between towns, though showing the operation of the
law in a general way, is very irregular. The regularity

102 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

of the correlation on the whole is quite good enough for
the purposes of evolution, and it would be absurd to
expect mathematical regularity. There are a few apparent
exceptions to the general law that a declining deathrate
is accompanied by a declining birthrate. For instance,
during the first half of last century the figures for England
show a rising birthrate and a declining deathrate. But
the difference is small, and it is quite probable that the
apparent increase of the birthrate was due to improve-
ments in registration.

A more difficult case is that of Ireland, where, according
to results obtained by Dr. T. H. C. Stevenson,1 there has
been a marked rise of fertility, even when the necessary
allowances are made for the peculiar constitution of the
population as regards age and the number of young
married women. Assuming that all necessary statistical
factors have been taken into account, it is hardly possible
to express an opinion as to what may be the cause of
this peculiar result ; but it may be taken as fairly certain
that it is not to be found in religious influences, as Dr.
Stevenson suggests. It may be laid down as one of the
fundamental principles of sociology that the average man
will react to average circumstances in an average manner.
And whenever some special result is produced this must
be the result of special causes. An increase of the birth-
rate in Ireland is just as much in need of explanation
from those who believe that the fluctuations of the birth-
rate are the result of deliberate restrictive measures as
from those who believe that these matters are governed
by natural laws. The almost universal experience of
mankind in all ages is that with increasing prosperity
and a declining deathrate the birthrate also declines, and
this is as true of Roman Catholic as of other countries.

J The Declining Birthrate, p. 350 et seq.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY

103

If, then, Ireland is an exception to this almost universal
rule, such a special result must be due to special causes.
A very little reflection is sufficient to show this, for if
the birthrate is rising, what was keeping it down before
the rise commenced ? Were contraceptives being used,
and is their use now diminishing under the influence
of religion ? Rises in the birthrate are very frequent
phenomena in the world's history, but advocates of the
"race-suicide" view seem never to reflect that an explana-
tion is needed. A decline needs an explanation which
they endeavour to provide, but an increase just " happens
to occur." These cases of apparently increased fertility
in opposition to the general law need much more minute
investigation, and superficial attempts at explanation are
useless.

The increase of fertility in Ireland, if genuine, may
perhaps be due to the fact that the peasantry, now owning
their own farms but encumbered by debt, are working
very hard to get the debt paid off, after the manner of
thrifty peasants the world over, their wives taking a
considerable part in the work. But the birthrate figures
for Ireland for the period from 1903 to 1913 are given
in the Statistical Abstract as follows : —

Year.
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913

Bate per 1,000 of Population.
23-1
23-6
23-4
23-5
23-2
23-3
23-4
23-3
23-2
23-0
22-8

Thus the crude birthrate shows a slight decline up to
the beginning of the war, and if this really represents
a substantial increase of fertility, there must have been

104 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

an enormous increase in the proportion of old people and
children in the population as the result of emigration,
and this is somewhat dubious as a sign of that increased
prosperity to which Dr. Stevenson attributes the alleged
increased fertility. But this apparent increase appears
to be the result of very refined mathematical calcula-
tions based upon very imperfect data. Apparently more
complete proof is needed before much dependence can
be placed upon it.

The principle implies that in comparisons between
different countries the wealthiest and most highly civilised
will have the smallest birthrates. The following table 1
showing the birthrates for many of the chief countries
of the world is by Drs. Newsholm and Stevenson, and is
corrected to allow for the varying numbers and ages of
wives in the population : —

Corrected Birthrate per Thousand of Population.

Legitimate.

Total.

1880-1.

1901-4.

1880-1.

1901-4.

Austria

39-04

32-84

42-86

38-50

Bavaria

39-55

35-59

45-49

40-39

Belgium

38-06

28-85

40-76

31-01

Denmark

35-36

29-94

38-92

33-12

England and Wales

32-73

27-29

34-65

28-41

France

22-73

19-29

25-06

21-63

German Empire

36-44

32-01

40-37

35-34

Ireland

34-59

35-39

35-17

36-08

Italy

33-40

31-17

36-89

33-71

New South Wales

36-53

24-61

38-80

26-47

New Zealand . .

34-88

28-44

36-68

29-63

Norway

37-59

35-62

49-12

37-79

Prussia

36-54

32-72

39-87

35-72

Saxony

35-05

26-60

41-45

31-76

Scotland

36-47

31-65

39-29

33-38

Sweden

35-56

32-90

38-49

36-19

Victoria

34-25

25-77

36-02

27-04

1 The New Dictionary of Statistics, Webb.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 105

This table shows that the highest birthrates are usually
found in the poorest countries. The Russian birthrate
(not given in the table) is the highest in Europe, and the
Russian peasantry are the poorest and most oppressed.
The results are probably powerfully affected by the climate.
The inhabitants of all countries having a dry, bright,
sunny climate show a marked intellectual vivacity and
a tendency to " nerves." On the other hand, the inhabi-
tants of countries having a colder, moister climate are,
other things equal, of a more stolid disposition. If we
take the factors wealth, a bright climate, and a diet rich
in proteids as the principal factors making for nervous
energy and a low birthrate, we shall be fully borne out by
the facts. France, America, and Australia are conspicuous
for all these factors, and those are the countries where
the birthrate is falling most rapidly. Italy has a some-
what lower birthrate than her poverty would lead us to
expect, and this may be due to her climate. Those countries
which are prosperous industrially, but have a colder and
moister climate, have also a somewhat higher birthrate.
England, as being more prosperous than Germany, has
a lower birthrate, but with the advance of industrial
prosperity Germany's birthrate is rapidly falling. The
highest birthrates seem to be found where poverty,
ignorance, and a moist climate go together.

With certain doubtful exceptions, all countries where
the mass of the population are very poor and have a
hard struggle for existence have an enormous birthrate.
The poorer classes of Chinese, for instance, live a hand-
to-mouth existence on a trifling quantity of rice and such
scraps of garbage as their infinitesimal resources will
enable them to purchase. For this they have to labour
terribly hard. So far as I am aware, no figures are
available for the birthrate, but the deathrate is gigantic,

106 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

especially among the children. " One missionary can-
vassed his district and found that nine children out of
ten never grew up. Dr. McCartney of Changhang, after
twenty years of practice, estimates that from 75 to
85 per cent, of the children born there die before
the end of the second year. The returns from Hong-
Kong for 1909 show that the number of children dying
under one year of age is 87 per cent, of the births
within the year. The first census of Formosa seems
to show that nearly half the children born to the
Chinese there die within six months." 1

Nor is this the whole story. The country is continually
devastated by wars, plagues, floods and famines which
sweep away the people like flies. The birthrate, therefore,
must be enormous, for the average numbers of the people
remain undiminished. Japan is also very poor and very
fertile.

Speaking of the Cape Boers, Herbert Spencer quotes
the traveller Barrow as saying : " Unwilling to work and
unable to think . . . indulging to excess in the gratifica-
tion of every sensual appetite, the African peasant grows
to an unwieldy size ; " and of the women Barrow says :
" The women of the African peasantry lead a life of the
utmost inactivity." Then, after illustrating these state-
ments, he speaks of " the prolific tendency of the African
peasantry. Six or seven children in a family are considered
very few ; a dozen to twenty are not uncommon." 2

Probably the remarks concerning the inactivity of the
Boer women are exaggerated. In very few parts of
the world do farmers' wives lead a life of idleness. No
doubt Kaffir servants are plentiful, but their labour is
not of a kind to be trusted far without supervision. In

1 Century Magazine, July, 1911, E. A. Ross.
8 Principles of Biology, vol. ii, part vi, chap, v.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 107

contemplating these big-framed, slow-thinking people,
possessing very little nervous energy, and very fertile,
it is impossible not to be struck by the analogy with
the big-framed, sluggish queen bee. Take an average
married couple and place them in the midst of a large city
with a comfortable income, and their children will prob-
ably grow up into men and women of medium physique,
of active habits, both mental and physical, and of very
moderate fertility. Place the same couple away in the
back-veldt of South Africa, leading a life of extreme
simplicity, and with plenty of simple food, and their
children will grow up into big-framed, sluggish-minded,
and very fertile individuals.

People of all races who lead a simple and mentally
inactive life seem to develop big frames, provided, of
course, that they are also well fed. Even among small
peoples, such as the Japanese, the country people are
of large physique compared with those of the towns.
A complex environment leading to incessant mental
activity results in smaller physical development, other
things equal. It appears that nutrition is diverted from
the muscular tissues and bony framework to the purpose
of maintaining the costly nervous system.

Of course, nervous development does not necessarily
lead to a small stature. Much will depend on the amount
of food, and also the inherited type. The Americans,
who are conspicuous for nervous energy, are a bigger
race than the French, and a much bigger race than the
Japanese, who, taken as a race, are not an outstanding
example of nervous energy. But the Americans are
big eaters, particularly of meat, one of the richest in
proteids of all foods. The French are somewhat frugal
eaters, whilst the rations of the Japanese are notoriously
small. Again, it is observed that the wealthy classes

108 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

in England are usually of somewhat better physical
development than the working classes, in spite of greater
nervous development. But, apart from study, the
children of the wealthier classes do no work. They have
plenty of games and other amusements, and are highly
fed. The children of the workers, on the other hand, are
generally occupied in exhausting labours for about ten
hours a day during their teens. Their work in factories
is often such as to involve an immense drain on the
nervous system, and they are not always well fed. The
question seems to be largely one of the amount of nutrition
available and its proportionate distribution.

It is probable that whilst the difference in stature be-
tween the average countryman and the average towns-
man is a difference of the reaction of the organism to
the environment, the difference in stature between such
peoples as the Americans and the Japanese is one of
inherited type. If we glance round the world we see
that some mountain races, such as the Ghurkas, are small,
while others, such as the Pathans, are tall. The gradual
increase of stature among most civilised races illustrates
the difference between the inherited type and its reaction
to the environment. Though the direct action of a
complex environment appears to develop the cerebral
system at the expense of the rest of the organism, yet
the type itself is growing taller. It is possible that this
increase represents the effort of Nature to provide a better
foundation for the rapidly developing nervous system,
and is rendered possible by the steady improvement in
the conditions of life, particularly by the improved dietary
standards. There is danger that with a rapidly develop-
ing nervous system civilised man will tend more and
more to resemble a boat which is too heavily engined un-
less there is a corresponding development of the physique,

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 109

and to this tendency the great increase of insanity may
be due. There is no necessity for the type to be over-
strung, given a well-developed physique. Many of the
finest examples of nervous development and nervous
energy in our public life are not over-strung because
their well-developed nervous systems are founded on
well -developed physical frames. As the nervous system
appears to direct the distribution of nutrition it would
probably have first call on the supply.

In this connection may be mentioned the fact that a
London journal described the Russian ballet dancers
as " usually short young women." As their training
develops and their performances expend a vast amount
of nervous energy, it is possible that this has some effect
on their physique, especially as they commence their
training very young. It is a significant fact, also, that
Pearson finds that tall women are more fertile than short
women. Well fed and mentally active people of the
towns will be relatively infertile. Well fed and sluggish
country people will be relatively fertile. But in the
case of tHe* poorer townspeople the effects of greater
nervous activity will, in large measure, be counteracted
by bad feeding and overwork.

Of the South African Kaffirs Spencer writes : " Rich
in cattle, leading easy lives, and living almost exclusively
on animal food (chiefly milk, with occasional flesh), these
people were then reputed to have a very high rate of
multiplication. Barrow writes : ' They are said to be
exceedingly prolific ; that twins are almost as frequent
as single births, and that it is no uncommon thing for a
woman to have three at a time.' " 1

The picture drawn by Spencer is a little too rosy. The
degree of fertility will probably be chiefly decided by
1 Principles of Biology, vol. ii, part vi, chap. xii.

110 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

the effect of the environment on the women of the com-
munity. One of the principal items of the Kaffir bill of
fare is " mealies " or maize. All the labour of the Kaffir
households, including the cultivation of the " mealie "
patch, falls on the women. In the matter of food the
women generally get what the men leave. They will
probably seldom taste meat. Thus they are subject to
considerable physical labour, combined with indifferent
feeding on a diet poor in proteids. The fact that c ' mealies ' '
forms a principal item in the diet of both Boers and Kaffirs
is notable, since this is one of the poorest in proteids
and richest in fats of all the grains. The same remark
applies to rice, and rice-eating countries are more fertile
than wheat- and meat-eating countries.

Contrary to what might be expected, peoples like the
Boers, owning large flocks and herds, but leading isolated
lives, are not generally very great meat-eaters. A farmer
finds some difficulty in disposing of the carcase of an
animal when freshly killed with only his own family to
feed, and in such climates as that of South Africa the
only way to preserve the flesh is in unpalatable forms
like " biltong." On the other hand, they will obtain large
quantities of " mealies," milk and eggs. It may be
added that in all new countries, such as Australia, New
Zealand, or America, large families are the rule in the
pioneering days.

The French-Canadians are another race of whose con-
dition Spencer draws far too rosy a picture. The truth is
that these people are an ignorant and backward peasantry,
leading simple, hard-working lives. " When Canada
was conquered by England in 1759, it contained a French
population of 65,000. Without further immigration the
number had increased in 1901 to 2,400,000, including
1,600,000 in Canada, and 800,000 and their children in

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 111

the United States. Scarcely another race has multiplied
as rapidly, doubling every twenty-five years. The con-
trast with the same race in France, where population is
actually declining, is most suggestive. French Canada
is, as it were, a bit of medieval France, picked out and
preserved for the student of social evolution. No French
Revolution broke down its old institutions, and the English
conquest changed little else than the oath of allegiance.
Language, customs, laws and property rights remained
unaltered. The only State Church in North America is
the Roman Catholic Church of Quebec, with its great
wealth, its control of education, and its right to levy tithes
and other church dues. With a standard of living lower
than that of the Irish or Italians, and a population in-
creasing even more rapidly, the French from Canada
for a time seemed destined to displace other races in the
textile mills of New England." 1

Thus the race which is in France perhaps the least
fertile in the world becomes in Canada, " with a standard
of living lower than that of the Irish or Italians, " one
of the most fertile races in the world. They are a race of
backward peasant farmers, living in a country which is
under snow for some five months in the year, and earning
their living by hard physical labour in which their wives,
no doubt, take a substantial share. Throughout the world
all races of mankind tell the same story, with one or two
doubtful exceptions.

Most observers seem to agree that many of the more
backward races of the world, such as the Hottentots
and Bushmen of South Africa, generally have small
families. Spencer quotes Barrow as writing a century
ago of the Hottentots that they were poor and ill-fed,
and had to do all the work for the idle Boers. He added
1 Races and Immigrants in America, John R. Common.

112 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

that they seldom have more than two or three children,
and that many of the women are barren. It is doubtful,
however, if the Hottentots were really badly used by the
Boers when working for them as servants. The case
of the Bushmen was different. They lived by hunting,
and when the Boers killed off the game from their hunting-
grounds, they were driven to make depredations on the
cattle of the Boers. This led to reprisals, and a war of
extermination was waged against them. It is not probable
that the Hottentots lived harder lives than the lower-
class Chinese. Indeed, their lives were probably less
hard. Yet it is the custom to attribute their small
families to the hard conditions of life under which these
lower races live.

Similar statements are made about other races.
Westermarck * quotes Mr. Catlin as saying : " It is a
very rare occurrence for an Indian woman to be * blessed *
with more than four or five children during her life ; and,
generally speaking, they are contented with two or three."
Among these lower races there is an immense mortality
especially among children. The mortality among adults
is also very great owing to wars, disease, and other mis-
fortunes. The above remarks do not appear to be based
on very accurate investigations. If they are true, how
have the numbers of the race been kept up in the past '?
No doubt the Indians are dying out now, but they must
have existed for ages before the discovery of America in
undiminished numbers, although continually at war.

Speaking of the Equatorial Africans, Mr. Reade says :
" Propagation is a perfect struggle ; polygamy becomes
a law of nature ; and even with the aid of this institution,
so favourable to reproduction, there are fewer children
than wives." 2 Consider the circumstances of the case.

1 The History of Human Marriage, Westermarck. » Ibid.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 118

Africa has been ravaged by the slave trade for centuries.
Huge areas have been devastated again and again.
Pestilences on a gigantic scale have swept the country.
The people have been continually lighting amongst
themselves. The infantile mortality rate is, of course,
enormous. In spite of all these factors making for an
enormous deathrate, the total numbers of the population
do not diminish. Yet we are told that the number of
children is less than the number of wives ! Surely the
age of miracles is still with us.

The generally received opinion that the lowest races
are very infertile does not appear to be based on a careful
examination of the birthrate. Rather it seems to be
due to a superficial observation of the number of living
children. Where the deathrate is very high, a high
birthrate is quite compatible with small families. We
have seen that various observers estimate that nine out
of ten of the children born to the lower-class Chinese
never grow up. This means, if true, that in order to
maintain the numbers of the population an average of
twenty children must be born to every two adults. Even
allowing for exaggeration, it is easy to see that there may
be a high birthrate and still small families. If these low
races are actually infertile, it can hardly be because they
lead harder lives than the lower-class Chinese ; nor is
it to be supposed that they are governed by different
biological laws.

The Equatorial Africans live in a country with a fertile
soil and a hot, moist climate — a country which produces
an abundance of crops in return for a small amount of
labour. Compare this with the Russian peasant woman,
living in a cold and inhospitable climate, with a compara-
tively infertile soil. She labours in the field along with
the men, and is even said to assist in drawing the plough.

8

114 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

Yet these Russian peasant women are the most fertile
in Europe. It is probable that the day-to-day life of
most of these primitive peoples is not so hard as the lives
led by the poorest classes in Europe, especially in Russia.
If, therefore, they are less fertile, it will be because their
lives are less hard, not because the conditions of life are
harder. But such evidence as is available seems to point
to their being very fertile.

Take the case of the " Western Australians, among
whom the mortality of children is so enormous that the
greater number of them do not survive even the first
month after birth, and who inhabit a land pre-eminently
unproductive of animals and vegetables fitted to sustain
life, a land where ' during the summer season the black
man riots in comparative abundance, but during the
rest of the year . . . the struggle for existence becomes
very severe.' "l And take as a further example the
inhabitants of the highly favoured country of Uganda.
" One great source of mortality is the unprecedented
lack of knowledge and common sense shown by the women.
Children are never allowed to be born in the house, the
mother being always carried out into the open air, and
the first operation the child experiences is that of being
washed in cold water. Then, though the country is
not supplied with cow's milk, and few peasants can
obtain it, they never milk the goats, of which almost
every peasant has a few ; and when the mother dies, or
cannot produce food for her offspring, they try to bring
up the child on the soft pulp of bananas, or banana beer.
The wretched state of housing, too, is responsible for many
deaths. No weakling can live under such conditions, and
80 per cent, or more of the children die in early infancy." 2

1 The History of Human Marriage, Westermarck.
8 Th* Baganda at Home, C. W. Hattersley.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 115

The Baganda are an exceptionally intelligent race
occupying an exceptionally fertile country. As such
races as the Bushmen, the Hottentots, and the Australians
are much more depraved, and live under much harder
conditions, it seems certain that their deathrate is much
higher. With the aid of a little simple arithmetic the
reader may form for himself a rough estimate of the number
of births necessary to maintain the numbers of the popula-
tion, and may judge for himself the validity of the current
opinion that the lowest races are less fertile than the
more civilised races. A mass of evidence to the same effect
might be quoted. Apparently the facts deserve a much
more painstaking and exact investigation than they have
yet received.

As an example of the loose way in which superficial
observations and opinions are propagated as established
facts may be mentioned the belief that half-castes are
very infertile. This has been shown by Westermarck
to be without foundation. Bishop R. Salvado says :
11 With regard to the sterility of half-caste natives, of
which I had no experience when I wrote my book, I
am able now to deny it altogether, except in cases similar
to those among Europeans. I know several cases of
husband and wife, half-caste natives, having at present
six and seven and even eight children, and they may
in time have more ; and I know a good many Europeans
who, having married native women, have several children-
In fact, in the case of one of these marriages there were
six children and in another seven, and I could give the
names of each of them." 1

These facts are the more remarkable because Dr. J. R.
Thomson says that " the Australian woman, when she
places herself under the roof of a European settler as
1 The History oj Human Marriage, Westermarck.

116 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

his concubine or wife, appears to become less fertile,
although she has more regular diet, comfort and covering."1
She probably becomes less fertile because she receives
better diet, comfort and clothing. The principle provides
that in actual famine conditions or cases of excessive
debility the birthrate will diminish. But if such conditions
are very prolonged the race will become extinct.

It is in comparisons between the birthrates of different
social classes of the same country that the operation of
the principle will be most clearly traced. The people
will live under the same climate and under much the
same laws and institutions, and the statistics . will be
compiled by the same methods. As it is probable that
the degree of fertility will be decided mainly by the
effects of the environment on the women of the com-
munity, it is to the condition of the women that we must
look for evidence.

Criticising another theory Spencer says : " That absolute
or relative infertility is commonly caused by mental
labour carried to excess is more clearly shown. Though
the regimen of upper-class girls is not what it should be,
yet, considering that their feeding is better than that of
girls belonging to the poorer classes, while in most other
respects their physical treatment is not worse, the deficiency
in reproductive power among them may be reasonably
attributed to the over-taxing of their brains, an over-
taxing which produces a serious reaction on the physique.
The diminution of reproductive power is not shown only
by the frequency of absolute sterility, nor is it shown
only in the early cessation of child-bearing ; but it is also
shown in the very frequent inability of such women to
suckle their infants. In its full sense, the reproductive
power means the power to bear a well-developed infant

1 The History of Human Marriage, Westermarck.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 117

and to supply that infant with the natural food for the
natural period. Most of the flat-chested girls who sur-
vive their high-pressure education are incompetent to do
this. Were their fertility measured by the number of
children they could rear without artificial aid, they would
prove relatively very infertile." 1

The remarks about flat-chested girls and the over-
taxing of their brains need not be taken too seriously.
This is special pleading. Infertility is not confined to
flat-chested girls of inferior physique. On the contrary,
it is most conspicuous among those women who have
had the advantage of good feeding and the best physical
training. It is very common among women of a pro-
nounced athletic tendency. Physical culture and bodily
labour, it should be borne in mind, are very different
things. The one consists of exercise in moderation,
often accompanied, as in the case of games, with agreeable
mental stimulus. The other consists of more or less
exhausting drudgery, often depressing in its effects.
The difference in nervous energy between a well-fed,
athletic women and the average poorly-fed and depressed
wash-woman is conspicuous.

The view that severe mental effort seriously affects
the fertility of women receives strong confirmation from
a statement by Dean Inge before the National Birthrate
Commission. " A few years ago very careful statistics
were drawn up as to the fertility of women, either both
at Oxford and Cambridge or at Oxford alone — I am not
quite sure which — arranging them in classes, with the
remarkable result that the third-class women had more
children than the second-class, and the second-class
more children than the first-class. Those who had been
through a severe intellectual course were sterile, and
1 Principles oj Biology, vol. ii, part vi, chap. xii.

118 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

those who had obtained, say, a first-class in mathematics
were the most barren of all." 1

This was certainly a remarkable result, though it ia
rendered very probable by the evidence already reviewed.
Perhaps the fact that the Commission, in face of such
evidence as this, reported themselves as unable to discover
any connection between intellectual development and
infertility was because they found, on examining the
records of a considerable number of women who had
received a college education, that they were no more
infertile than a number of women who had not been
educated at college. But this shows a misconception.
Intellectual activity is not confined to colleges or study.
A woman who is educated privately, and who leads the
active everyday life of the woman of the world, may be
as active intellectually and develop as much nervous
energy as a college woman, or more. It is a question of
the degree of mental activity, not of whether a woman
receives a college education or not. Now, in the case
of the women mentioned by Dean Inge who had gained
honours at college it is clear that those who gained a first-
class must have been of higher cerebral development than
those who cnly gained a second-class, or else must have
worked their brains more assiduously. Hence the differ-
ence in fertility.

Hawthorne, in The Scarlet Letter, has a passage which
admirably describes the effect of a superior and intellectu-
ally stimulating environment on the physical develop-
ment of women. Comparing the modern American
woman with the women of the old immigrants, he says :
" Morally, as well as materially, there was a coarser fibre
in those wives and maidens of old English birth and breeding
than in their fair descendants, separated from them by
1 The Declining Birthrate, p. 328.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 119

a series of six or seven generations ; for throughout that
chain of ancestry every successive mother has trans-
mitted to her child a fainter bloom, a more delicate and
briefer beauty, and a slighter physical frame, if not a
character of less force and solidity than her own. The
women who were now standing about the prison door
stood within less than half a century of the period when
the man-like Elizabeth had been the not altogether
unsuitable representative of her sex. They were her
countrywomen, and the beef and ale of their native
land entered largely into their composition. The bright
morning sun, therefore, shone on broad shoulders and
well-developed busts, and on round and ruddy cheeks,
that had ripened in the far-off island, and had hardly
yet grown paler or thinner in the atmosphere of New
England."

As education spread and the environment grew more
complex and intellectually stimulating, so the nervous
system developed and the physique grew less coarse. A
more sensitive type developed with a larger fund of
nervous energy, but less heavy in frame and muscle. No
doubt the refinement of the physique is largely due to
the diversion of nutrition for the purpose of maintaining
the costly nervous system ; but probably more subtle
causes are also at work. The change is not confined
to America, but is to be seen all over the world where
the environment is improving. In comparisons between
the women of the poorer classes and the women of the
richer classes in any country the difference can be seen,
and also in comparisons between countrywomen and
women living in the large cities. But women of all
classes are in some measure affected by the change, which,
of course, is complementary to the change in the physique
of men, and their increasing nervoug development.

120 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

Looking at the women painted by the Old Masters of
the Middle Ages the change is conspicuous. This is
how Nitti describes them : " The painters of the Renais-
sance handed down figures of healthy and strong women ;
even the Madonnas were for the most part portraits of
mothers with full breasts and strong bodies, with a baby
on their arm or around their neck. The types of women
painted by Rubens, Rembrandt, Titian, and even Raphael,
are types of healthy and robust women, under whose
naked bosoms runs a sound and vigorous blood." 1 Nitti
then goes on to utter the usual pessimistic lamentations
about the alleged decadence of the modern woman. In
this it is not necessary to follow him. It is not logical
to look upon the inevitable results of progressive evolution
and cerebral development as the stigmata of degeneration.

A coarser type is not necessarily superior. A more
sensitive type is not necessarily inferior. It is true that
the more highly developed type does not reproduce as
readily as the more primitive. But if reproductive capa-
city be accepted as the test of superiority, man is inferior
to the dog or the rabbit, and almost infinitely decadent
when compared with those unicellular organisms from
which he is supposed to have evolved. Again, the average
business man is probably less efficient than the 'average
navvy at shovelling coal, but he is not to be looked upon
as an inferior type in consequence. Take a bird's eye
view of the facts as a whole : compare the big, sluggish
queen bee with the small and active worker ; compare
the big-framed lowland sheep with the small and active
mountain sheep ; compare the heavy, placid cart-horse
with the light-framed, highly-strung racer ; or compare
the heavy, large-boned, slow-thinking countrywoman
with the slight-framed, highly strung woman of the
1 Population and the Social System, Nitti, part ii.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 121

educated and wealthy classes, and the facts through-
out show that the development of the nervous system
and nervous energy are accompanied by lessened
fertility.

There is some reason to believe that the development
of the nervous system as the result of the increasingly
complex environment and increasing intellectual activity
is being accentuated from generation to generation.
" The parturitions of savage women resemble those of
the lower animals in their comparative ease, the mother
often resuming her duties immediately after birth. As
a rule, the difficulties of civilised women are very much
greater, for few of them are able to pursue their occupa-
tion for a fortnight or more after parturition. Their
difficulties increase with each successive generation.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, according
to the statistics of the Rotunda Hospital, instrumental
aid was given to women on the average once in 608 cases.
Probably it is now given twenty times as often. No
doubt much of this change is due to the greater skill and
confidence acquired by medical men : but certainly not
all of it. Every medical man in ordinary practice sees
many cases in which the woman would perish but for
his aid.

" Several attempts have been made to explain this
growing disproportion between the child's head and
the maternal pelvis." 1 It seems a fair inference that
the trouble is due to the increase in the relative size of
the child's head, and that this is due to the development
of the brain in response to the increasing complexity of
the environment. It is certainly not due to a decrease
in the width of the female pelvis among civilised races,
for the pelvis of the average civilised woman is conspicu-
1 Principles of Heredity, Dr. Archdall Reid, chap. xxv.

122 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

ously wider than the pelvis of the average savage woman.
What are needed in this connection are systematic observa-
tions extending over a number of generations.

Such a number of authorities have confirmed the fact
of the steady decline of the birthrate from the poorest
to the richest classes, and such a mass of statistics have
been gathered in support that it seems unnecessary to
go in for an extensive discussion of this aspect of the
problem. The following table by Dr. Bertillon showing
the number of legitimate births per 1,000 women in Paris
and Berlin is typical : —

Births per 1,000 Married

Women Aged 15 to 50.

Population In.

Paris.

Berlin.

Very poor quarters

143

204

Poor quarters

.

128

198

Comfortable quarters

.

109

192

Very comfortable quartf

rs

96

172

Rich quarters

.

94

145

Very rich quarters

•

85

121

Nothing could be more striking than the gradual reduc-
tion of the degree of fertility as the population grows
richer. It would probably be possible to estimate the
degree of fertility of any given section of a community
by calculating its average income. No really satisfactory
explanation of this phenomenon has ever been put forward
under the accepted hypothesis. For why should a man
with, say, £50 a year limit his family to perhaps
five, and the man with £100 a year limit his family
to four, and the man with £200 limit his family
to three, and so on until we reach the vanishing point
among the very rich, who in a vast proportion of cases

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 123

are content to be childless in spite of the fact that they
are well able to support children, and have wealth and
sometimes titles to leave them ? The number of children
always varies inversely with the capacity to support them,
and although the theory of social capillarity has some
application to the middle classes, it has no application to
the very wealthy. According to that theory the smallest
families should be found among the lower middle classes
— among those of limited means but large ambitions, who
are just getting their heads above the crowd. But these
people seem to have larger families on the average than
the wealthiest classes. The best test, of course, is provided
by the number of completely sterile marriages, but owing
to the failure of statisticians to realise this, no systematic
investigation of this aspect of the question has been
undertaken. Yet it does seem certain that there is a
steady rise in the proportion of completely sterile mar-
riages as the birthrate falls. In France the proportion
appears to be about 20 per cent., with 25 per cent,
among the wealthier classes, while we have already
seen that among the abler and intellectual classes in
most countries it appears to range from 25 to 33
per cent., whereas completely infertile marriages are
said to be very rare among such fertile races as the
Philippines and the French-Canadians. But this matter
of the percentage of completely sterile marriages should
receive the most careful investigation by statisticians.
For the rest it need only be said that the phenomena
displayed in Paris and Berlin are common to all the
countries which have been overtaken by the decline of
the birthrate.

In view of the immense proportion of childless marriages
in France and what has already been said about the
" demographic woman," it will be useful and instructive

124 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

to quote a passage from a well-known writer showing
what the attitude of French women towards children
really is. Mr. W. L. George, who has an intimate know-
ledge of France, declares that " maternal love is a ferocious
thing, ready at a pinch to devour the mother herself ;
in France it is carried to sublime lengths of devotion,
to sublime lengths of folly. Owing, perhaps, to the fact
that families are small, that they so often number but
one child, the mother's love concentrates itself round
but few objects ; it gains in intensity that which it loses
in extent. The child is everything ; its well-being, its
training, its education, are the mother's perpetual care.
French households do not know the nursery where the
child is given over to hirelings ; it hardly knows the
kindergarten where it is estranged from its mother, the
boarding school at an early age where the gentle boy
is coarsened and brutalised. Not only does the French
mother usually nurse her own baby, but in later years
she will attend to its feeding and clothing herself ; she
will herself give it its first lessons, make it her playmate
as well as her toy. In these respects she does not differ
from the best British mothers, but the average type seems
superior to that known in these isles." 1 And yet on the
accepted theory we have to assume that in something like
20 per cent, of cases these women are taking the most
troublesome precautions from the very marriage eve
to avoid having a single child !

From the fact that before 1870 there were 4' 99 children
per marriage on the average among clerical families, and
after 1870 an average of 4*2, Dr. Whetham 2 infers that
there has been no decline of fertility due to natural causes.
Against this, however, may be set the fact that Dean Inge

1 Quoted from Fecundity versus Civilisation, Adelyne More.
* The Family and the, Nation.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 125

declares that " next to the doctors and the teaching
profession, the clergy are now foremost in exercising the
necessary prudence."1 A decline of nearly one-sixth
is not to be ignored, and we may be confident that had
the figures been arranged in decades a considerably larger
fall would have been shown. A table given by Dr.
Stevenson in The Falling Birthrate shows that their average
fertility falls between that of carpenters and teachers.
But should we expect, on the theory set forth in this
work, as large a decline among the clergy as among the
wealthy classes generally ? It must be borne in mind
that there has been little or no increase in the incomes of
the clergy. They are comparatively poor men, leading,
during the greater part of their careers, quiet lives in small
country towns and villages. The women with whom they
come into contact are in large proportion church workers
of quiet, matronly disposition. Clergymen have few
opportunities of marrying heiresses, and they obviously
cannot afford to marry women of expensive tastes. In
short, their wives will be usually women of quiet tastes
who have spent their early years in country vicarages and
similar environments. And if their fertility shows only
a moderate decline, are we justified in assuming that
there has been no greater decline among women who have
spent their lives among the whirl of society in London,
New York, or Paris ? And, after all, the fertility of the
clergy is only a fraction greater than that of the middle
classes generally. Moreover, while the average family
was only 4' 99 even before 1870, at a period when it is
assumed that the use of preventive measures was practically
unknown, Dr. Woodruff declares that the family still num-
bers from fifteen to twenty among the Philippines.2 To

1 Evening Standard, August 30, 1920.
1 The Expansion of Races, p. 177.

126 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

what shall we attribute this difference, if not to a differ-
ence of natural fertility due to a difference of environment ?

The theory implies that in the fluctuations of the
fortunes of a race, periods of depression will show an
increasing birthrate and periods of prosperity a decline.
Nitti remarks of the French that this race, which has now
become so sterile, " was able in less than three-quarters
of a century, from 1715 to 1789, to increase from eighteen
to twenty-six millions." * This was the period in French
history of great wars, of profligate extravagance and of
abominable oppression, which culminated in the French
Revolution.

Nitti further says : " Generally speaking, countries
which have a great mortality have also a great birthrate,
and vice versa ; we might almost say that death calls
for life, and that there is something unconscious and
fatal in the vicissitudes of things.

" Wars, famines, and epidemics are generally succeeded
by years of a very high birthrate. In France in the two
years preceding 1870 the birthrate was only 20' 5 per
1,000, but after the very high deathrate produced by
war and small-pox in 1870 — 1871, the birthrate rose in
1872, and for some years following remained at 26*7.
In Prussia, while for two years preceding 1870 the birth-
rate was 39, it increased and remained at 41'5 for the
three succeeding years.

" In 1868 Finland suffered from a terrible scarcity,
which increased the deathrate, but a remarkable fecundity
during many years filled up the gaps." 2 Wars, famines,
and epidemics produce periods of hard times which show
their effects in the increased birthrate. The jump in the
birthrate which usually follows a war, however, seems
to be largely due to the fact that the war has taken a

1 Population and the Social System, Nitti. • Ibid.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 127

large proportion of the men away from their wives and
led to a general postponement of marriage. With the
return of the men there is naturally an increase of both
the marriage and birthrates. Europe is witnessing such
a temporary rise at present, but its duration will probably
be only a matter of months.

At the beginning of last century there occurred in
England an enormous dislocation of the old home industries,
owing to the introduction of the factory system. The
effect was disastrous to the working classes, and led to a
serious lowering of the standard of comfort among them.
It also led to the employment of women in the factories
on a large scale. The resulting effect on the birthrate is
described by Nitti. " In England, as in every industrial
country, the wages of the women and children supplemented
the insufficient wages of the adult. Then the labouring
class, impelled by necessity, abandoned that prudent
foresight which it had maintained for centuries and
multiplied itself without bounds and without order." l
No evidence can be produced as to the exercise of a
" prudent foresight " in previous centuries ; but it seems
certain that there was an immense increase in the birth-
rate. Much of the apparent increase may have been
statistical, and due to improved registration ; but the
rapid increase of population seems to show that much
of it was real.

Like causes produce like effects, and a similar result is
making itself apparent in Japan to-day. The rapid
introduction of European and American machinery is
breaking up the old home industries, and leading to the
employment of a large number of the people in the fac-
tories, including, of course, a disproportionate number
of women and children. This has inevitably led to a

1 Population and the Social System, Nitti.

128 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

lowering of the standard of comfort. Lafcadio Hearn
declares that with no legislation to protect the workers
there have been brought into existence " all the horrors
of the factory system at its worst." l The effect is to
be seen in an enormous increase of the birthrate, com-
parable in magnitude with the corresponding phenomenon
in England. Thus we are told that " in Japan the birth-
rate is rising, and has increased in the last twenty-five
years from 25'8 to 39'9 per 1,000 of the population." 2
No doubt a good deal of this apparent increase is merely
statistical, but not all of it. This is shown by the fact
that with the increased prosperity brought about by the
war, and probably also as the result of legislative measures
to protect the workers, the birthrate has begun to decline.
One peculiarity of the advocates of the view that the
decline of the birthrate is due to deliberate restrictive
measures is their failure to realise that a rise in the birth-
rate stands in just as much need of explanation as a
fall. Birthrates have risen as well as fallen in many
countries at periods long before the Neo-Malthusian
League was heard of. And if natural causes are capable
of causing an increase, then a reversal of the conditions
which brought about the increase should produce a
decline. The conditions which brought about the in-
crease in England about the beginning of last century, and
in Japan towards the end of it, have now been reversed,
and the decline to be anticipated has actually occurred.
As the result of natural causes both increase and decrease
are readily understood. But how explain the increase
on the accepted theory ? Nitti, who is evidently not un-
conscious of this dilemma, hints at a " prudent foresight "
as having been practised before the increase occurred, but

1 Japan: An Interpretation. Lafcadio Hearn.

* Aristocracy of Birth, R. J. Ewart. Eugenics Beview, July, 1911.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 129

which was abandoned as soon as the workers experienced
an urgent need for it. The explanation, however, is
altogether unconvincing. This assumption that the
readiness of people to bear children always varies inversely
with their ability to support them is an extraordinary
example of the lengths to which assumption will be
carried in the effort to give plausibility to untenable
theories.

The birthrate continued to increase in England until
the development of trade unionism, the passing of factory
legislation, and the spread of education produced a
general improvement in their condition. Then a decline
set in, and has continued ever since. Much the same
story has been repeated in all other countries which
have passed through a similar industrial cycle. Here are
figures showing the decline in the German birthrate :

Births per 1,000 Inhabitants.

1860

37-9

1905

34-0

1876

42-6

1906

34-1

1890

37-0

1907

33-2

1895

37-3

1908

33-0

1900

36-8

1909

32-0

1902

36-2

1910

30-7

1903

34-9

1911

29-5

1904

35-2

1912

29-1

As one table is typical of the rest, there is no need to
multiply statistics.

Nitti 2 gives some interesting figures showing the
improvement in dietary standards.

The average consumption of corn in France for every
inhabitant : —

Hectolitres.
.. 1-53
.. 1-85
2-11

In 1821
In 1842
In 1872
In 1888

2-70

1 From Fecundity versus Civilisation, Adelyne More.
and the Social System.
9

130 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

Articles of food consumed by the Belgian working
man, calculated by months : —

1853.

1884.

1891.

Bread, kil

15-920

17-677

20-770

Potatoes, kil.

22-573

21-966

17-866

Meat and bacon

0-757

1-527

1-828

Butter and fat

0-875

1-233

1-246

The outvstanding features are the increase in the con-
sumption of bread, meat and butter, foods rich in pro-
teids and fats, and the decrease in the consumption of
the relatively innutritious potato. The consumption of
meat has increased enormously in most countries, and
in this connection may be noted the fact that experiments
carried out by Dr. Chalmers Watson * indicate that a
purely meat diet produces sterility " more or less complete "
in animals. True, the conditions were very severe, but
the experiments indicate that the great increase of meat-
eating may be a contributory cause of the increasing
sterility among human beings.

In the light of the facts examined we are enabled to
understand the curious revenge often obtained by subject
races in outbreeding and ultimately absorbing their
conquerors. For example, the Saxons under the Normans,
and the Chinese under the Manchus. It is true that Nitti
expresses the view that slaves are unprolific, which appears
to be the received opinion, but he gives no evidence in
support of this view save some vague assertions that
enslaved races abandon themselves to despair. It seems
to be one of those conventional fallacies which pass current
because no one takes the trouble to examine the facts.

There is no obvious reason why slaves should be in-

1 The Declining Birthrate.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 131

fertile. Human nature is very adaptable. No one
would assert that slaves are less subject to hunger and
thirst than free men. Why, then, should the sexual
appetite fail ? Nitti attributes this alleged infertility
to despair ; but he also attributes the excessive fertility
of poor races and classes to the same cause. It is not
clear why despair should cause excessive fertility in one
case and sterility in another. The evidence all goes to
prove that slaves are generally fertile. The serfs of
medieval Europe and Russia must have been very fertile,
as is evident from the fact that they maintained their
numbers in spite of an enormous deathrate. The negroes
in America and the Israelites in Egypt were also very
fertile. At the period immediately preceding the fall
of the Roman Empire it is asserted that nearly one-half
of the population of Italy consisted of slaves, and this
does not suggest infertility.

In the case of the negroes of the Northern United Statea
the degree of fertility was much greater than among the
whites in the days of slavery. After emancipation and
with the general improvement in the standard of living
the negro birthrate began to show the usual symptoms.
" At the beginning of the nineteenth century the southern
negroes were increasing much faster than the southern
whites. At the end of it they were increasing only about
three-fifths as fast." l The civil war and emancipation
which brought improvement to the lot of the negro brought
financial disaster to his masters. The Southern States
are the poorest and most backward, and they contain
large numbers of " poor whites " whose condition is little
if at all better than that of the negroes. It is significant
that there appears to have been as yet no serious decline
in the white birthrate in the South. " We have seen
1 Races and Immigrants in America, John R. Common.

132 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

that the negro population has not kept pace with the
native white population. The reason is to be found in
the smaller excess of births over deaths." l The larger
deathrate of the negro appears to be due to constitutional
weaknesses which make him peculiarly liable to con-
sumption and other diseases, and also to his loose sexual
habits.

A classic example of the effect of oppression on the
fertility of a race is provided by the case of the Israelites
in Egypt under Pharaoh. Let the chronicler tell his
own story : —

" Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which
knew not Joseph.

" And -he said unto his people, Behold, the people
of the children of Israel are more and mightier
than we :

" Come on, let us deal wisely with them ; lest they
multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth
out any war, they join also to our enemies, and fight
against us. and so get them up out of the land."

Pharaoh was a prudent and thoughtful statesman.
His method of dealing with the situation was eminently
statesmanlike.

" Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to
afflict them with their burdens. And they built for
Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

" But the more they afflicted them, the more they
multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because
of the children of Israel."

No wonder they were " grieved." The Israelites were

notoriously a stiff necked people. On this occasion they

displayed a perversity that must have driven Pharaoh

nearly to distraction. Such a swarm of little Israelites

1 Races and Immigrants in America, John R. Common.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 133

appeared as had never been known in the history of the
tribe.

" And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to
serve with rigour :

" And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage,
in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in
the field : all their service, wherein they made them
serve, was with rigour.

" And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives,
of which the name of the one was Shiprah and the name
of the other Puah :

" And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to
the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools ; if
it be a son, then ye shall kill him : but if it be a daughter,
then she shall live.

" But the midwives feared God, and did not as the
king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men
children alive.

" And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and
said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have
saved the men children alive ?

" And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the
Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women ; for
they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come
in unto them."

This liveliness is noteworthy. Evidently then, as now,
difficult confinements were among the privileges of the
ruling classes. Those were the spacious days when every
freeborn and independent Egyptian claimed the right
to wallop his own Hebrew. But the effect of oppression
was to make the Israelites fertile to an unprecedented
degree, "and the people multiplied, and waxed very
mighty." The king of Egypt was at last driven to
desperate measures.

184 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

" And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every
son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every
daughter ye shall save alive."

How far this policy was made effective we are not
informed. Pharaoh died, broken no doubt in heart
and health by his failure to reverse the order of Nature.
Let us deal gently with his errors. He did his best
according to the statecraft of his age. The problem
has baffled many a wiser and many a better man.

Of the troubles that befell his successor in his efforts
to stem the rising flood of Israelitish humanity we need
not here speak. Suffice to say that he at last conceived
such a master stroke of policy as must have wrung a
smile from the stony features of the Sphinx itself.

" And Pharaoh commanded the same day the task-
masters of the people, and their officers, saying :

' Ye shall no more give the people straw to make
brick, as heretofore : let them go and gather straw for
themselves.

41 And the tale of the bricks which they did make
heretofore, ye shall lay upon them ; ye shall not diminish
ought thereof."

The result may be imagined ! Centuries have rolled
into centuries. Behind humanity lies the experience
of four thousand years. Yet beneath that inscrutable
calm the Sphinx must be smiling still, for statesmen
are still statesmen.

Another aspect of the question which deserves some
attention is presented by the seasonal fluctuations of
the birthrate. Westermarck attributes these seasonal
fluctuations to fluctuations of the sexual instinct due to
the survival of traces of a primitive annual pairing season.
But no fluctuations of the sexual instinct would affect

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 185

the birthrate unless sexual union were confined wholly
to one season, assuming that there has been no decline
of natural fertility. Westermarck quotes Mr. Johnston
and Mr. Powers as regards the wild Indians of California
and Mr. Oldfield in regard to the Watch-an-dies of Western
Australia as testifying that these primitive races have
an annual rutting season and only one time for copulation
during the year. Yet " the he-goat and the ass in southern
countries, for instance, rut throughout the whole year." 1
From this it would appear that the evolution of the lower
races of mankind has advanced less far in respect to the
sexual instinct than that of the he-goat and the ass.

Probably this so-called pairing season is nothing but
a love feast. How is it possible to prove that sexual
intercourse is confined to one part of the year ? Any
assertions made by the members of the tribes in question
would be very liable to be misunderstood, and if under-
stood correctly would be quite unreliable. To ascertain
the fact with any degree of certainty would require obser-
vations of unheard-of delicacy — observations carried out
with a nicety and thoroughness which would have brought
a warm red blush to the cheek of Peeping Tom himself.
Moreover, if copulation took place only at one season,
all the births would take place at one season, but no
such result is mentioned.

Dr. Westermarck also thinks that natural selection
" can account for the periodicity of the sexual instinct
in such a rude race as the Western Australians, among
whom the mortality of children is so enormous that the
greater number of them do not survive even the first
month after birth, and who inhabit a land pre-eminently
unproductive of animals and vegetables fitted to sustain
human life, a land where ' during the summer season
1 The History of Human Marriage, Westermarck.

136 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

the black man riots in comparative abundance, but during
the rest of the year . . . the struggle for existence becomes
very severe.' " x But as Dr. Westermarck quotes Mr.
Oldfield as declaring that the annual pairing season in
Western Australia takes place about the middle of spring,
this would result in all the births occurring about the
middle of winter, the season when the children would
have least chance to survive. Therefore any attempt
to account for the seasonal fluctuations of the birthrate
as the result of pairing seasons and natural selection is
hopeless.

To trace in the seasonal fluctuations of the birthrate
the action of the principle advocated here is rendered
exceptionally difficult by the complexity of the factors.
Thus during the harvest season food is very abundant.
It is a season of high feeding. But it is also a season
of strenuous work, and it would be difficult to decide
whether the high feeding or the hard work would be the
most potent factor in affecting the birthrate. Still, as
the winter season is undoubtedly the hardest period in
most countries, it is during that season that we should
expect, on this theory, the maximum number of concep-
tions to occur.

The amount of evidence available is limited, but such
as there is tells distinctly in favour of the theory. Wester-
marck provides a quantity of evidence bearing on the
point, the most important of which is contained in the
following passage : "In the northern parts of Europe
many more conceptions take place in the months of May
and June, when the conditions of life are often rather
hard, than in September, October, and November, when
the supplies of food are comparatively plentiful. In the
north-western province of Germany, as well as in Sweden,
1 The History of Human Marriage^ Westermarck.

MANIFESTED IN HUMAN SOCIETY 187

the latter months are characterised by a minimum of
conceptions. Among the Kaffirs, more children are
conceived in November and December than in any other
month, although, according to the Rev. H. T. Cousins,
food is most abundant among them from March to
September. And among the Bateke, the maximum
of conceptions falls in December and January, although
food is, as I am informed by Dr. Sims, most plentiful in
the dry season, that is, from May to the end of August.

" On the other hand, the periodical increase of con-
ceptions cannot be explained by the opposite hypothesis
entertained by some physiologists, that the power of
reproduction is increased by want and distress. Among
the Western Australians and Californians, for instance,
the * season of love ' is accompanied by a surplus of food,
and in the home of the Bakongo, among whom Mr.
Ingham believes most conceptions to take place in Decem-
ber and January, food is, according to him, most abundant
precisely in these months and February." 1

The " season of love " has no necessary connection
with the maximum number of conceptions. Thus in
support of the theory we have a number of fairly definite
facts, and against it merely an opinion that the maximum
number of conceptions among the Bakongo occurs during
the season of plenty. A careful investigation would
probably show clearly the action of the principle wherever
the facts are sufficiently clear to justify an inference.
1 Th* History of Human Marriage, Westermarok.

CHAPTER VII

THE PRINCIPLE AS MANIFESTED AMONG
UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS

IN the foregoing pages it has been from time to time
observed that the principle under discussion is a law
governing the union of sperm cell and ovum. We must
now see why this is so, and endeavour to gain a closer
insight into the nature of the principle. As the theory
was deduced from the theory of evolution, and as the
theory of evolution assumes the development of the higher
forms of life from minute unicellular organisms, it follows
that it should apply to the first beginnings of life among
these minute organisms. The sperm cell and ovum are
in the first instance nothing but specialised unicellular
organisms, and we may be confident that they will be
governed by the same general principles as the organisms
from which they were originally derived. So that,
although these organisms exist in enormous variety, and
although they are adapted to an enormous variety of
conditions, yet we should be able to trace, amid a vast
complexity of facts, some faint foreshadowing of our
principle.

Unfortunately, the evidence available on this part of
the subject is very meagre. Nevertheless, such evidence
as there is tells with remarkable force in favour of the
theory. Before examining this evidence, however, it is
necessary to inquire to what rules we should expect the
conjugation of these unicellular organisms to conform.
We have seen that the higher organisms generally, among

138

AMONG UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS 189

which sexual reproduction is the rule, have to meet two
opposite sets of conditions. There is the case of an
improving environment with a declining deathrate, when,
if evolution is not to be self-defeating, the birthrate
must diminish also. Conversely, when the deathrate
increases the birthrate must increase also, or the race
will become extinct. But there are conditions of excep-
tional hardship (usually temporary), such as famine,
when an increased birthrate, instead of compensating
for an increased deathrate, would merely add to the
mischief. Therefore we may expect to find, and do
find, that these organisms are rendered sterile both by
excessively favourable and excessively unfavourable con-
ditions. The same holds good of plants which are rendered
sexually sterile both by extremely favourable and extremely
unfavourable environments. So that the condition most
favourable to fertility, most favourable, that is, to the
union of sperm cell and ovum, occupies a middle position.

This point most favourable to fertility may be termed
the optimum point for fertility. It is probable that
from this point the capacity for fertilisation decreases
steadily with the increase of vitality, but that when the
degree of vitality is lowered beyond the optimum point
for fertility the capacity for fertilisation steadily decreases
with the decrease of vitality. It is, indeed, difficult to
see what other arrangement is possible.

The usual method of reproduction among unicellular
organisms is by division, conjugation taking place periodic-
ally. Therefore reasoning by analogy with what we
have seen to be the rule among the higher organisms,
we should expect that there will be an optimum point
for conjugation — that conjugation will become more and
more imperative with these lowly organisms as exhaus-
tion approaches ; but that when exhaustion is carried
beyond a certain point conjugation will become gradually

140 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

less possible. The point most favourable for fertility will
occupy a middle position.

" At the very threshold of sex difference we find that
a little active cell or spore, unable to develop of itself,
unites in fatigue with a larger more quiescent individual." 1
This provides a strong suggestion that the sperm cell is
as much affected in its power of fertilisation by external
conditions as the ovum in its receptivity, and if this is so
it is probable that the declining birthrate will be almost
as much due to the effect of the environment upon the
men as upon the women of the community. The sperm
cell will probably be governed by the same laws as the
ovum in this respect. It must unite with the ovum as
exhaustion approaches or perish. So the fact quoted is
of considerable significance, especially in the case of
these but partially specialised organisms.

Certain observations by Maupas on the conjugation
and division of unicellular organisms have become
classical. " In November 1885 M. Maupas isolated an
infusorian (Stylonichia pustulata) and observed its genera-
tions till March 1886. By that time there had been two
hundred and fifteen generations produced by ordinary divi-
sion, and since these lowly organisms do not conjugate with
near relations, there had, of course, been no sexual union.

" What was the result ? At the date referred to the
family was observed to have exhausted itself. The
members, though not exactly old, were being born old.
The asexual division came to a standstill, and the powers
of nutrition were also lost.

" Meanwhile, however, several of the individuals before
the generations had exhausted themselves had been re-
moved to another basin, where they conjugated with
unrelated forms of the same species. One of these
was again isolated and watched for five months. The
1 Evolution of Sex, Geddes and Thomson, chap. ii.

AMONG UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS 141

usual number of successive generations occurred ; members
removed at different stages were again observed to con-
jugate successfully with unrelated forms, and this was
done to the one hundred and thirtieth generation. After
that, however, the family being again near its end, the
removal was no longer any use. About the one hundred
and eighteenth generation the strange sight was seen
of individuals of the same family attempting to unite
with one another. The results were, however, nil, and
the conjugates did not even recover from the effects
of their forlorn hope." *

Here we have just such facts as the theory would lead
us to expect. When the cells are fresh and in full vigour,
conjugation is unnecessary. As they become exhausted
during repeated asexual generations, conjugation becomes
more and more necessary up to a certain point. When,
however, exhaustion is carried beyond that point, con-
jugation becomes impossible even with unrelated forms.
But whether the exhaustion which comes of repeated
asexual generations is analogous with the results of over-
work or under-feeding among the higher organisms is a
debatable question. It has been termed " senile decay."

The effects of nutritive conditions among these lower
organisms parallel in a singular way what we have seen
to be the rule among the higher forms of life. " Thus,
if nourishment be continually and abundantly supplied
to cultures of Ciliata, pairing can be prevented (Maupas).
They continue to divide until the whole culture dies off
in consequence of senile degeneration. On the other
hand, cultures of Infusoria which are approaching sexual
maturity may be induced to pair by withholding nourish-
ment." 2 This is closely analogous with what occurs
among the higher forms of life. Surely, therefore, it

1 Evolution of Sex, Geddes and Thomson, chap. xii.
1 The Cell, Dr. O. Hertwig.

142 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

requires no great stretch of imagination to infer that the
sperm cell and ovum are governed by the same biological
laws as the organisms from which they were originally
derived. Although we are not expressly so informed,
yet it seems fairly obvious that if starvation were carried
beyond a certain stage conjugation would become im-
possible, since the organisms would enter into a dying
condition. It might have been expected that the exhaus-
tion resulting from repeated asexual divisions would
have ultimately overcome the effects of high feeding,
and have rendered conjugation possible. But possibly
the term " senile decay " is justified and the effects of
too prolonged asexual reproduction analogous with the
effects of old age in the higher organisms rather than
with the effects of fatigue or under-feeding.

The experiments of Maupas were not quite complete.
Subsequent observations have shown that asexual division
can continue indefinitely among these lowly organisms
if the culture mediums in which they live are kept quite
pure or constantly changed. This has been demonstrated
by several experimenters, and L. L. Woodruff has carried
cultures of Paramsecium through two thousand genera-
tions, extending over three and a half years. Woodruff
concludes that these organisms excrete products which
are poisonous to themselves, and that so long as the
infusions in which the organisms live are kept perfectly
free from these excretions, there is no reason why they
should not continue to divide indefinitely. But a small
addition of the products of excretion renders conjugation
necessary, or produces the symptoms of " senile decay."
If senile decay among the higher animals be looked upon
as due to the imperfect elimination of waste products,
there may be some analogy between the two cases. But
the net result of these experiments is that so long as the
conditions are such as to keep the organisms in full health

AMONG UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS 143

and vigour conjugation is unnecessary ; but when condi-
tions become adverse to the vitality of the organisms
and exhausting, they must either conjugate or perish.
Thus the parallel between the higher organisms and the
unicellulars is quite close.

The principle of the vital optimum is clearly manifested
by these unicellular organisms. " The action of heat
may be two-fold : up to a certain point it quickens develop-
ment and the general life, favouring asexual reproduction
and parthenogenesis rather than the sexual process ;
beyond that limit of comfortable warmth, so variable
for different animals, it may induce a feverish habit of
body and hasten reproductive maturity and sexual
reproduction. In other words, heat may in some cases
favour anabolism, in others katabolism. It is intelli-
gible enough to find increased heat sometimes associated
with increased asexual reproduction, sometimes with
increased sexuality. Instances of both may be gathered
from Sempers' Animal Life, the classical work on the
influence of environment upon the organism." x These
remarks summarise the facts in regard to both multi-
cellular and unicellular organisms. As each type of
organism will be adapted to a certain range of temperature,
it is an obvious inference that any change in either direc-
tion will be " sometimes associated with increased asexual
reproduction, sometimes with accelerated sexuality," ac-
cording to whether it is stimulating or exhausting, this
depending on its relation to the temperature to which the
organisms are adapted. Another point to remember is
that the optimum point, whether for vitality or fertility,
is not absolutely fixed but variable, so that change is
often beneficial to the organism.

" Finally, mature animal egg cells, even when under
normal conditions in the ovary or in the oviducts, live
1 Evolution of Sex, Geddes and Thomson, chap. xvii.

144 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

only for a short time ; they soon become over-mature.
(Hertwig, vol. vi. p. 32). Their normal functions become
weakened, as is seen from the fact that, although they
can still undergo fertilisation for a time, yet this occurs
in an abnormal fashion ; several spermatozoa make
their way into the egg, the result being an abnormal
process of development. Without doubt, this phenomenon
is analogous to the senile degeneration of Ciliata which
have been prevented from pairing at a suitable period." l
We see again that there is an optimum point for fertilisa-
tion, but there seems no reason to suppose that there is
any analogy between the effects of over-maturity and
the effects of fatigue or lack of nourishment.

Other similar facts are reported by Hertwig. " The
receptive capacity of the large female gamete of the
species Cutleria, after it has come to rest, and has become
capable of functioning as an egg, lasts only for a compara-
tively short time. Falkenberg (vol. vii. p. 10) has per-
formed a large number of experiments which show that,
whilst on the third day after they have come to rest
almost all the eggs are capable of becoming fertilised, on
the fourth day only half are in that condition. Further,
after this period all the eggs lose their receptive capacity,
and although spermatozoids are placed in their neighbour-
hood, commence to die off, exhibiting the same changes as
those eggs which where completely shut off from the fertilis-
ing cells." 2 This is probably what happens in the case of
the higher forms of life when the eggs become over-mature.

Although the evidence showing the operation of the
principle among these lowest forms of lives is relatively
small in quantity, yet it tells in favour of the hypothesis
with remarkable force. The facts are just what might
be anticipated, and are precisely parallel with what
occurs among the higher forms of life. Highly favourable

* The Cell, Dr. O. Hertwig. 8 Ibid.

AMONG UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS 145

conditions facilitate asexual reproduction, but are inimical
to conjugation. Unfavourable conditions which exhaust
the vitality of the organism facilitate conjugation and
sexual reproduction until carried beyond a certain point,
when conjugation becomes increasingly difficult. On the
evolutional theory we must expect the higher organisms to
be governed by the same biological laws as the primitive
forms from which they were originally derived. And
the evidence that such is the case is overwhelming.
Therefore it becomes a question of the method by which
the principle is applied among the higher organisms.
It is only as a law governing the union of sperm cell
and ovum that the principle can apply to all forms of
sexual reproduction, from the most primitive unicellular
organisms, through all grades of plants and animals up
to man. No special physiological adaptation connected
with ovulation or any other of the sequence of reproductive
phenomena would suffice to meet all the various methods
of fertilisation throughout the plant and animal kingdoms.
On the other hand, the sperm cell and ovum, being
merely specialised unicellular organisms, will, we may
be confident, be governed by the same laws as the primi-
tive cells from which they were derived, and these laws,
as we have seen, actually produce the same results as
those manifested in the plant and animal kingdoms.
It is necessary, therefore, to assume that the condition of
the ovum at the time of ovulation reflects the condition
of the organism as a whole. But this can only be affected
through the agency of the nervous system, or, in the
case of plants, the hypothetical factor which we must
assume to take the place of the nervous system in animals.
The nervous force is probably analogous in character
with that which animates living cells, even though these
possess no nervous system, as it is pre-eminently the
life force. It can and does influence every cell through-

10

146 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

out the body of the organism, and there is no obvious
reason why the reproductive cells should be exempt
from its influence. The distribution of nutrition to the
various parts of the body appears to be governed by the
nervous system. Therefore the nervous system should
determine the nutritive condition of the ovum.

There is considerable variation in the receptive capacity
of the egg cells of a given individual, as experiments by
Hertwig and others have shown. There would certainly
also be great variation in the average receptive capacity
of the egg cells of different individuals when exposed
to the same conditions. It is also a well established fact
that there is great variation in the penetrating powers
of the sperm cells as between different individuals, for
many stud animals are conspicuously good stock getters
as compared with others. Thus there is provision for
an enormous range of variation in individual cases. We
might have the case of a male whose sperm cells were
exceptionally penetrating matched with a female whose
egg cells were exceptionally receptive. Or we might
have the case of a male whose sperm cells were deficient
in penetrating power matched with a female whose egg
cells were exceptionally unreceptive. If these two
couples were exposed to the same conditions, one couple
would prove exceptionally fertile as compared with the
other. We can thus understand how it is that, while
the birthrate steadily declines with the increase of wealth
and education, yet individual rich families are sometimes
very fertile, and why poor people are sometimes childless
or have very few children. We can also understand why
some animals breed freely in captivity, whilst other
individuals of the same variety are sterile. But when
statistics are compiled for large classes the law of averages
levels up these individual variations and shows clearly
the operation of the principle.

CHAPTER VIII
ASEXUAL GENESIS AND OVULATION

HAVING shown why the principle is a law governing the
union of sperm cell and ovum, it will now be desirable
to examine the relation between sexual and asexual
reproduction. The reasons why the principle does not
apply to the latter are, briefly, that the two forms of
reproduction are suitable for very different conditions
of life, and react in diametrically opposite manner to the
same conditions. We have seen that it is a necessary
condition of the successful maintenance of any species
that its reproductive capacity should bear an inverse
ratio to its survival-capacity under the environment in
which it lives. That is to say, the birthrate must be
sufficient to compensate for the deathrate. Now, asexual
reproduction accomplishes this efficiently enough, but by
a different method to the sexual form of genesis. It is
a method suitable for those forms of life which enjoy
periods highly favourable alternating with extremely un-
favourable periods.

The peculiar functions of these lower forms of life in
the evolutionary scheme are best secured by the power
to multiply with extraordinary rapidity when circum-
stances are favourable and opportunity offers, as during
unfavourable periods they are either swept out of existence
altogether or reproduction is entirely stopped, as, for
instance, with plants and insects in winter. Those species
which generally reproduce by the asexual method are

14T

148 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

usually such as " enjoy from time to time very favourable
conditions, which they can make use of for very prolific
reproduction, and then pass into very dangerous and
unfavourable conditions, which they survive in the shape
of fertilized and hard-shelled eggs." l

Unicellular organisms are not only the source from
which the higher forms of life are derived, but, together
with the lower forms of multicellular organisms, they
form the ultimate source of the food supply of the higher
species. In order that this may be it is necessary that
they should be able to multiply with extraordinary rapidity
when circumstances are favourable. This is rendered
possible by the asexual methods of reproduction.

Sexual reproduction is essentially a regulating factor.
It becomes the exclusive method of reproduction among
the higher animals among whom unregulated multiplica-
tion would be disastrous, and among the lower forms of
life it appears when conditions become unfavourable to
very rapid multiplication. Aphides or plant lice provide
an excellent illustration of the relations between the
two forms of reproduction. " Details in regard to these
plant lice which multiply so rapidly upon our rose-bushes,
fruit-trees and the like, differ somewhat in the various
species, but the general facts are recognised to be as
follows : During the summer months the aphides produce
parthenogenetically generation after generation of females.
The advent of autumn, however, with its attendant cold
and scarcity of food, brings about the birth of males
and the consequent recurrence of strictly sexual repro-
duction. In the artificial environment of a greenhouse,
equivalent to a perpetual summer of warmth and abundant
food, the parthenogenetic succession of females has been
experimentally observed for four years ; it seems, in fact,
to continue until lowering of the temperature and diminu-
1 Darwinism and the Problems of Lije, Guenther.

ASEXUAL GENESIS AND OVULATION 149

tion of the food at once reintroduce males and sexual
reproduction." l

It is impossible to cover these facts by a single
formula, as Herbert Spencer tried to do, assuming that
the two forms of reproduction react in the same manner to
the same conditions. As a matter of fact, they appear
in most cases under diametrically opposite conditions.
Spencer has himself admitted that it is impolitic to dung
the roots of fruit-trees while the growth of sexless axes
is still abundant, this growth being merely a form of
asexual reproduction, and a sign that the tree is in too
high a state of nutrition to produce fruit ; whilst Darwin
mentions that in order to make European vegetables in
India yield seed, it is necessary to take them up and cut
or mutilate their tap-roots, obviously for the purpose of
checking nutrition.

The term " discontinuous growth " has little application
to sexual reproduction, but it may fairly be applied to
the asexual process. " The common hydra, in abundant
nutritive conditions, produces numerous buds, and even
these sometimes begin themselves to produce another
generation. In other words, we may almost say, with
plenty of food the polype grows abundantly, so obviously
is this asexual reproduction continuous with growth.
A check to the nutritive conditions, however, brings
on the development of the sexual organs and the occur-
rence of sexual reproduction. In planarian worms . . .
Zacharias observed that favourable nutritive conditions
were associated with the formation of asexual chains,
while a check to the nutrition brought about both the
separation and sexual maturity of the links. Bywosch
corroborates this, noting in Microstomum lineare that
the generative organs do not become completely matured
till the individuals cease to be links in a chain, and that
1 Evolution of Sex, Geddes and Thomson, chap. iv.

150 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

the sexuality is hastened by outside influences such as
checked nutrition." 1 Generally speaking, the degree of
asexual fertility seems to be directly proportional to the
degree of vitality, and the optimum point for vitality seems
to be identical with the optimum point for asexual fertility.
The following diagram will give a very clear idea of
the relation between the two forms of reproduction : —
VEEY HIGH NUTRITION.

HIGH NUTRITION. —

POINT MOST FAVOURABLE

FOR CONJUGATION on
FERTILISATION.

STARVATION POINT. —

— SEXUAL STERILITY.

— THE OPTIMUM POINT FOR
SEXUAL FERTILITY.

— SEXUAL STERILITY.

The centre line represents a scale of nutrition from
starvation point up to extremely favourable conditions.
Under actual starvation conditions there can, of course,
1 Evolution of Sex, chap, xvi.

ASEXUAL GENESIS AND OVULATION 151

be no reproduction. From this point upwards sexual
reproduction becomes more and more possible as con-
ditions improve up to a certain point, the optimum or
best point for fertility. After that point has been passed,
sexual reproduction becomes less and less possible as
vitality expands under the influence of increasingly favour-
able conditions, until complete sexual sterility is produced.
But the conditions which are inimical to sexual repro-
duction are favourable to the asexual process, and as
conditions become steadily less favourable to the former,
they become steadily more favourable to the latter.

Taking the line from the other end we see that extremely
favourable nutritive conditions cause sexual sterility, but
favour the asexual method of reproduction, as in a fruit-
tree which is sterile sexually and bears no fruit owing
to the fact that it is running to shoots and foliage through
being too heavily manured. But the check to nutrition
decreases the amount of asexual reproduction and renders
the sexual process and the production of fruit possible.
The degree of sexual fertility increases and the degree of
asexual fertility decreases until the optimum point for
sexual fertility is reached. After that both sexual and
asexual fertility diminish until starvation point is reached.
Of course, there is no clean-cut division in the nutritive
scale where one process ends and the other begins. The
two processes may often be seen going on together. But
that in no way affects the general principle.

The two methods of reproduction are parts of a coherent
scheme, and, apart from instinct as a regulating factor,
the above diagram illustrates the whole plan of the
reaction of the degree of fertility to the action of the
environment. The asexual process is the predominant
method of reproduction among the lower forms of life,
being eminently adapted to the peculiar conditions of
their environment, and enabling them to multiply with

152 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

extraordinary rapidity when conditions are favourable.
They thus form the ultimate source of the food supply of
the higher organisms, and the basis of the whole scheme
of organic evolution. Sexual genesis is a regulating
form of reproduction suitable for the higher organisms.
As we glance along the ascending scale of life we see
that it gradually supersedes asexual genesis and becomes
the exclusive method of reproduction among the higher
animals and man. The above diagram can be applied to
the higher animals by simply following Nature and obliter-
ating the part which deals with asexual reproduction.

The term " nutrition " is used in a very broad sense.
It must not be understood as applying merely to the
quantity of food. Among simple organisms the reactions
to the environment will be correspondingly simple, and
survival-capacity will be decided mainly by a few simple
factors, the quantity and quality of the food and the
temperature. But as the organism grows more complex
in adaptation to an increasingly complex environment,
the reactions will obviously become more complex also.
And the term " nutritive conditions " in the case of the
higher organisms must be taken to embrace all those
varied and subtle factors which affect vitality and which
are summarised by the nervous system. From the diagram
we may perceive that the optimum point for fertility
and the optimum point for vitality are very different
things, and they may vary from practical identity to
extreme divergence in different varieties, or even between
different individuals of the same variety. Thus there is
opportunity for an enormous range of variation between
varieties and individuals even when exposed to the same
environment.

Whilst discussing asexual reproduction we may con-
veniently inquire what are the laws which govern ovula-

ASEXUAL GENESIS AND OVULATION 153

tion. For ovulation appears to be analogous with asexual
reproduction. In the case of parthenogenesis ovulation
may be said to be identical with asexual reproduction.
It might appear, therefore, that ovulation will be governed
by the same laws, and that highly favourable nutritive
conditions will lead to the production of a correspond-
ingly large number of egg cells. A number of facts can
be quoted in favour of this view. Thus we are told that
the queen bee produces from twice to four times her
own weight of eggs daily when in full laying activity,1
and during this time she is very highly fed. Some worker
wasps, during the favourable conditions of autumn, when
food is very abundant, lay unfertilised eggs which produce
males. And in most cases where there is a change from
parthenogenesis to sexual genesis during unfavourable
conditions the number of fertilised eggs is considerably
smaller than those produced parthenogenetically. Flowers
seem to produce an abundance of pollen in favourable
seasons. These facts appear to imply that ovulation
must be looked upon as analogous with asexual repro-
duction, and that fewer egg cells will be produced under un-
favourable conditions, and more when conditions improve.

But it is not wise to press analogies too far, and there
is another point of view. It may be plausibly argued
that failure of ovulation or atrophy of the ovaries, as
in the worker bee, is the logical development of complete
sterility, and that ovulation should logically be governed
by the same law as that which regulates the union of
sperm cell and ovum, since ovulation, except in the case
of parthenogenesis, is merely the preliminary to fertilisa-
tion. Various facts may be cited in favour of this view also.

Thus we must take flowering and the production of
egg cells among plants to be analogous with ovulation
among animals. Now, under excessively high nutritive
1 Bees and Beekeeping, Cheshire, vol. i, chap. vi.

154 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

conditions plants not only fail to produce fertile seed,
but sometimes they also fail to flower, as the extract
from Darwin given in a previous chapter shows. There
is also the case of the worker bee, which might, how-
ever, be reasonabty quoted in favour of the opposite view
that failure of ovulation is produced by unfavourable
conditions, since the diet of the worker is much sparser
and plainer than that of the queen. In the case of the
domestic fowl, not only are the eggs less fertile when the
birds get insufficient exercise, but fewer eggs are laid,
and this seems to mean that fewer egg cells are produced
at ovulation. Some fowl-keepers assert, however, that it
is impossible to feed laying hens too highly provided that
they receive plenty of exercise, and failure of ovulation
in the case of individuals receiving insufficient exercise
may be the result of unhealthy conditions.

In the case of wild animals in captivity which produce
smaller litters, this might be due either to fewer egg cells
being produced at ovulation or to fewer being fertilised.
It might also be urged that if ovulation is more prolific
under favourable conditions while fertilisation is more
difficult, the two principles would in large measure cancel
each other. Thus, as egg cells vary in receptivity, a de-
crease in the average receptivity might be compensated
by an increase in the number of egg cells, which would
increase the chances of fertilisation. But this could only
compensate a decreased receptivity to a small extent.

While the weight of evidence and of probability seems
to favour the view that ovulation is merely a specialised
form of asexual reproduction, yet it will be best to leave
this an open question. It is not one which can be settled
by deduction or analogy, and the amount of evidence
at present available is not sufficient to justify a decision.
Possibly the solution will be found in the application
of the principle of the vital optimum to ovulation.

CHAPTER IX

SOME POSSIBLE CRITICISMS
ANTICIPATED

IT is not improbable that the nervous charge is more
intense during childhood than at any subsequent period
of life. The period of growth is a period of intense meta-
bolism. The whole system is tremendously active, and
the nervous system seems to share this activity. More-
over, the bulk of the nervous system is proportionately
greater, as compared with the rest of the organism, than
at any later period. Nothing is so difficult for a child
as to sit still. Its nerves seem to be all atingle with
energy which demands an outlet. True the child may
be easily tired, but children have little muscular strength,
and it is a characteristic of nervous energy that it can
be rapidly expended. Indeed, it is doubtful if we are
justified in saying that children are easily tired. The
seemingly exhaustless energy which some children display
in racing about all day is amazing. I have seen children
in the tropics tearing around aboard ship under conditions
which left the grown up people with only enough energy
to sit about in deck-chairs and gasp.

It is probable, then, that the nervous charge is most
intense during childhood, and steadily declines throughout
life. The most fertile period, between fifteen and thirty,
occupies a middle position. Still, as the reproductive
functions do not develop until towards the end of the
period of growth, the intensity of the nervous charge

155

156 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

during childhood is not of great importance to the
theory.

But if the degree of potential fertility rises as the
intensity of the nervous charge falls, how is it that the
most fertile period is between fifteen and thirty, instead
of later in life when vitality begins to wane ? Take
the case of a highly fed, intellectual, and infertile member
of the wealthy classes. If a high development of nervous
energy leads to infertility during what should be the most
fertile period, why is not this infertility overcome in later
life by the decline of nervous energy due to advancing
years ? Perhaps unicellular organisms will throw some
light on the matter. Hertwig points out that " if nourish-
ment be continually and abundantly supplied to Ciliata,
pairing can be prevented (Maupas, vol. ii. p. 30). They
continue to divide until the whole culture dies off in
consequence of senile degeneration." *• The cases are singu-
larly parallel. Yet, after all, this parallelism might be
reasonably expected on the evolutional theory. It
is not wise to attach too much importance to analogies,
or too much weight to the absence of analogies, since
Nature does not hesitate so to combine her principles
in adaptation to special circumstances that they fre-
quently become almost unrecognisable. But an analogy
so precise where we might reasonably expect an analogy
cannot be held as of no significance.

First of all, we see that these unicellular organisms
can be prevented from conjugating by extremely favour-
able nutritive conditions. We should have expected
that the advance of senile decay would have overcome
the effects of favourable conditions and rendered con-
jugation possible. But this is not the case. The multi-
cellular organisms appear to react in an exactly analogous
1 The Cell, Dr. O. Hertwig.

SOME POSSIBLE CRITICISMS ANTICIPATED 157

manner. Highly favourable conditions lead to sterility.
We should have expected that the decline of vitality due
to advancing age would have overcome the effects of
favourable conditions, and that the later periods of life
would have been most fertile. But again this is not the case.
Perhaps there is a genuine analogy between senile decay
among the higher organisms and the phenomena which
have received the same name among unicellular organisms.
Senile decay, then, and the exhaustion which results
from unfavourable conditions, may be looked upon as
representing two distinct principles. While the latter
favours conjugation, the former is inimical. Therefore,
in the multicellular organism any tendency to increased
fertility due to the exhaustion of the nervous charge as
the result of advancing age would be counteracted by the
opposing principle of senile decay. The exhaustion in
this case would, in fact, be directly due to senile decay,
and so would be more than counteracted by it.

Spencer, in his Principles of Biology, directs some
criticisms against the theory of Doubleday, that a plethoric
condition of the organism is unfavourable to fertility,
and that a deplethoric condition is favourable. This is
a very different theory to the one outlined in these pages,
in which food is only one factor and not necessarily the
most important. Indeed, we have seen good reason to
believe that cerebral development and mental activity
are far more important than the supply of food. But
as similar criticisms may be directed against this theory,
it may be well to anticipate them.

Spencer says : "It may be readily shown that such
an arrangement would be the reverse of self-adjusting.
Suppose a species too numerous for its food to be in the
resulting deplethoric state. It will, according to Mr.

158 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

Doubleday, become unusually fertile, and the next genera-
tion will be more numerous rather than less numerous. . . .

" Thus there will go on an ever increasing rate of multi-
plication, and an ever decreasing share of food for each
person, until the species disappears. Suppose, on the
other hand, the members of a species to be in an unusually
plethoric state. Their rate of multiplication, ordinarily
sufficient to maintain their numbers, will become in-
sufficient to maintain their numbers. In the next genera-
tion, therefore, there will be fewer to eat the already
abundant food which, becoming relatively still more
abundant, will render the fewer members of the species
more plethoric and still less fertile than their parents.
And the actions and reactions continuing, the species
will presently die out from absolute barrenness." l

This criticism shows a failure to grasp the most essential
aspects of the problem. Take the case of wild animals.
The food supply is dependent mainly on the seasons.
A bad season would lead to a heavy deathrate. In the
case of the larger species this would produce a higher
degree of fertility ; but the births resulting would in most
cases fall during the next season, thus compensating
in some measure for the heavy deathrate of the previous
year. There would, of course, be no accumulation of
food ; but the next season might be a very favourable one.
In the case of a very favourable season with a reduced
deathrate, this would lead to a reduced birthrate next year.
The principle provides for the case of absolute famine.

It is in the case of the higher animals that the principle
will be of most importance. The higher we ascend in
the scale of life, the more important the principle becomes,
since slow-breeding animals have a much smaller margin
between maintaining the species and extinction. In the
1 Principles of Biology, Spencer, vol. ii, part vi.

SOME POSSIBLE CRITICISMS ANTICIPATED 159

case of small, rapidly breeding species, which rear several
hatches of young yearly, the principle is traceable, as we
have seen, with individuals in confinement ; but in this
case instinct will play the most important part, deter-
mining how many batches of young shall be reared
annually. They will rear fewer batches when food is scarce
and a larger number when food is plentiful. These free-
breeding types are able to recuperate their numbers
with extreme rapidity when circumstances again become
favourable after a bad season. They thus occupy a
middle position between those lowly types for which
asexual reproduction in enormous numbers when circum-
stances are favourable is best, and those higher types
whose interests are best served by a regulated sexual
reproduction.

In the case of man, Spencer's remarks bear a remote
resemblance to what actually does happen. Generally
speaking, the supply of food in human society depends
on the number of individuals who work to produce it.
When the population rises or falls, the food supply, other
things equal, rises or falls also. But as, on the theory set
forth here, the amount of food is only one of the factors
which affect fertility, a well-fed population may be highly
fertile, or an indifferently fed population only moderately
fertile, fertility depending not merely upon the quantity
of food, but upon the effects of the environment as a
whole.

Spencer's suggestions appear to have been in some
measure realised when the factory system was first intro-
duced into England. The lower standard of living led
to an increased birthrate. The workers were compelled to
send their children into the factories in order to supple-
ment the earnings of the family The employers used
these children to lower wages still more. The result was

160 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

that the birthrate continued to increase until the workers
learned to protect themselves by combined action, and
factory laws were passed to improve their conditions of
employment. A similar phenomenon appeared in Japan
recently under similar conditions, though the increased
prosperity caused by the war appears now to be producing
a declining birthrate. Any general principle, no matter
how advantageous to a species as a general rule and on
the whole, may act with disastrous effect under some
unfortunate conjunction of circumstances.

If we glance along the ascending scale of life from uni-
cellular organisms up to man, we note a gradual and con-
tinuous modification in the relative importance of the
principles which regulate fertility. Among the lowest
types asexual reproduction plays the chief part, enabling
them to increase with enormous rapidity when circum-
stances are favourable, thus forming the ultimate source
of the food supply of the higher organisms and the basis
of the whole evolutionary scheme. Among the lower
types of sexually reproducing animals, although the
operation of the principle can be clearly traced, instinct
plays the greatest part. It is instinctive reactions to
external circumstances which will determine the number
of batches of young to be reared annually. Reactions
between each species and its enemies will also assist the
mutual adjustment of numbers. In the case of the higher
animals instinct plays a smaller part and the principle
under discussion a much larger part. It is in human
society that the principle reaches its full development,
where instinct has ceased to constitute a serious regulating
factor, and where reason has not yet supplied its place.

It has been suggested to me that if the fall in the
birthrate is the result of a natural law which regulates

SOME POSSIBLE CRITICISMS ANTICIPATED 161

the degree of fertility to suit the deathrate, then the
decline " cannot possibly be a source of anxiety." Un-
fortunately, this optimism is unjustified, and is the result
of a failure to grasp clearly the essential factors of the
problem. There is a limit to the fall in the deathrate.
Even when the deathrate is reduced to the lowest possible
level, people will continue to die of old age. Now, the
author of the phrase quoted above seems to have been
under the impression that when the deathrate ceases to
fall, the birthrate will cease to fall also. There is no
justification for such a belief.

The theory set forth in this work is not that the fall
in the birthrate is caused by the fall in the deathrate,
but that it is produced by the same combination of cause*
which produces a falling deathrate. Thus, if Mr. Brown
dies of fever, consumption, or other ailments, this will in no
way affect the fertility of Mrs. Jones. But the combina-
tion of causes or the environment which produces a con-
siderable number of deaths from these ailments may
very powerfully affect Mrs. Jones's fertility. And when
the deathrate is reduced to its lowest possible term, the
environment will not cease to affect the birthrate. An
accentuation of the causes which have produced a low
birthrate in the past will reduce it still further. For no
limit can be set to the decline of fertility short of absolute
barrenness. That is why the problem of the declining
birthrate must be grappled with, lest it result in ultimate
depopulation, or the replacement of our population by
lower races, as happened in Ancient Rome and Greece.

11

CHAPTER X
MALTHUS

THE theory of Hal thus has been the cause of a vast
amount of confused and unnecessary argument. Let us
take first the famous progressions. Mai thus assumed that
the potential rate of increase of the population is geomet-
rical, and that the rate of increase of the food supply
can only be arithmetrical. The potential rate of increase
of the population is undoubtedly geometrical, apart from
the principle outlined in the foregoing pages. Malthus
knew of no checks upon the birthrate except such as
are purely incidental. He knew nothing of a regulating
principle which causes deathrate and birthrate to rise
and fall together. We have seen that the potential
fertility of a married woman who lives a normal length
of life may be put at about thirty children at a moderate
estimate. This number has often been exceeded, while
among very fertile races twenty in a family is by no
means uncommon.

Now, if this potential fertility were actually realised,
and if the children all lived a normal length of life, in
their turn realising to the full their potential fertility,
the result would be a devastating flood of humanity
which would sweep the earth from end to end like a
swarm of locusts. The potential geometrical rate of
increase, therefore, given a fully realised birthrate and
a nominal deathrate, is indisputable.

But the necessarily arithmetrical ratio of increase of

162

MALTHUS 163

the food supply is an assumption with less basis in fact.
Food is produced by the labour of the population. Hands
will increase in the same geometrical progression as mouths,
and there will be a corresponding increase of the food
supply until the resources of the country are taxed to
the utmost. After that there will be a comparatively
abrupt cessation of the increase of the food supply.

We may state the case thus : If the potential geometrical
rate of increase of the population were actually realised,
the food supply would, other things equal, increase in an
approximately direct ratio with the increase of population
until the natural resources of the country were taxed
to the utmost ; the increase in the amount of food
would then cease. Other things, of course, are not equal.
Organisation, invention, scientific discoveries and foreign
commerce would modify the progress of events, and would
for a time lead to an increase of the food supply greater
than the increase of population. But as the resources
of any country are limited, these factors would only
postpone the ultimate result, for in an amazingly short
time there would not even be standing room.

Malthus, knowing nothing of the principle outlined
in the preceding pages, said to social reformers : The
evils which you deplore are necessary for the purpose
of keeping down the numbers of the population. If
you improve the condition of the' mass of the people,
you will cause a fall in the deathrate. The fall in the
deathrate will be proportionate to the degree of improve-
ment which you effect in the condition of the people.
Therefore the closer you approximate to an ideal state
of society, the lower will be the deathrate, and conse-
quently the more rapid will be the increase of population.
The geometrical rate of increase will be realised in exact
proportion to your success in improving conditions. As

164 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

the resources of any country, and even of the world,
are limited, it follows that the increase of population
must rapidly exceed these resources unless you can keep
down the birthrate. Unless you can do this your efforts
for social progress will be self-defeating.

The only suggestion put forward by Malthus as to the
means of keeping down the birthrate was that the mass
of the people should abstain from sexual intercourse,
leaving that as a privilege for the rich. If this proposal
aroused no enthusiasm among social reformers, it was
probably because they felt, and probably Malthus felt
too, that

You may as well forbid the mountain pines
To wag their high tops, and to make no noise
When they are fretted with the gusts of heaven.

Malthus was perfectly sound in his logic reasoning
from the facts as known to him. When he wrote the
theory of evolution was merely in embryo and not a
serious intellectual factor. But his logic, perfectly sound
so far as it goes, is rendered futile by the one small factor
which he had overlooked, the law by which Nature had
provided for the difficulty. But for this Malthus would
have been perfectly right, and social evolution would
have been self-defeating.

This would also have been true of evolution in general.
For it is an obvious deduction from the theory of evolution
that to produce a superior type a superior environment
is necessary, since a type must necessarily be adapted to
its environment. It is impossible to have an improved
environment without a reduced deathrate, for the con-
ditions of an improved environment are those which
increase the survival-capacity of the organism. But it
is obviously impossible to have a reduced deathrate in

MALTHUS 165

the long run without a reduced birthrate, as this would
lead to rapid over-population, and bring back all the
evils which are attendant upon a severe struggle for
existence. Thus we see that both organic evolution in
general and social evolution in particular must be accom-
panied by a reduced deathrate and a reduced birthrate,
otherwise they will be self-defeating.

To Malthus it is sufficient to reply that there has been
a vast evolution in the past, both organic evolution and
social evolution, during which the condition of mankind
has improved enormously. Evolution, therefore, cannot
be self-defeating. This progressive evolution, moreover,
from unicellular organisms upwards, has always been
accompanied by a reduced deathrate and a reduced
birthrate. From this it is a fair inference that such
will continue to be the case in the future — that Nature
will continue in the future, as in the past, to show herself
far wiser than her interpreters. The idea of Malthus
that the evils from which society suffers are necessary to
keep down the numbers of the population is the reverse
of the truth, and these evils are themselves the cause of
a high birthrate.

CHAPTER XI
SPENCER

ONE of the most noteworthy attempts to construct an
adequate theory of fertility and population was the hypo-
thesis put forward by Herbert Spencer to the effect that
the degree of fertility varies inversely with the cost of
individuation. It cannot, however, be accepted as an
adequate expression of the facts. In the first place,
Spencer made no distinction between the variation in
the inherited potential degree of fertility as between
species and species and the variation in the actual degree
of fertility of given individuals under the direct influence
of the environment. This is an omission of the same
magnitude as if he had discussed organic variation in
general without distinguishing between the inherited
potentialities of the organism and their reaction to the
influences of the environment.

Spencer covers both questions with the same formula,
and this renders the argument confused from the outset,
as the two questions are wholly distinct. Under no
circumstances could the fertility of a horse equal the
normal fertility of a rabbit. The potential fertility of
each species will be adjusted to its needs during the
evolution of the type and handed down by heredity.
The variation of the actual degree of fertility will be
decided by the direct action of the environment.

Spencer also put forward his theory as an explanation
of both sexual and asexual genesis. He quotes the case

166

SPENCER 167

of aphides, for instance, as confirmation of his theory,
and sees no significance in the fact that asexual repro-
duction is favoured by abundant nutrition, whereas it
is scarcity that leads to sexual genesis. He entirely fails
to realise that the two methods of reproduction are adapted
to different conditions of life, acquire their full develop-
ment at different stages of evolution, are governed by
different principles, and usually react in diametrically
opposite fashion to the same conditions.

Spencer also brings within the scope of his formula
the part played by instinct in reproduction. Genesis is
surrounded by a complex body of instinctive associations,
particularly in the case of the lower animals, which deter-
mine at what periods of the year and how often during
the year the species shall breed. These instincts are
hereditary and regulate the function of reproduction, so
that the young may be produced during the period of
the year most favourable to the species. Owing to the
varying length of the period of gestation, it is necessary
that coupling should take place at different periods of
the year among different species. It is useless to attempt
to explain these instincts by a simple physiological re-
action, as some species couple in summer and some in
winter, some during the season of plenty and some during
the season of scarcity, the time being determined, not
by the conditions of the moment, but by the necessity
of producing the young at certain favourable periods of
the year, and instinct is the guide.

The theory of Spencer is that the degree of fertility varies
inversely with the cost of individuation. It is a curious
fact that the literal meaning of this formula is the reverse of
that put upon it by Spencer himself. For Spencer assumes
that on his hypothesis a well-fed organism will be more
fertile than an ill-fed organism. But surely the amount
devoted to individuation is greater in a well-nourished

168 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

organism than in one that is ill-nourished. Therefore,
if the degree of fertility is to bear an inverse proportion
to the cost of individuation, a well-nourished organism,
whose individuation has cost more, should be less fertile.

The formula is put forward as an explanation of the
law which governs fertility. We must, therefore, take it
that the amount of nutrition devoted to individuation
determines what amount shall be devoted to reproduction,
and not vice versa ; for in the latter case the law govern-
ing fertility would remain unexplained. Therefore a well-
nourished organism representing a higher cost of indi-
viduation should show a lower degree of fertility.

The fact is that Spencer had not accurately grasped the
meaning of his own formula, or rather had not correctly
formulated his own meaning. Although he puts forward
the proposition that the degree of fertility will vary in-
versely with the cost of individuation, yet throughout his
argument he really means and endeavours to prove that
the degree of fertility will vary directly with the surplus
of nutrition over and above the cost of individuation.
These propositions are wholly different. Spencer con-
founded the two. The inverse ratio between fertility
and the cost of individuation may be shown thus : —

I Amount devoted to I Amount devoted to
individuation. reproduction.
d I I i !

!

Amount of nutrition available — a constant quantity.

It will be noted that the above diagram, as is the case
with Spencer's formula, assumes the amount of nutrition
available to be a constant quantity. On this assumption
the amount devoted to reproduction must necessarily
decrease as the amount devoted to individuation increases.
As the formula purports to be an explanation of the law
governing fertility, the amount devoted to individuation

SPENCER

1G9

must be the governing factor. Therefore the cost of in-
dividuation being higher in a well-nourished organism,
such an organism should be less fertile, not more fertile,
as Spencer assumed.

But the amount of nutrition available is not a constant
quantity, so there is no necessary inverse ratio between
reproduction and individuation. What Spencer really
meant may be shown thus : —

Amount devoted to individua-
tion, i.e. minimum capable of
sustaining life. A constant
quantity.

Surplus of nutrition over and
above cost of individuation
available for reproduction.

Amount of nutrition available — not a constant quantity.

We may attach either of two meanings to the phrase
" cost of individuation." We may take it to mean the
gross amount devoted to individuation and used for
building and maintaining the body of the organism ; or
we may take it to mean the minimum amount which is
capable of sustaining the life of the organism. By the
amount of nutrition available we must understand, not
the gross amount lying loose in the environment, but the
amount which the organism can assimilate. If we assume
the " cost of individuation " to be the gross amount
assimilated, then an inverse proportion between individu-
ation and reproduction would mean that a well-fed organism
would be less fertile than an ill-fed organism. But if
we take the phrase to mean the minimum amount capable
of sustaining life, then we may assume that any surplus
would be available for the purposes of reproduction. But
this would be a direct ratio with the amount of nutrition
available over and above the cost of individuation, not
an inverse ratio with the cost of individuation.

If we glance along the ascending grade of types from
unicellular organisms up to man, or, better still, to such

170 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

bulky organisms as the horse or the elephant, we can
perceive that Spencer's formula is a rough but inadequate
expression of the broad results of organic evolution. The
bigger the organism the less, as a rule, will its fertility
be. But it is quite inadequate as an expression of the
facts,1 as a few simple illustrations will show. " The
condor lays a couple of eggs and the ostrich a score, and
yet in the same country the condor may be the more
numerous of the two ; the fulmar petrel lays but one egg,
yet it is believed to be the most numerous bird in the
world. One fly deposits hundreds of eggs, and another, like
the Hippobosca, a single one. ' ' 2 Compare also the difference
between the fertility of the wild pigeon and the pheasant.

The formula has no application to the variation of the
degree of fertility under the direct influence of the environ-
ment. The minimum amount necessary to sustain the
organism would be a fairly constant quantity throughout
life after maturity. Therefore there could be no inverse
ratio, since there would be little or no variation. While,
if we assume the phrase " cost of individuation " to
apply to the gross quantity of nutriment assimilated by
the organism, then the meaning of the formula would
be the reverse of that put upon it by Spencer.

Throughout Spencer's argument his meaning is ex-
tremely nebulous, and varies constantly to suit the exi-
gencies of the evidence. The following passage illustrates
this, and shows also that the above explanation of his
real meaning is correct. " Thus the strength of the
blackbird opens to it a store of good food much of which
is inaccessible to so small and weak a bird as a linnet,
a store especially helpful to it during the cold months
when the hibernating snails in hedge bottoms yield it
abundant provision. The result is that the blackbird is
ready to breed very early in the spring, and is able during

1 See p. 38. a Origin of Species. Darwin, chap. iii.

SPENCER 171

the summer to rear a second and even a third brood.
Here, then, a higher degree of individuation receives
advantages so great as to more than compensate its
cost. It is not that the decline of genesis is less than
proportionate to the increase of individuation, but there
is no decline at all." l

Spencer admits here that a bulkier organism should,
on his own theory, be less fertile than an organism of
less bulk. Obviously, then, if the formula is to be taken
literally, a well-nourished animal or bird should be less
fertile than one which is ill-nourished, since its greater
bulk represents a greater cost of individuation. He
admits that the larger blackbird is as fertile as or more
fertile than the linnet, and he meets this by arguing that
the increased cost of individuation in the blackbird is
more than compensated by an increased food supply.
In other words, he argues that the degree of fertility varies
directly with the surplus of nutrition over and above
the cost of individuation, thus changing his meaning to
suit the exigencies of the evidence. Spencer did not even
attempt to explain what factor determines the amount
of nutrition to be devoted to individuation and repro-
duction respectively, and to this omission much of the
confusion of thought is due.

Considered as a generalisation covering the variation
in the potential degree of fertility as between species
and species, Spencer's formula is an inadequate expression
of the facts. If a species is to survive and evolve, its
degree of fertility must vary inversely with its capacity
for survival. The cost of individuation, which is measured
mainly by the bulk of the organism, is only one factor
making for survival, and by no means the most important.

Neither the formula put forward by Spencer, nor the
one which we have seen expresses his real meaning, has
1 Principles oj Biology* Spencer, vol. ii, part vi.

172 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

any application to the variation in the degree of sexual
fertility under the direct influence of the environment.
The evidence relating to this part of the subject has
already been fully discussed, and need not be repeated here.

The formula which has been given as expressing Spencer's
real meaning may fairly be applied to asexual reproduc-
tion. For we have seen that asexual reproduction is
favoured by abundant nutrition. But there is no inverse
proportion, as the amount devoted to individuation is
not necessarily decreased when the amount devoted to
reproduction increases. It is when the organism is
possessed of an abundance of nutrition over and above
the amount necessary to maintain the individual — more
than can profitably be assimilated without further growth
— that asexual reproduction is most abundant. In fact,
the amount devoted to reproduction appears to be at
its highest when the amount devoted to individuation is
also at its highest, and the organism has more nutriment
than it can utilise for its own purposes. Therefore we
may justly say that the degree of asexual fertility is
directly proportional to the surplus of nutrition over and
above the cost of individuation.

The reader may perhaps ask : Does not Spencer provide
a very large body of evidence in support of his hypothesis ?
He does. But it consists of facts drawn from asexual
reproduction, the truth about which has been set forth
above ; of evidence drawn from the comparative fertility
of different species, to which we have seen that that
formula is inadequate as an expression of the facts ;
and of evidence drawn from the relative fertility of wild
and domesticated varieties, which we have seen will be
modified by the selection of the latter. None of this
evidence has any bearing on the variation of the degree
of sexual fertility under the direct influence of the environ-
ment. When all this is subtracted, the amount of evidence

SPENCER 178

left is of very modest dimensions, and Spencer's dealing
with the residue is remarkable.

In dealing with domesticated animals he fails to grasp
the fact that the condition of the animal at the time of
copulation is the decisive factor. The infertility of wild
animals when highly fed in captivity is dismissed in a
footnote with the suggestion that it may be due to im-
proper feeding. The infertility of wild plants when
cultivated in gardens and hothouses is not mentioned.
The relative infertility of the wealthier and more highly
fed classes in human society is flimsily attributed to
their " high pressure education " and the " overtaxing
of their brains." The enormous fecundity of the poor
populations of Russia, China, Japan and India is not
even mentioned, though in itself a conclusive refutation
of Spencer's theory. The current assumption that the
lowest races contrive, in some miraculous fashion, to
combine an enormous deathrate with an exceptionally
low birthrate is accepted without question. The French-
Canadians are represented as living in a country where
the necessaries of life are easily obtained, the truth
being that they are an ignorant and backward race of
peasant farmers living in a country which is covered
with snow for some five months in the year, paying tithes
to a tyrannical priesthood, having a standard of living
"lower than that of the Irish or Italians," and earning
their living like peasant farmers the world over, by hard
physical toil, in which, no doubt, their wives take a sub-
stantial share. Lastly, the Irish are represented as
receiving an exceptionally large return for a moderate
expenditure of labour. Rack-renting and similar details
are not noticed. Yet one of the characters in John Bull's
Other Island declares that " an Irish peasant's industry
is not human : it's worse than the industry of a coral
insect. An Englishman has some sense about work :

174 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

he never does more than he can help — and hard enough
to get him to do that without scamping it ; but an Irish-
man will work as if he'd die the moment he stopped."

When the classes of evidence which have no bearing
on the variation in the degree of sexual fertility under
the direct influence of the environment are put aside,
and when the evidence which has been distorted by
special pleading has been readjusted to its proper per-
spective, the amount of evidence in favour of Spencer's
theory is microscopical.

In an appendix to vol. i. of his Principles of Biology
Spencer gives what is really a much better attempt at
a scientific theory of animal fertility than the theory
criticised above. The essence of it is contained in the
following extract : —

" We found it to be the necessary law of the mainten-
ance of races that the ability to maintain individual
life and the ability to multiply vary inversely. But the
ability to maintain individual life is in all cases measured
by the development of the nervous system. If it be in a
good visceral organisation that the power of self-preser-
vation is shown, this implies some corresponding nervous
apparatus to secure sufficient food. If it be in strength,
there must be a provision of nerves and nervous centres
answering to the size of the muscles. If it be in swiftness
and agility, a proportionate development of the cerebellum
is presupposed. If it be in intelligence, this varies with
the size of the cerebrum. . . . Hence the nervous system
becomes the universal measure of the degree of co-ordina-
tion of actions, that is, of the life or the ability to maintain
life. And if the nervous system varies directly as the
ability to maintain life, it must vary inversely as the
ability to multiply." 1

1 Principles of Biology, Spencer, vol i, Appendix A.

SPENCER 175

Thus Spencer clearly grasps the fact that fertility must,
in the long run, vary inversely with the survival-capacity
of the species, and he argues from this that it must vary
inversely with the mass of the nervous system. This is
a much closer approximation to the truth, but he again
fails to analyse accurately the essential factors of the
problem. He again fails to distinguish between the
variation in the inherited potential degree of fertility as
between species and species and the variation in the
actual degree of fertility under the direct influence of
the environment. Let us consider the theory in its
relation to the first problem.

It is true that cerebral development is the most powerful
factor making for survival, but it is not the only factor.
Organs of locomotion, weapons of offence and defence,
and many other factors play a part. It is no doubt
true that each of these factors implies a corresponding
development of nerves and nervous centres, but the
bulk of the nervous development will not necessarily
correspond with their life-preserving efficiency. The
skunk, for example, has the power of ejecting an intoler-
ably evil-smelling fluid over its enemies. So overpowering
is the stench, that the animal is usually left severely
alone. It is obvious that the necessary nervous develop-
ment would not correspond in bulk with the life-preserving
power of such a weapon. Moreover, the character of the
environment is of not less importance than the character
of the organism. Some organisms are much more favoured
by their environment and habits of life than others.
The brown rat is probably a more powerful and cunning
animal than the water rat. But it lives in an environ-
ment which leads to a heavy deathrate. The water
rat, living almost unmolested along the banks of streams,
can maintain its numbers with a very low rate of repro-
duction. The brown rat, living among the habitations

176 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

of man and regarded as a nuisance, is fiercely persecuted.
It consequently needs an enormous rate of reproduction
to maintain the species.

The difference in the degree of fertility between the
wild pigeon and the pheasant or partridge cannot be
said to bear an inverse proportion to the difference in
the bulk of their nervous systems. Yet it represents
fairly accurately the difference in the survival-capacity
of the species owing to the greater flying powers of the
pigeon. Therefore, the mass of the nervous system is
not a reliable measure of the survival-capacity of a species,
but the rate of reproduction must, and does, vary in-
versely with the latter. Again, it may be pointed out
that the inherited potential degree of fertility will be
decided by the laws of variation and adaptation which
govern the rest of organic evolution.

The mass of the nervous system cannot possibly act
as a measure of the variations of either the survival-
capacity or the reproductive capacity from day to day.
After the reproductive period has been reached, the ratio
between the nervous system and the rest of the organism
will remain fairly constant throughout life. The variations
in the survival-capacity of organisms can only be measured
by a factor which varies also. Had Spencer analysed
the factors of the problem a little more closely, he might
have stumbled on the hypothesis set forth in this work
and found such a varying factor within the nervous system
in the form of nervous energy.

CHAPTER XII

DOUBLEDAY'S THEORY AND RECENT
EXPERIMENTS

I WAS fortunate enough some time ago to come across
an old copy of the now almost forgotten work of Thomas
Doubleday on The True Law of Population. My previous
knowledge of the work had been confined to a brief
criticism of Doubleday's theory by Herbert Spencer in
a footnote to his Principles of Biology. Never seeing the
theory mentioned elsewhere, I had attached no importance
to it. And probably the work is known to very few
students of the problem of the birthrate, since they are
not likely to become acquainted with the theory unless
they come across a copy of the book. It is but fair to
Thomas Doubleday to point out that as far back as the
year 1841, and even earlier in Blackwood's Magazine for
March 1837, in an article under the title " A Letter to
The Right Honourable Lord Brougham," he had per-
ceived and stated that the rise in the birthrate about
that period was closely connected with the fall in the
standard of living. And his argument distinctly implied
that the only way to check the excessively heavy birth-
rate was to improve the condition of the mass of the people.
Malthus had recently developed his famous theory that
the evils from which society suffers are, in the absence
of sexual restraint, necessary to keep down the numbers
of the population. Doubleday retorted that these evils
were the cause of the heavy birthrate, and that the chief

12 m

178 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

danger from an improvement in the condition of the
people is not over-population but de-population. Some
eighty years have passed since then, and Doubleday has
been completely justified. Yet, while the name of Malthus
is familiar to every social student, the name of Doubleday
is almost unknown. Therefore it will be no more than
justice to devote a few pages to a criticism of Doubleday 's
theory, showing its strong and weak points, and em-
phasising the fact that he was probably right in his main
contention, although his theory was ill formulated.

Doubleday argued that when the existence of a species
is endangered, " a corresponding effort is invariably made
by Nature for its preservation and continuance by an
increase of fertility, and that this especially takes place
whenever such danger arises from a diminution of proper
nourishment or food, so that consequently the state of
depletion or the deplethoric state is favourable to fertility,
and that, on the other hand, the plethoric state, or state
of repletion, is unfavourable to fertility in the ratio of
the intensity of each state."

The chief defects in this statement of the law governing
the variation in the degree of fertility under the influence
of the environment are two. In the first instance it is
asserted that the degree of fertility will vary in the ratio
of the intensity of the two states. This implies that
the less the amount of nourishment the greater the degree
of fertility. But such a result is obviously impossible.
According to this formula the greatest degree of fertility
would be reached in an absolutely barren soil, whereas
there could be no fertility at all in such circumstances.
But given a small amount of nutrition, then a certain
degree of fertility may appear. This will increase in a
direct ratio with the amount of nutrition up to the
point where the maximum degree of fertility is developed.
It is only when the amount of nutriment suitable for

DOUBLEDAY'S THEORY 179

developing the maximum degree of fertility has been
exceeded that such a formula has any application.

Doubleday was not unaware of this. He conducted a
series of experiments to ascertain the effects of various
kinds of manures on plants and their fertility. As a
result he came to the conclusion that, " whatever might
be the principle of manure, an overdose of it invariably
induced sterility in the plant." Thus he admits in this
passage that it is only an overdose which induces sterility.
Unfortunately, he only embodied half the truth in his
formula. What resulted was this : whilst Doubleday
insisted upon one half of the truth and ignored the other
half, Spencer, Darwin, and the rest of his critics were
careful to insist upon that half of the truth which he
had left out of his formula, and to ignore as far as possible
the half upon which he insisted. It was, of course, quite
easy under the circumstances to quote a hundred facts
which apparently gave a flat contradiction to Doubleday's
formula.

The second defect is that, as stated, the formula gives
too great a weight to one factor in the environment to
the exclusion of the rest. There are innumerable other
factors in the environment which affect fertility besides
food, and these must act through the medium of some
factor in the organism which is not specified in the formula.
Although Doubleday seemed to recognise that other factors
affect the degree of fertility, yet he deals almost exclusively
with the effects of variations in the food supply. Food
has unquestionably a great effect upon the degree of
fertility, especially among the lower animals and plants,
but the figures previously given showing the enormous
proportion of completely infertile marriages among the
intellectual classes seem to show that cerebral develop-
ment resulting from intellectual and athletic exercises
is of still greater influence in producing sterility among

180 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

human beings. Therefore Doubleday's formula is quite
inadequate as an expression of the facts.

The last chapter of Doubleday's book, however, is a
really remarkable one when read in the light of experi-
mental results obtained by scientists in recent years. A
series of experiments to test the action of various manures
on plants led Doubleday to the conclusion that " all
substances that contain portions, that is to say sensible
or considerable portions, of alkali in combination with
their other constituents may be expected to act, and will,
generally speaking, act as manures." He further con-
cluded as the result of his experiments that " the alkali
when it acts as a stimulant is caustic, or in part so."
Finally he came to the conclusion that " caustic and pure
alkali is the basis, or rather the stimulating principle of
manure. It is the principle which causes the seed to
expand, the plant to push, and the work of vegetable
growth to proceed." He further adds : " Pursuing the
inquiry upwards from the vegetable to the animal king-
dom, the next question is — may not that which stimulates
the seed into life stimulate the egg into life ; and may
not one law here run throughout nature ? " In answer to
this inquiry there are certainly some facts which speak
strongly in the affirmative, and these are, that alkali,
that is to say soda, is found in the albumen of the eggs of
birds, and also, in company with ammonia, in the " liquor
seminalis " of animals, including man. Fourcroy, in his
analysis of the " liquor seminalis " of a healthy man,
detected both caustic soda and ammonia in quantity ;
and since his time the presence of active alkali in this
secretion has been placed beyond all doubt or question.

So much then for the hypothesis. During recent years
a large variety of most significant experiments have been
carried out by Loeb, Delage and many other scientists
on artificial parthenogenesis and the cross-fertilisation of

DOUBLEDAY'S THEORY 181

different species. They find that if a small quantity of
some alkali, such as sodium hydroxide, be added to the
sea-water in which certain species live, the degree of
fertilisability is so raised that even widely separated
marine species can fertilise each other. Sea-urchins and
starfish, or even sea-urchins and molluscs can be crossed,
and will produce hybrids which transmit the character
of the female. With the aid of an alkali, salt, or sugar,
it is also possible to secure artificial parthenogenesis in
species whose normal mode of reproduction is sexual,
and the resulting larvae develop normally and live as
long as the offspring from fertilised eggs. The facts in
regard to alkali certainly provide astonishing confirmation
of a hypothesis published eighty years ago.

Doubleday also suggested that " the neutralisation or
absence of alkali in the male animal constitution would
be a direct cause of sterility, and its decided presence,
e contrario, a cause of fruitfulness, supposing in such
case the female to be prolific by constitution." He then
pointed out that the tendency of a plethoric diet is to
produce an abundance of acid in the body, as seen in
cases of gout, and that the tendency of too poor and
scanty a diet is to develop an alkalescent state, as seen
in scurvy, a disease produced by deficient and unwhole-
some diet. It is well established that acid is fatal to the
germ cells, perhaps through neutralising the alkali, but
an excess of alkali seems to be equally fatal. Probably
there is an optimum point for this as for other factors.

This work of Thomas Doubleday was a most valuable
contribution to the study of the problem of the birthrate
and the laws which govern fertility. But, as not in-
frequently happens, he was completely baffled by the
blindness of his contemporaries. They were infatuated
by the theory of Malthus, who had provided them with
an admirable excuse for their selfishness, and were most

182 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

unwilling to listen to a writer who would have urged
upon them the necessity of social reform, instead of laying
the blame for the evils from which society suffers at the
door of Providence. It will be no more than justice if
we divert a little of the attention which is bestowed upon
the work of the man who was wrong to the work of the
man whom time has substantially justified. The present
belief that the birthrate is regulated by the use of contra-
ceptives would have been meaningless to Doubleday.
He was dealing with an increase. The only way in which
the race-suicide theory could be applied to such facts
would be to assume that the people were formerly in
the habit of limiting the size of their families by the use
of contraceptives, but were now giving up the practice,
or rather were now content to rear substantially larger
families than before for no better reason than that they
were less able to support them.

Unlike his opponents, Doubleday could not ignore the
increase or assume it to be an effect without a cause.
To him, seeing that the increase accompanied a lowering
of the standard of comfort which resulted from the in-
troduction of the factory system, it was an obvious in-
ference that the best way to cause a decrease was to
reverse tlie conditions which brought about the increase.
He illustrated this by many historical facts, showing
that exceptionally prosperous periods were accompanied,
not by over-population, but by de-population. Time has
justified his view. A reversal of the conditions which
brought about the increased birthrate has caused a
decrease. And a further accentuation of the causes
which have brought about the decrease should produce
a further decline.

CHAPTER XIII
THE FUTURE

Two parties are conspicuous in the constant controversy
which rages round the question of the desirability of
birth control. There is the party the members of which
seem to be anxious for population at any price, and close
their eyes to the fact that a full realisation of the potential
fertility of the race would lead to disastrous over-population
in a few generations, besides the blighting effect of large
families upon the fortunes of the poor. There is the
opposite party, the members of which see these things
vividly, but are blind to the equally obvious fact that if
the decb'ne in the birthrate continues unchecked, then
in a few years' time births will be insufficient to balance
the deaths, and a decline must occur in the populations
affected similar to that which took place in Ancient Rome
and Greece. To France the problem of the birthrate
has already become a matter of life and death. But
for the influx of fertile Italians and others it is probable
that her population would be already on the decline.
A replacement of its population by foreign immigrants
is a prospect which no virile and patriotic nation can
view with equanimity.

What we need is an intelligently regulated birthrate.
We need to obtain the largest possible proportion of
children from the ablest sections of the people, and the
smallest possible proportion from the unfit. We need
such a rate of reproduction as shall provide for the upkeep

183

184 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

of our own population, and also yield a suitable margin
for emigration to the colonies which are in need of popula-
tion. But at present our birthrate is utterly unregulated.
We are obtaining the largest proportion of children from
the least fit, and the smallest proportion from the ablest
sections of the population. And all through human
history the spectacle has been one of periods of gross
over-reproduction, with disastrous economic consequences,
alternating with periods of under-reproduction and de-
population.

To obtain an intelligently regulated birthrate, we must
first acquire a clear insight into the laws which govern
fertility, and devise some means of overcoming at will
the rapidly increasing sterility now making itself manifest
through all classes. Seeing that such vast increases in
the fertilising power of the sperm cells and in the fertilisa-
bility of the egg cells can be obtained by such slight and
simple means as shown in the experiments of Loeb and
others, the possibility that we may find some simple
means of ensuring fertilisation in the case of human
beings is by no means a forlorn hope. The task may
prove unexpectedly easy. It seems to be merely a matter
of bringing these influences temporarily to bear on the
germ cells.

Probably the most hopeful way of influencing the gernl
cells is through the medium of the blood. As their nutritive
condition will no doubt be determined by the quantity
and quality of the blood supply, it is desirable that we
should know the effect on fertility of an increase of the
alkalinity, acidity, and salinity of the blood. This should
be readily ascertainable by means of simple and harm-
less experiments on unicellular organisms and the lower
animals.

There are in the body certain glands which secrete

THE FUTURE 185

and pour into the system various fluids known as " hor-
mones." Comparatively little is yet understood of the
work of these glands, but enough has been ascertained
to prove that their functions are very important. The
injection into the blood of extracts obtained from them
has produced most remarkable results. Goitre is reduced,
as a rule, by the injection of extract of the thyroid gland.
A singular result is the development of a cock's comb
on the head of a hen as the result of injecting testicular
extract. These glands, in fact, seem to control the growth
and functions of the various organs. Now, as the nutritive
condition of the germ cells is probably governed by the
central nervous system through the medium of the blood,
and as these glands which pour their secretions into the
system must also be controlled by the nervous system, it
seems fairly clear that we have in these three, the nervous
system, the glands, and the circulatory system, the great
regulating mechanism of the organism. Probably the
whole metabolism and development of the organism from
childhood to old age is controlled by the acceleration or
retardation of the work of these glands. And it is not
improbable, therefore, that the secretions of some of
them play a powerful part in the nourishment of the
germ cells, and thus regulate fertility.

Another factor to be studied is that presented by the
constituents of food known as " vitamines." Experi-
ments have shown that if fowls are fed on polished rice
or other foods deficient in vitamines, they fall victims
after a period to beri-beri and other diseases ; while if
vitamine starvation be carried far enough death ensues.
We need some intelligently directed experiments to
ascertain the effects of both a deficiency and a super-
abundant supply of vitamines on fertility. Not a great
deal has been done in this direction yet. McCarrison has

186 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

found that " an exclusive diet of milled rice causes, after
about thirty days, a complete suppression of the function
of spermatogenesis," and also that " one of the most
remarkable results of a dietary deficient in so-called
' anti-neuritic ' vitamines is the constant and very pro-
nounced atrophy of the testicles in males and the similar
but less pronounced atrophy of the ovaries in females."1
But what is most important to ascertain is whether there
is an optimum point for fertility with these vitamines
as with other food factors.

Some interesting possibilities are suggested by the
following passage from Buchan's Domestic Medicine,
published in 1813, or over a hundred years ago, and it
is significant to note that the same influences which are
at work in an accentuated form to-day had been noticed
even then, and that some of the most promising remedies
were also known. "It is very certain that high living
vitiates the humours and prevents fecundity. We seldom
find a barren woman amongst the poor, while nothing
is more common among the rich and affluent. The
inhabitants of every country are prolific in proportion to
their poverty ; and it would be an easy matter to adduce
many instances of women who, by being reduced to
living entirely upon milk and vegetable diet, have con-
ceived and brought forth children, though they never
had any before. Would the rich use the same sort of
food and exercise as the better sort of peasants, they
would seldom have any cause to envy their poor vassals
and dependents the blessings of a numerous and healthy
offspring, while they pine in sorrow for want of a single
heir to their extensive domains.

" Affluence begets indolence, which not only vitiates

1 Indian Journal of Medical Research, Robert McCarrison, January,
1919.

THE FUTURE 187

the humours, but induces a general relaxation of the
solids, a state highly unfavourable to procreation. To
remove this we recommend the following course : First,
sufficient exercise in the open air ; secondly, a diet consisting
chiefly of milk and vegetables ; thirdly, the use of astringent
medicines as steel, alum, dragon's blood, elixir of vitriol,
the Spa or Tunbridge Waters, Peruvian bark, etc., and
lastly, above all, the cold bath."

Verily there is nothing new under the sun. Here in
this old volume of over a hundred years ago we have the
main symptoms of the birthrate problem clearly grasped
and the most promising lines of treatment mapped out.
Iron is strongly recommended by Sharp in his Essays
on Medicine as " greatly facilitating conception." If
iron in small quantities or any of the other substances
recommended do really facilitate conception, it is easy to
see how many of the apparently contradictory statistical
results could be produced. Suppose the water of a given
district strongly impregnated with iron. This might lead
to a considerable increase of average fertility in that
district. In another district might be present some
substance which tended to check fertility. As it is not
likely that any material effect on the deathrate would
result in either case, there would be a considerable irregu-
larity when birthrates and deathrates of the two districts
were compared. Yet for a country as a whole the law
of averages would level up these incidental factors.

A very interesting line of inquiry is suggested by " some
results obtained at the experimental farm at Roseville,
California, by Professor Silas Wentworth, who has found
that by placing ewes in a field under the power wires
of an electric power company, the average production
of lambs is more than doubled." l Assuming the fact
1 The Task of Social Hygiene, Havslock Ellis, p. 173.

188 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

to be authentic, it would seem that the power wires pro-
duced an electrically charged atmosphere in the immediate
neighbourhood, and this may have affected the reproductive
powers through the nervous systems of the sheep. Perhaps
it had an enervating effect similar to that produced by
the electrical condition of the atmosphere which precedes
a thunderstorm.

In addition to a careful study of the effect of all the
nutritive factors of the environment upon fertility, we
need a systematic inquiry into the effects of intellectual
activity. A good deal of striking evidence has already
been given, but we need much more far-reaching and
systematic inquiries than have yet been carried out.
Obviously the proportion of completely sterile marriages
offers the best test both for this and for the general question
whether there has been a great decline of fertility due to
natural causes. Thus far there have been no adequate
statistical inquiries directed to this end. Some signifi-
cant facts have been given earlier in this work. More
figures are given in the Report of the National Birthrate
Commission, but they are scrappy and not arranged to
throw any real light on the relative proportion of com-
pletely sterile marriages in comparisons between different
countries, different periods and different social classes,
which is the kind of information needed. For example,
" sterility is much more frequent among American women
than among foreign women in America. Among various
groups in Boston, St. Louis and elsewhere, it varies
between 20 and 23 per cent., and in some smaller groups
is even considerably higher, while among foreign women
it is only 13 per cent." l It may be added that the
average fertility of native American women is considerably
less than that of foreign-born women. Malthus quotes

1 The Task of Social Hygiene , Havelock Ellis, p. 173.

THE FUTURE 189

M. Muret to the effect that the number of childless married
women at Vevay, Switzerland, at the end of the eighteenth
century was only 20 out of 478, or little more than
4 per cent.1 If we find that there is a proportionate rise
in the percentage of completely sterile marriages in other
comparisons, we are bound to conclude, unless we are
prepared to accept the grotesque caricature of the " demo-
graphic woman, " that there has been a vast decline of
natural fertility ; and if this is particularly marked among
the intellectual classes, it will be a fair inference that
the great spread of education and cerebral activity has
been a powerful contributing cause. These factors appear
to produce a state of nervous tension which is inimical
to fertility.

Many most promising lines of inquiry and experiment
are opened up by the hypotheses and generalisations
herein sketched out. And it is only by the systematic
following up of these inquiries that the problem of the
birthrate can be successfully grappled with. Eloquent
exhortations and denunciations are alike useless. Only
an accurate understanding of the problem will enable
us to deal with it. And this understanding will have
to include a solution of the economic problems involved.
So long as Society is run upon the principle of every man
for himself and the devil take the hindmost, so long will
this principle manifest itself in the problem of the birthrate.
Whether the decline be due to contraceptives or to natural
causes, it will be equally useless to exhort the abler sections
of the community to produce a number of children adequate
to maintain the numbers of the population unless there
is some economic guarantee that they shall not be hope-
lessly penalised in the race thereby, and if they should
break down in the struggle be left to starve in the gutter.
» The Principle of Population, Book II, chap. v.

190 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

So stupendous economic problems have to be grappled
with in the near future.

But let us assume that the power to secure fertilisation
at will is achieved, and that the economic problems
involved can also be successfully dealt with. It will then
be necessary to classify the population according to ability.
From the class of highest all-round efficiency, both mental
and physical, we should desire the largest proportion of
children ; from the class next in order of efficiency a
smaller proportion ; and so on in a diminishing proportion
until we reach the unfit, from whom we should desire as
few children as possible. There would be no need for a
stud farm system or a special selection for special points.
The only selection needed would be for general efficiency,
and Nature could then be left to design her own superman.
But to obtain these results it would be necessary to
approach each married couple individually for a given
number of children at carefully regulated intervals, and
assent would only be obtained if the necessary economic
guarantees could be given. These conditions being granted,
there would be little fear of a refusal in the vast
majority of cases in a healthily organised society. Public
opinion is a powerful force, selection to assist in the con-
tinuation of the race would be one of the highest compli-
ments Society could bestow, and a clear realisation of
all the bearings of the problem would do the rest.

The hypotheses which have been worked out may be
briefly summarised. They are : —

(1) That the decline in the birthrate is mainly due
to a natural law which adjusts the degree of fertility
to suit the deathrate of the race.

(2) That the variation in the degree of animal
fertility in response to the direct action of the environ-

THE FUTURE 191

nient will bear an inverse proportion to the intensity
of the nervous charge (for the sake of simplicity we
may ignore the qualification when discussing the appli-
cation of the principle to human society, as it will
only come into operation under famine conditions).

(3) That the principle is a law governing the union
of sperm cell and ovum.

The first of these hypotheses has no necessary depend-
ence on the second, and the second has no necessary
dependence on the third. Although the evidence in
favour of all three theories is very strong, yet they are
put forward as hypotheses merely, not as complete and
final explanations. The writer is content to regard this
work as a case for a further inquiry, certain that even if
an energetic following up of the lines of inquiry sketched
out should lead to the overthrow of the hypotheses in
question, yet by the time these are shown to be wrong
some other theories will have been shown to be correct.

It will be useful in conclusion to sketch out the theory
of sexual fertility as a whole. It has nothing to do with
the variation of the inherited potential degree of fertility
as between species and species, but is a theory of the
law which governs the degree of sexual fertility of indi-
viduals under the direct influence of the environment.
It has nothing to do with asexual fertility, which appears
to vary directly with the surplus of nutrition over and
above the cost of individuation. The presumption is
that the degree of fertility is mainly dependent on the
nutritive condition of the germ cells, and that this is
governed by the central nervous system through the
medium of the circulatory system, and probably by
hormones secreted by certain glands and poured into
the system. The theory is expressed in the formula

192 THE LAW OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

that the degree of fertility will be directly proportional
to the development of nervous energy until the optimum
point for fertility is reached, and will thenceforward
vary inversely with the development of nervous energy.
The formula must be taken as applying to that condition
of the nerves which favours the discharge of energy, and
this condition will represent the net result of nutrition
and activity, or balance between accumulation and ex-
penditure.

As thus stated, the theory is a working hypothesis,
and is merely the best statement of the law of nervous
action in this matter that our almost complete ignorance
of what goes on in the nerve permits us to make. Its
value lies in this, that it produces order out of the chaos
of apparently contradictory facts, and enables us to conduct
intelligently directed inquiries instead of groping blindly
in the dark. It will be subject to restatement in the
light of fuller knowledge, and when it can be replaced by
a better statement, the quicker it is flung upon the scrap-
heap the better.

Printed in Great Britain by

TJNWIN BBOTHEES, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PEESS, WOEINQ AND LONDON

UNWIN'S "CHATS

"

PRACTICAL HANDBOOKS
FOR COLLECTORS

Most people nowadays are collectors in a small
way of Autographs, China, Furniture, Prints,
Miniatures, or Silver, and would take up these
fascinating hobbies more extensively, and collect
with profit, if they had a knowledge of the subject.

It is to the beginner and would-be collector that
Unwin's " Chats " Series of practical handbooks
especially appeal. They are the recognized stan-
dard guides to collecting, each volume being the
work of an expert on the subject dealt with.

Each volume is profusely illustrated with carefully-
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Full Indices, Bibliographies, and Lists of Sale Prices
at Public Auctions are included in the volumes.

" As this is the age of collectors, so it is the age of books for their guidanc«
Mr. Unwin's series of books for collectors now includes twenty-one
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various writers." The Nation

HOW TO COLLECT WITH PROFIT

is the keynote of the series. The phenomenal prices realized at
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Prices are still rising, and those who have the knowledge are buying
for future rises. Ask always for and see that you get UNWIN'S
"Chats" Series— the standard popular handbooks on collecting

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LIST OF VOLUMES

Chats on English China. By ARTHUR HAYDEN. Illus-
trated with reproductions of 156 marks and 89 specimens
of china. Cloth, 15s. net. Fourth Edition.

This is the standard work on the subject. The volume
will enable the possessors of old china to determine
the factories at which their ware was produced.
'* It gives in a few chapters just what the beginner wants to know
about the principal varieties of English ware. We can warmly
commend the book to the china collector." Pall Mall Gazette.

" So simply yet so thoroughly written, that it is a sage guide to the
veriest tyro in china collecting." Bookman.

Chats on Old Furniture. By ARTHUR HAYDEN. With
a coloured frontispiece and 104 other Illustrations. Cloth,
12s. 6d. net. Fourth Edition. Eleventh Impression.

" The hints to collectors are the best and clearest we have seen ; so
that altogether this is a model book of its kind." Athenasum.

" A fully illustrated practical guide for collectors." The Times.

"Mr. Hay den has worked at his subject on systematic lines, and
has made his book what it purports to be — a practical guide for the
collector." The Saturday Review.

Chats on Old Prints. How to Collect and Identify.
By ARTHUR HAYDEN. With a coloured frontispiece and
72 full-page plates. Cloth, 15s. net. Sixth Impression.

Every branch of the subject is carefully and explicitly
handled in this book, and valuable information as to
technical processes and identification of prints is given.
*' If there is a better book of its kind on print collecting we have not
yet come across it." Daily Graphic.

" A very useful handbook for beginners, intended to help any reader
of artistic tastes, but very moderate means, to collect to good pur-
pose." The Times.

Chats on Costume. By G. WOOLLISCROFT RHEAD, R.E.
With a coloured frontispiece and 117 other Illustrations.
Cloth, 10s. 6d. net. Second Impression.
A practical guide to historic dress. " Clothes " is
a subject that has been neglected by collectors,
and this book will be a useful guide to those who
desire to repair that neglect by forming a collection.
" A book that is at once the work of an authority on the subject
of costumes, and one that helps to enlarge our range of selec-
tion.^ Pall Mall Gazette.

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UN WIN'S "CHATS" SERIES

Chat* on Old Miniatures. By J. J. FOSTER, F.S.A.
With a coloured frontispiece and 116 other Illustra-
tions. Cloth, 6s. net.

This book presents in a concise and popular form a variety
of valuable information on the collection and preservation
of miniatures, on the leading English and French artists,
and on the specimens exhibited in public galleries.

" Mr. Foster is truly a guide, philosopher and friend. He tells us
not only how to judge and how to buy miniatures, but how to take
proper care of them. . . . The splendid photographs by which the
book is enriched adds in a great measure to its attractiveness and
utility." Aberdeen Free Press.

Chats on Old Lace and Needlework. By MRS. LOWES.
With a frontispiece and 74 other Illustrations. Cloth,
10s. 6d. net. Third Impression.

Written by an expert and enthusiast in these most
interesting branches of art. The low price at which
the work is issued is exceptional in dealing with
these subjects, and it is remarkable in view of the
technical knowledge displayed and the many photo-
graphic illustrations which practically interleave the book.

*' In commendable, clear and concise style Mrs. Lowes explains the
technical features distinguishing each example, making the book the
utmost value in identifying samples of old lace." — Weldon's Ladies1 Jour.

Chats on Oriental China. By J. F. BLACKER. With
a coloured frontispiece and 70 other Illustrations. Cloth,
10s. 6d. net. Fourth Impression.

Will be of the utmost service to collectors and to all who
may have old Chinese and Japanese porcelain in their
possession. It deals with oriental china from the various
standpoints of history, technique, age, marks and values,
and is richly illustrated with admirable reproductions.

"A treatise that is so informing and comprehensive that it commands
the prompt recognisation of all who value the choice productions of
the oriental artists. . . . The illustrations are numerous and invalu-
able to the attainment of expert knowledge, and the result is a hand-
book that is as indispensable as it is unique." Patt MaU Gazette.

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD.. 1 ADELPHI TERRACE, LONDON. W.C. 2

UNWIN'S "CHATS" SERIES

Chats on English Earthenware. A companion volume
to " Chats on English China." By ARTHUR HAYDEN.
With a coloured frontispiece, 150 Illustrations and tables
of over 200 illustrated marks. Cloth,

10s. 6d. net. Third Impression.

" To the ever-increasing number of collectors who are taking
an interest in old English pottery . . . will be found one of
the most delightful, as it is a practical work on a fascinating
subject." Hearth and Home.

" Here we have a handbook, written by a well-known authority,
which gives in the concisest possible form all the information that
the beginner in earthenware collecting is likely to need. Moreover,
it contains one or two features that are not usually found in the
multifarious ' guides ' that are produced to-day." Nation.

Chats on Autographs. By A. M. BROADLEY. With
130 Illustrations. Cloth, 6s. net.

" Being an expert collector, Mr. Broadley not only discourses on
the kinds of autograph he owns, but gives some excellent cautionary
advice and a valuable ' caveat emptor ' chapter for the benefit of
other collectors." Westminster Gazette.

"It is assuredly the best work of the kind yet given to the public ;
and supplies the intending collector with the various sources of infor-
mation necessary to his equipment." Manchester Guardian.

Chats on Old Pewter. By H. J. L. J. MASSE, M.A. WTith
52 half-tone and numerous other Illustrations. Cloth,
10s. 6d. net. Second Impression.

" It is a remarkably thorough and well-arranged guide to the subject,
supplied with useful illustrations and with lists of pewterers and of
their marks so complete as to make it a very complete and satis-
factory book of reference." Manchester Guardian,
" Before setting out to collect old pewter it would be as well to read
Mr. Masse's book, which is exhaustive in its information and its
lists of pewterers, analytical index, and historical and technical
chapters." Spectator.

Chats on Postage Stamps. By FRED J. MELVILLE.
With 57 half-tone and 17 line Illustrations. Cloth,

10s. 6d. net. Second Impression.

" The whole book, with its numerous illustrations of excellent quality,
is a vade mecum for stamp collectors, even though their efforts may
be but modest ; we congratulate Mr. Melville on a remarkably good
guide, which makes fascinating reading." Academy.

"There is no doubt that Mr. Melville's book fills a void. There is
nothing exactly like it. Agreeably written in a popular style and
adequately illustrated, it is certainly one of the best guides to phila-
telic knowledge that have yet been published." World.

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Chats on Old Jewellery and Trinkets. By MAC!VER
PERCIVAL. With nearly 300 Illustrations. Cloth, 6s. net.

" The book is very thorough, dealing as it does with classic, antique
and modern ornaments ; with gold, silver, steel and pinchbeck ; with
the precious stones, the commoner stones and imitation." — Outlook.
44 * Chats on Old Jewellery and Trinkets ' is a book which will enable
every woman to turn over her jewel-case with a fresh interest and
a new intelligence ; a practical guide for the humble but anxious
collector. ... A good glossary of technicalities and many excel-
lent illustrations complete a valuable contribution to collector's
lore." Illustrated London News.

Chats on Cottage and Farmhouse Furniture. A com-
panion volume to " Chats on Old Furniture." By ARTHUR
HAYDEN. With a coloured frontispiece and 75 other
Illustrations. Cloth, 15s. net. Third Impression.

" One gets very much for one's money in this book. Seventy-three
full-page illustrations in half-tone embellish a letterpress which is
replete with wise description and valuable hints." Vanity Fair.

" iff. Hayden's book is a guide to all sorts of desirable and simple
furniture, from Stuart to Georgian, and it is a delight to read as well
as a sure help to selection." Pall Mall Gazette.

" Mr. Hayden writes lucidly and is careful and accurate in his state-
ments ; while the advice he gives to collectors is both sound and
reasonable." Westminster Gazette.

Chats on Old Coins. By FRED W. BURGESS. With a
coloured frontispiece and 258 other Illustrations. Cloth,
10s. 6d. net. Second Impression.

" A most useful and instructive book . . . will prove a boon to the
intending collector of old coins and tokens, and full of interest to
every collector. As was to be expected of any volume of this series,
the illustrations are numerous and good, and greatly assist the reader
to grasp the essentials of the author's descriptions." Outlook.

44 The author has not only produced ' a practical guide for the col-
lector ' but a handy book of reference for all. The volume is wonder-
fully cheap." Notes and Queries.

Chats on Old Copper and Brass. By FRED W.
BURGESS. With a coloured frontispiece and 86 other
Illustrations. Cloth, 6s. net.

44 Mr. F. W. Burgess is an expert on old copper and bronze, and in his
book there is little information lacking which the most ardent
collector might want." The Observer.

44 Italian bronzes, African charms, Chinese and Japanese enamels,
bells, mortars, Indian idols, dials, candlesticks, and snuff boxes,
all come in for their share of attention, and the reader who has
mastered Mr. Burgess's pages can face his rival in the auction-
room or the dealer in his shop with little fear of suffering by the
transaction." The Nation,

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UNWIN'S "CHATS" SERIES

Chats on Household Curios. By FRED W. BURGESS.
With 94 Illustrations. Cloth, 6s. net.

" Mr. Burgess gives much information about such attractive antiques
as old glass and enamels, old leather work, old clocks and watches,
old pipes, old seals, musical instruments, and even old samplers and
children's toys. The book is, in short, an excellent and compre-
hensive guide for what one may call the general collector, that is,
the collector who does not confine himself to one class of antique,
but buys whatever he comes across in the curio line, provided that
it is interesting and at moderate price." Aberdeen Free Press.

Chats on Japanese Prints. By ARTHUR DAVISON
FICKE. With a coloured frontispiece and 56 Illustra-
tions. Cloth, 6s. net. Third Impression.
" Mr. Ficke writes with the knowledge of the expert, and his history
of Japanese printing from very early times and his criticism of the
artists' work are wonderfully interesting." Taller.
" This is one of the most delightful and notable members of an
attractive series. ... A beginner who shall have mastered and made
thoroughly his own the beauty of line and the various subtlety and bold-
ness of linear composition displayed in these sixty and odd photographs
will have no mean foundation for further study." — Notes and Queries.

Chats on Old Clocks. By ARTHUR HAYDEN. With a
frontispiece and 80 Illustrations. 2nd Ed. Cloth, 10s. 6d. net.
" A practical handbook dealing with the examples of old clocks likely
to come under the observation of the collector. Charmingly written
and illustrated." Outlook.

" One specially useful feature of the work is the prominence Mr.
Hayden has given to the makers of clocks, dealing not only with
those of London, but also those of the leading provincial towns. The
lists he gives of the latter are highly valuable, as they are not to be
found in any similar book. The volume is, as usual with this series,
profusely illustrated, and may be recommended as a highly interesting
and useful general guide to collectors of clocks." The Connoisseur.

Chats on Old Silver. By ARTHUR HAYDEN. With a
frontispiece, 99 full-page Illustrations, and illustrated
table of marks. Cloth, 10s. 6d. net. Third Impression.
" Mr. Hay den's ; Chats on Old Silver ' deals very thoroughly with a
popular branch of collecting. There are a hundred full-page illus-
trations together with illustrated tables and charts, and the student
of this book can wander round the old curiosity shops of these islands
with a valuable equipment of knowledge. . . . Altogether we have
here a well-written summary of everything that one could wish to
know about this branch of collecting." The Sphere.

" The information it gives will be of exceptional value at this time,
when so many families will be forced to part with thoir treasures —
and old silver is among the most precious possessions of the present
day." Morning Post.

T FISHER UNWIN LTD., 1 ADELPHI TERRACE. LONDON. W.C.2

UNWIN'S "CHATS'1 SERIES

Chats on Military Curios. By STANLEY C. JOHNSON,
M.A., D.Sc. With a coloured frontispiece and 79 other
Illustrations. Cloth, 6s. net.

" Mr. Johnson in this book describes many of the articles a collector
should be on the look out for, giving short but informative notes on
medals, helmet and cap badges, tunic buttons, armour, weapons of
all kinds, medallions, autographs, original documents relating to
Army work, military pictures and prints, newspaper cuttings, obso-
lete uniforms, crests, stamps, postmarks, memorial brasses, money
and curios made by prisoners of war, while there is also an excellent
biography on the subject. The author has, indeed, presented the
reader with a capital working handbook, which should prove a friendly
and reliable guide when he goes collecting." Field.

Chats on Royal Copenhagen Porcelain. By ARTHUR
HAYDEN. With a frontispiece, 56 full-page Illustrations
and illustrated tables of marks. Cloth, 10s. 6d. net.

" This very beautiful and very valuable book will be eagerly wel-
comed by lovers of porcelain. . . . Mr. Hayden describes with great
skill and preciseness all the quality and beauty of technique in which
this porcelain excels ; he loves it and understands it, and the examples
he has chosen as illustrations are a valuable supplement to his
descriptions." Bookman.

Chats on Old Sheffield Plate. By ARTHUR HAYDEN.
With frontispiece and 58 full-page Illustrations, together
with makers' marks. Cloth, 21s. net.

Old plated ware has, by reason of its artistic excellence
and its technique, deservedly won favour with collectors.
The art of making plated ware, which originated at Sheffield
(hence the name " Sheffield plate "),^ was continued at
Birmingham and London, where a considerable amount
of " old Sheffield plate " was made, in the manner of its
first inventors, by welding sheets of silver upon copper.
The manufacture lasted roughly a hundred years. Its
best period was from 1776 (American Declaration of
Independence) to 1830 (Accession of William IV). The
author shows reasons why this old Sheffield plate should
be collected, and the volume is illustrated with many
examples giving various styles and the development of the
art, together with makers' marks. Candlesticks and

T. FISHER UNW1N LTD., 1 ADELPHI TERRACE, LONDON, W.C.2

UNWIN'S "CHATS" SERIES

candelabra, tea-caddies, sugar-baskets, salt-cellars, tea-
pots, coffee-pots, salvers, spoons, and many other articles
shown and described in the volume indicate the exquisite
craftsmanship of the best period. The work stands as a
companion volume to the author's " Chats on Old Silver,"
the standard practical guide to old English silver collecting.

Bye Paths in Curio Collecting. By ARTHUR HAYDEN,
Author of " Chats on Old Silver," etc. With a frontis-
piece and 72 full-page Illustrations. Cloth,
21s. net. Second Impression.
" Every collector knows the name of Mr. Arthur Hay den, and knows
him for a wise counsellor. Upon old furniture, old china, old pottery,
and old prints there is no more knowing judge in the country ; and
in his latest volume he supplies a notable need, in the shape of a vade-
mecum exploring some of the nondescript and little traversed bye-
paths of the collector. There was never a time when the amateur
of the antique stood more in need of a competent guide. . . .
The man who wishes to avoid the pitfalls of the fraudulent will
find much salutary advice in Mr. Hayden's gossipy pages.
There are chests, for example, a fruitful field for reproduction.
Mr. Hayden gives photographs of many exquisite examples. There
is a marriage coffer of the sixteenth century, decorated with carved
figures of Cupid and Hymen, a fine Gothic chest of the fifteenth cen-
tury, with rich foliated decorations ; and a superb livery cupboard
from Haddon Hall. From Flanders come steel coffers, with a lock
of four bolts, the heavy sides strongly braized together. Then there
are snuffers, with and without trays, tinder-boxes, snuff graters, and
metal tobacco stoppers. The most fascinating designs are shown,
with squirrels, dogs, and quaint human figures at the summit. Fans
and playing-cards provide another attractive section.

Chicken-skin, delicate, white,

Painted by Carlo van Loo.

The fan has always been an object of the collector's passion, because
of the grace of the article and its beauty as a display. Mr. Hayden
shows a particularly beautiful one, with designs after Fragonard,
the sticks of ivory with jewelled studs. Then there are watch-stands,
a little baroque in design, and table-bells, some of them shaped as
female figures with spreading skirts, old toys and picture-books, and,
of course, cradles, of which every English farm-house once boasted
its local variety. Altogether the book abounds in inviting pictures
and curious information, and is certain of a large, appreciative
public." Daily Telegraph.

The Fan Book : Including Special Chapters on European
Fans of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. By
M AdvER PERCIVAL, author of " Chats on Old Jewellery and
Trinkets." Fully Illustrated. Demy 8vo, cloth, 21s. net.

T. FlSHER UNWIN ., 1 ADELPHI TERRACE, LONDON, W.C.2

POETRY THAT

JL Jrl JLV 1 JLrf

A COLLECTION OF
SONGS FROM OVERSEAS THAT THRILL WITH VIVID
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE ADVENTUROUS LIFE IN THE
FROZEN NORTH, IN THE OUTPOSTS OF CIVILIZATION
AND OF THE HEROISM OF SOLDIERS IN BATTLE

SONGS OF A SOURDOUGH. By ROBERT W. SERVICE.
Crown 8vo. Cloth, 4/6 net. Fortieth Impression.

Also a Pocket edition. Fcap. 8vo, cloth, 4/6 net.

Q

" Of the Canadian disciples of Kipling, by far the best is R. W. Service.
His ' Songs of a Sourdough ' have run through many editions. Much
of his verse has a touch of real originality, conveying as it does a just
impression of the something evil and askew in the strange, uncouth
wilderness of the High North." The Times.

" Mr. Service has got nearer to the heart of the old-time place miner
than any other verse -maker in all the length and height of the
Dominion. ... He certainly sees the Northern Wilderness through
the eyes of the man into whose soul it is entered." Morning Post.

RHYMES OF A RED-CROSS MAN. By ROBERT W.
SERVICE. Crown 8vo. Cloth, 4/6 net. Sixth Impression.
Also a Pocket edition. Fcap. 8vo, cloth, 4/6 net.

"It is the great merit of Mr. Service's verses that they are literally
alive with the stress and joy and agony and hardship that make up
life out in the battle zone. He has never written bettor than in this
book, and that is saying a great deal." Bookman.

" Mr. Service has painted for us the unutterable tragedy of the war, the
horror, the waste, and the suffering, but side by side with that he
has set the heroism, the endurance, the unfailing cheerfulness and the
unquenchable laughter." Scots Pictorial.

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD., 1 Adelphi Terrace, London, W.C.2

POETRY THAT T H R I L L S-contd..

THE HELL-GATE OF SOISSONS and other Poems.
("THE SONG OF THE GUNS.") By HERBERT KAUFMAN.
Cloth, 4/6 net. Fifth Impression.

" A singular gift for expressing in verse the facts, the heroism, even
the humours of war ; and in some cases voices its ideals with real
eloquence." The Times.

11 Mr. Kaufman has undoubtedly given us a book worthy of the great
hour that has brought it forth. He is a poet with a martial spirit
and a deep, manly voice." Daily Mail.

LYRA NIGERIA. By ADAMU. (E. C. ADAMS).
Cloth, 4/6 net. Second Impression.

" Mr. E. C. Adams (Adamu) is a singer of Nigeria, and it can safely
be said he has few, if any, rivals. There is something in these illus-
trations of Nigerian life akin to the style of Kipling and Service.
The heart of the wanderer and adventurer is revealed, and in particular
that spirit of longing which comes to all ... who have gone out
to the far-lands of the world." Dundee Advertiser.

SUNNY SONGS. Poems. By EDGAR A. GUEST.
Cloth, 4/6 net.

In America Mr. Guest is an extraordinarily popular writer
of verses, though this is his first introduction in book form
to the British public. He brims over with sound sense
and tonic cheeriness. He is keenly sensible of the humour
of domestic life, but is deeply sympathetic with the
associations which combine in the word " Home." Hence
he is read by women with amusement and pleasure. During
the war his poem, " Said the Workman to the Soldier,"
circulated by the hundred thousand. Like Beranger
and all successful poets, he is essentially lyrical ; that
is to say, there is tune and swing in all his verses.

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD , 1 Adelphi Terrace, London, W.C.2

RICHARD MIDDLETON'S WORKS

POEMS AND SONGS (First Series). By RICHARD
MIDDLETON. Cloth, 5/- net.

" We have no hesitation in placing the name of Richard Middleton
beside the names of all that galaxy of poets that made the later
Victorian era the most brilliant in poetry that England had known
since the Elizabethan." Westminster Review.

POEMS AND SONGS (Second Series). By RICHARD
MIDDLETON. Cloth, 5/- net.

" Their beauty is undeniable and often of extraordinary delicacy
for Middleton had a mastery of craftmanship such as is usually given
to men of a far wider imaginative experience." Poetry Review.

" Among the ' Poems and Songs ' of Richard Middleton are to be
found some of the finest of contemporary lyrics." Country Life.

OTHER WORKS BY
RICHARD MIDDLETON

THE GHOST SHIP AND OTHER STORIES.

MONOLOGUES.
THE DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY.

THE WAITING WOMAN and other Poems. By
HERBERT KAUFMAN. Cloth, 4/6 net.

" Mr. Kaufman's work possesses in a high degree the qualities of
sincerity and truth, and it therefore never fails to move the reader.
. . . This volume, in short, is the work of a genuine poet and
artist." Aberdeen Free Press.

" A versifier of great virility and power." Review of Reviews.

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD., 1 Adelphi Terrace, London, W.C.2

BY W. B. YEATS AND OTHERS

POEMS. By W. B. YEATS. Second edition. Large
Crown 8vo, Cloth, 10/6 net. Ninth Impression.

" Love songs, faery themes, moods of meditation, scenes of legendary
wonder . . . is it possible that they should become so infinitely
thrilling, touching, haunting in their fresh treatment, as though they
had never been, or poets had never turned to them ? In this poet's
hands they do so become. Mr. Yeats has given us a new thrill of
delight, a new experience of beauty." Daily Chronicle.

OTHER POEMS BY
W. B. YEATS

COUNTESS CATHLEEN. A Dramatic Poem. Paper
cover, 2/- net.

THE LAND OF HEART'S DESIRE. Paper
cover, 1/6 net.

WHY DON'T THEY CHEER ? By R. J. C. STEAD.
Cloth, 4/6 net.

" Before the war Mr. Stead was known to Canadians as ' The Poet
of the Prairies.' He must now be ranked as a ' Poet of the Empire.'
. . . There is a strength, a beauty, a restrained passion in his war
verses which prove his ability to penetrate into the heart of things
such as very few of our war poets have exhibited." — Daily Express.

SWORDS AND FLUTES. By WILLIAM KEAN SEYMOUR.
Cloth, 4/- net.

** Among the younger poets Mr. Seymour is distinguished by his
delicacy of technique. ' Swords and Flutes ' is a book of grave and tender
beauty expressed in lucent thought and jewelled words. ' The Ambush '
is a lyric of mastery and fascination, alike in conception and rhythm,
which should be included in any representative anthology of Georgian
poetry." Daily Express,

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD., 1 Adelphi Terrace, London, W,C,2

THE MERMAID SERIES

THE BEST PLAYS OF THE OLD DRAMATISTS

Literal Reproductions of the Old Text. With Photo-
gravure Frontispieces. Thin Paper edition. School Edi-
tion, Boards, 3/- net ; Cloth, 5/- net ; Leather, 7/6 net each
volume.

Marlowe. THE BEST PLAYS OF CHRISTOPHER
MARLOWE. Edited, with Critical Memoir and
Notes, by Havelock Ellis ; and containing a General
Introduction to the Series by John Addington
Symonds.

Otway. THE BEST PLAYS OF THOMAS OTWAY.
Introduction and Notes by the Hon. Roden Noel.

Ford. THE BEST PLAYS OF JOHN FORD. Edited
by Havelock Ellis.

Massinger. THE BEST PLAYS OF PHILLIP
MASSINGER. With Critical and Biographical Essay
and Notes by Arthur Symons.

Heywood (T.). THE BEST PLAYS OF THOMAS
HEYWOOD. Edited by A. W. Verity. With
Introduction by J. A. Symonds.

Wycherley. THE COMPLETE PLAYS OF WILLIAM
WYCHERLEY. Edited, with Introduction and
Notes, by W. C. Ward.

NERO AND OTHER PLAYS. Edited by H. P. Home,
Arthur Symons, A. W. Verity and H. Ellis.

Beaumont. THE BEST PLAYS OF BEAUMONT
AND FLETCHER. Introduction and Notes by
J. St. Loe Strachey. 2 vols.

Congreve. THE COMPLETE PLAYS OF WILLIAM
CONGREVE. Edited by Alex. C. Ewald.

Symonds (J. A.). THE BEST PLAYS OF WEBSTER
AND TOURNEUR. With an Introduction and
Notes by John Addington Symonds

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THE MERMAID SERIE S-contd.

Middleton (T.). THE BEST PLAYS OF THOMAS
MIDDLETON. With an Introduction by Algernon
Charles Swinburne. 2 vols.

Shirley. THE BEST PLAYS OF JAMES SHIRLEY.

With Introduction by Edmund Gosse.

Dekker. THE BEST PLAYS OF THOMAS DEKKER.

Notes by Ernest Rhys.

Steele(R.). THE COMPLETE PLAYS OF RICHARD
STEELE. Edited, with Introduction and Notes,
by G. A. Aitken.

Jonson. THE BEST PLAYS OF BEN JONSON.

Edited, with Introduction and Notes, by Brinsley
Nicholson and C. H. Herford. 2 vols.

Chapman. THE BEST PLAYS OF GEORGE CHAPMAN.
Edited by William Lyon Phelps.

Vanbrugh. THE SELECT PLAYS OF SIR JOHN
VANBRUGH. Edited, with an Introduction and
Notes, by A. E. H. Swain.

Shadwell. THE BEST PLAYS OF THOMAS SHAD-
WELL. Edited by George Saintsbury.

Dryden. THE BEST PLAYS OF JOHN DRYDEN.

Edited by George Saintsbury. 2 vols.

Farquhar. THE BEST PLAYS OF GEORGE FARQUHAR.

Edited, and with an Introduction, by William
Archer.

Greene. THE COMPLETE PLAYS OF ROBERT
GREENE. Edited, with Introduction and Notes,
by Thomas H. Dickinson.

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD., 1 Adelphi Terrace, London, W.C. 2

THE ADVANCE OF
SOUTH AMERICA

A FEW NOTES ON SOME INTERESTING BOOKS
DEALING WITH THE PAST HISTORY, PRESENT AND
FUTURE POSSIBILITIES OF THE GREAT CONTINENT

When in 1906 Mr. Fisher Unwin commissioned the late
Major Martin Hume to prepare a series of volumes by
experts on the South American Republics, but little
interest had been taken in the country as a possible field
for commercial development. The chief reasons for this
were ignorance as to the trade conditions and the varied
resources of the country, and the general unrest and
instability of most of the governments. With the coming
of the South American Series of handbooks the financial
world began to realize the importance of the country,
and, with more settled conditions, began in earnest
to develop the remarkable natural resources which
awaited outside enterprise. Undoubtedly the most
informative books on the various Republics are those
included in THE SOUTH AMERICAN SERIES, each of
which is the work of a recognized authority on his subject.

" The output of books upon Latin America has in recent years been
very large, a proof doubtless of the increasing interest that is felt
in the subject. Of these the ' South American Series ' is the most
noteworthy." The Times.

" When the * South American Series ' is completed, those who take
interest in Latin-American affairs will have an invaluable encyclo-
paedia at their disposal." Westminster Gazette.

" Mr. Unwin's ' South American Series ' of books are of special interest
and value to the capitalist and trader." — Chamber of Commerce Journal.

Full particulars of the volumes in the "South American
Series," also of other interesting books on South
America, will be found in the pages following.

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD., 1 ADELPHI TERRACE, LONDON, W.C.2

THE SOUTH AMERICAN SERIES

1 Chile. By G. F. SCOTT ELLIOTT, M.A., F.R.G.S. With
an Introduction by MARTIN HUME, a Map and 39 Illus-
trations. Cloth, 2l/- net. Sixth Impression.

" An exhaustive, interesting account, not only of the turbulent
history of this country, but of the present conditions and seeming
prospects." Westminster Gazette.

2 Peru. By C. REGINALD ENOCK, F.R.G.S. With an In-
troduction by MARTIN HUME, a Map and 64 Illustrations.
Cloth, 18/- net. Fifth Impression.

" An important work. . . . The writer possesses a quick eye and
a keen intelligence ; is many-sided in his interests, and on certain
subjects speaks as an expert. The volume deals fully with the develop-
ment of the country." The Times.

3 Mexico. By C. REGINALD ENOCK, F.R.G.S. ,With an
Introduction by MARTIN HUME, a Map and 64 Illustrations.
Cloth, 15/- net. Fifth Impression.

" The book is most comprehensive ; the history, politics,
topography, industries, resources and possibilities being most ably
discussed." The Financial News.

4 Argentina. By W. A. HIRST. With an Introduction by
MARTIN HUME, a Map and 64 Illustrations. Cloth, 15/-
net. Fifth Impression.

" The best and most comprehensive of recent works on
the greatest and most progressive of the Republics of South
America." Manchester Guardian.

5 Brazil. By PIERRE DENIS. Translated, and with an
Historical Chapter by BERNARD MIALL. With a Supple-
mentary Chapter by DAWSON A. VINDIN, a Map and
36 Illustrations. Cloth, 15/- net. Fourth Impression.

"Altogether the book is full of information, which shows the author to
have made a most careful study of the country." — Westminster Gazette.

T. FISKER UNVVIN LTD., 1 ADELPHI TERRACE, LONDON, W.C 2

THE SOUTH AMERICAN SERIES

6 Uruguay. By W. IT. KOEBEL. With a Map and 55
Illustrations. Cloth, 15/- net. Third Impression.

" Mr. Koebel has given us an expert's diagnosis of the present con-
dition of Uruguay. Glossing over nothing, exaggerating nothing, he
has prepared a document of the deepest interest." — Evening Standard.

7 Guiana. British, French and Dutch. By JAMES ROD WAY.
With a Map and 32 Illustrations. Cloth,
15/- net. Second Impression.

" Mr. Rodway's work is a storehouse of information, historical,
economical and sociological." The Times.

8 Venezuela. By LEONARD V. DALTON, F.G.S., F.R.G.S.

With a Map and 45 Illustrations. Cloth,

15/- net. Third Impression.

" An exhaustive and valuable survey of its geography, geology,
history, botany, zoology and anthropology, and of its commercial
possibilities in the near future." Manchester Guardian.

9 Latin America : Its Rise and Progress. By F. GARCIA-
CALDERON. With a Preface by RAYMOND POINCARE,
President of the French Republic. With a Map and 34
Illustrations. Cloth, 15/- net. Sixth Impression.

President Poincare, in a striking preface to this book,
says : " Here is a book that should be read and digested
by every one interested in the future of the Latin genius."

10 Colombia. ByPHANOR JAMES EDER, A.B., LL.B. W7ith
2 Maps and 40 Illustrations. Cloth,
15/- net. Fifth Impression.

" Mr. Eder'a valuable work should do much to encourage invest-
ment, travel and trade in one of the least-known and most promising
of the countries of the New World." Manchester Guardian.

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD., 1 ADELPHI TERRACE, LONDON, W.C.2

THE SOUTH AMERICAN SERIES

11 Ecuador. By C. REGINALD ENOCK, F.R.G.S. With 2
Maps and 37 Illustrations. Cloth,

15/- net. Second Impression.

" Mr. Enock's very thorough and exhaustive volume should help
British investors to take their part in promoting its develop-
ment. He has studied and described the country in all its
aspects." Manchester Guardian.

12 Bolivia. By PAUL WALLE. With 4 Maps and 59 Illus-
trations. Cloth, 18/- net. Second Impression.

Bolivia is a veritable El Dorado, requiring only capital
and enterprise to become one of the wealthiest States of
America. This volume is the result of a careful investiga-
tion made on behalf of the French Ministry of Commerce.

13 Paraguay. By W. H. KOEBEL. With a Map and 32
Illustrations. Cloth, 15/- net. Second Impression.

" Gives a great deal of serious and useful information about the
possibilities of the country for the emigrant, the investor and the
tourist, concurrently with a vivid and literary account of its
history." Economist.

14 Central America : Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica,
Honduras, Panama and Salvador. By WT. H. KOEBEL.
With a Map and 25 Illustrations. Cloth,

15/- net. Second Impression.

"We strongly recommend this volume, not only to merchants look-
ing ahead for new openings for trade, but also to all who wish for
an accurate and interesting account of an almost unknown
world." Saturday Review.

T, FISHER UNWIN LTD., 1 ADELPHI TERRACE, LONDON, W.C.2

BOOKS ON SOUTH AMERICA

O THER BOOKS ON
SO U T H A M ERIC A

Spanish America : Its Romance, Reality and Future.
By C. R. ENOCK, Author of " The Andes and the Amazon,"
"Peru," "Mexico," "Ecuador." Illustrated and with a
Map. 2 vols. Cloth, 30/- net the set.

Starting with the various States of Central America, Mr.
Enock then describes ancient and modern Mexico, then
takes the reader successively along the Pacific Coast, the
Cordillera of the Andes, enters the land of the Spanish
Main, conducts the reader along the Amazon Valley, gives
a special chapter to Brazil and another to the River Plate
and Pampas. Thus all the States of Central and South
America are covered. The work is topographical, de-
scriptive and historical ; it describes the people and the
cities, the flora and fauna, the varied resources of South
America, its trade, railways, its characteristics generally.

South America : An Industrial and Commercial Field.
By W. H. KOEBEL. Illustrated. Cloth,

18/- net. Second Impression.

" The book considers such questions as South American commerce,
British interests in the various Eepublics, international relations
and trade, communications, the tendency of enterprise, industries,
etc. Two chapters devoted to the needs of the continent will be
of especial interest to manufacturers and merchants, giving as they
do valuable hints as to the various goods required, while the chapter
on merchandise and commercial travellers affords some sound and
practical advice." Chamber of Commerce Journal.

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD.. 1 ADELPHI TERRACE. LONDON. W.C. 2

BOOKS ON SOUTH AMERICA

Vagabonding down the Andes. By HARRY

A. FRANCK, author of "A Vagabond Journey Round the
World," etc. With a Map and 176 Illustrations.
Cloth, 25/- net. Second Impression.

" The book is a brilliant record of adventurous travel among
strange scenes and with even more strange companions, and
vividly illustrates, by its graphic text and its admirable photo-
graphs, the real conditions of life in the backwood regions of South
America." Manchester Guardian.

"Mr. Franck is to be congratulated on having produced a readable
and even fascinating book. His journey lay over countries in which
an increasing interest is being felt. Practically speaking, he may
be said to have started from Panama, wandered through Colombia,
spending some time at Bogota, and then going on to Ecuador, of
which Quito is the centre. Next he traversed the fascinating country
of the Incas, from the borders of which he entered Bolivia, going
right across that country till he approached Brazil. He passed
through Paraguay, cut through a corner of the Argentine to Uruguay,
and so to the River Plata and the now well-known town of Buenos
Ayres." Country Life.

In the Wilds of South America : Six Years of Explora-
tion in Colombia, Venezuela, British Guiana, Peru, Bolivia,
Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. By LEO E. MILLER,
of the American Museum of Natural History. With 48
Full-page Illustrations and with Maps. Cloth, 21 /- net.

This volume represents a series of almost continuous
explorations hardly ever paralleled in the huge areas
traversed. The author is a distinguished field naturalist
— one of those who accompanied Colonel Roosevelt on
his famous South American expedition — and his first object
in his wanderings over 150,000 miles of territory was the
observation of wild life ; but hardly second was that of
exploration. The result is a wonderfully informative,
impressive and often thrilling narrative in which savage
peoples and all but unknown animals largely figure, which
forms an infinitely readable book and one of rare value
for geographers, naturalists and other scientific men.

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD., 1 ADELPHI TERRACE. LONDON, W.C.2

BOOKS ON SOUTH AMERICA

The Putumayo : The Devil's Paradise. Travels in the
Peruvian Amazon Region and an Account of the Atrocities
committed upon the Indians therein. By E. W. HARDEN-
BURG, C.E. Edited and with an Introduction by C.
REGINALD ENOCK, F.R.G.S. With a Map and 16
Illustrations. Demy 8vo, Cloth,

10/6 net. Second Impression.

" The author gives us one of the most terrible pages in the history
of trade." Daily Chronicle.

Tramping through Mexico, Guatemala and Hon-
duras. By HARRY A. FRANCK. With a Map and 88
Illustrations. Cloth, 7/6 net.

"Mr. Harry Franck is a renowned vagabond with a gift for vivid
description. . . . jEis record is well illustrated and ho tells his story
in an attractive manner, his descriptions of scenery being so well
done that one feels almost inclined to risk one's life in a wild race
dwelling in a land of lurid beauty." Liverpool Mercury.

"Air. Franck has combined with an enthralling and amusing
personal narrative a very vivid and searching picture, topogra-
phical and social, of a region of much political and economic
interest." Glasgow Herald.

Mexico (STORY OF THE NATIONS). By SUSAN HALE,
With Maps and 47 Illus. Cloth, 7/6 net. Third Impression.

'* This is an attractive book. There is a fascination about Mexico
which is all but irresistible. . . . The authoress writes with
considerable descriptive power, and all through the stirring
narrative never permits us to lose sight of natural surround-
ings." Dublin Review.

Things as they are in Panama. By HARRY A.
FRANCE. With 50 Illustrations. Cloth, 7/6 net.

"Mr. Franck writes from personal knowledge, fortified by the
aptitude of a practical and shrewd observer with a sense of humour,
and the result is a word-picture of unusual vividness." — Standard.

"A sparkling narrative which leaves one wondering again why the
general reader favours modern fiction so much when it is possible
to get such vivacious yarns as this about strange men and their ways
in a romantic corner of the tropics." Daily Mail.

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD.. 1 ADELPHI TERRACE, LONDON, W.C.2

BOOKS ON SOUTH AMERICA

The Spell of the Tropics. POEMS. By RANDOLPH
H. ATKIN. Cloth, 4/6 net. Second Impression.

The author has travelled extensively in Central and South
America, and has strongly felt the spell of those tropic lands,
with all their splendour and romance, and yet about which
so little is known. The poems are striking pen-pictures
of life as it is lived by those men of the English-speaking
races whose lot is cast in the sun-bathed countries of
Latin- Am erica. Mr. Atkin's verses will reach the hearts
of all who feel the call of the wanderlust, and,
having shared their pleasures and hardships, his
poems will vividly recall to " old-timers " bygone
memories of days spent in the land of the Coconut Tree.

Baedeker Guide to the United States. With
Excursions to Mexico, Cuba, Porto Rico and Alaska.
With 33 Maps and 48 Plans. Fourth Edition,

1909. Cloth, 20/- net.

IMPORTANT. Travellers to the Republics of South America
will find WESSELY'S ENGLISH-SPANISH and SPANISH-
ENGLISH DICTIONARY and WESSELY'S LATIN-ENGLISH
and ENGLISH-LATIN DICTIONARY invaluable books. Bound
in cloth, pocket size. Price 4/- net each.

Ask for Wessely's Edition, published by Mr. T. Fisher Unwin.

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD.. 1 ADELPHI TERRACE, LONDON, W.C.2

THE STORY OF
THE NATIONS

THE GREATEST HISTORICAL LIBRARY
IN THE WORLD :: :: 67 VOLUMES

Each volume of "The Story of the Nations" Series is the work of
a recognized scholar, chosen for his knowledge of the subject and
ability to present history in an attractive form, for the student and
the general reader. The Illustrations and Maps are an attractive
feature of the volume, which are strongly bound for constant use.

67 Volumes. Cloth, 7s. 6d. net each.

See page 2 for an announcement of a new volume.

"It is many years since Messrs. T. Fisher Unwin commenced the
publication of a series of volumes now entitled ' The Story of the
Nations.' Each volume is written by an acknowledged authority
on the country with which it deals. The series has enjoyed
great popularity, and not an uncommon experience being the
necessity for a second, third, and even fourth impression of
particular volumes." Scotsman.

'* Probably no publisher has issued a more informative and valuable
series of works than those included in ' The Story of the
Nations.' " To- Day

"The series is likely to be found indispensable in every school
library." Pall Matt Gazette.

" An admirable, series." Spectator.

" Such a universal history as the series will present us with in
its completion will be a possession such as no country but
our own can boast of. Its success on the whole has been very
remarkable." Daily Chronicle.

" There is perhaps no surer sign of the increased interest that is now
being taken in historical matters than the favourable reception which
we believe both here and in America is being accorded to the various
volumes of * The Story of the Nations ' as they issue in quick
succession from the press. More than one volume has reached its
third edition in England alone. . . . Each volume is written by one
of the foremost English authorities on the subject with which
it deals. ... It is almost impossible to over-estimate the value
of the series of carefully prepared volumes, such as are the
majority of those comprising this library. . . . The illustrations
make one of the most attractive features of the series." — Guardian.

T. FISHER UNWIN LTD., 1 Adelphi Terrace, London, W.C. 2

A NEW VOLUME IN "THE
STORY OF THE NATIONS"
READY IN THE SPRING, 1921

BELGIUM

FROM THE ROMAN INVASION TO THE PRESENT DAY

By EMILE CAMMAERTS. With Maps and
Illustrations. Large Crown 8vo. Cloth, 12/6 net.

A complete history of the Belgian nation from its origins
to its present situation has not yet been published in this
country. Up till now Belgian history has only been
treated as a side issue in works concerned with the Belgian
art, Belgian literature or social conditions. Besides,
there has been some doubt with regard to the date at
which such a history ought to begin, and a good many
writers have limited themselves to the modern history
of Belgium because they did not see in olden times
sufficient evidence of Belgian unity. According to the
modern school of Belgian historians, however, this unity,
founded on common traditions and common interests,
has asserted itself again and again through the various
periods of history in spite of invasion, foreign domination
and the various trials experienced by the country. The
history of the Belgian nation appears to the modern mind
as a slow development of one nationality constituted by
two races speaking two different languages but bound
together by geographical, economic and cultural con-
ditions. In view of the recent proof Belgium has given
of her patriotism during the world-war, this impartial
enquiry into her origins may prove interesting to British
readers. Every opportunity has been taken to insist on
the frequent relationships between the Belgian provinces
and Great Britain from the early middle ages to the present
time, and to show the way in which both countries were
affected by them. Written by one of the most dis-
tinguished Belgian writers, who has made a specialty of
his subject, this work will be one of the most brilliant and
informing contributions in " The Story of the Nations."

A COMPLETE LIST OF THE
VOLUMES IN "THE STORY OF
THE NATIONS" SERIES. THE
FIRST AND MOST COMPLETE
LIBRARY OF THE WORLD'S HISTORY
PRESENTED IN A POPULAR FORM

1 Rome: From the Earliest Times to the End of
the Republic. By ARTHUR GILMAN, M.A. Third
Edition. With 43 Illustrations and Maps.

2 The Jews: In Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern
Times. By Professor JAMES K. HOSMER. Eighth
Impression. With 37 Illustrations and Maps.

3 Germany. By S. BARING-GOULD, M.A. Seventh
Impression. With 108 Illustrations and Maps.

4 Carthage: or the Empire of Africa. By Professor
ALFRED J. CHURCH, M.A. With the Collaboration
of Arthur Gilman, M.A. Ninth Impres-
sion. With 43 Illustrations and Maps.

5 Alexander's Empire. By JOHN PENTLAND MAHAFFY,
D.D. With the Collaboration of Arthur Gilman, M.A.
Eighth Impression. WTith 43 Illustrations and Maps.

6 The Moors in Spain. By STANLEY LANE-POOLE. With
the Collaboration of Arthur Gilinan, M.A. Eighth
Edition. With 29 Illustrations and Maps.

7 Ancient Egypt. By Professor GEORGE RAWLINSON,
M.A. Tenth Edition. Eleventh Impres-
sion. With 50 Illustrations and Maps.

8 Hungary. In Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Times.
By Professor ARMINIUS VAMBERY. With Collaboration
of Louis Heilpin. Seventh
Edition. With 47 Illustrations and Maps.

9 The Saracens: From the Earliest Times to the Fall
of Bagdad. By ARTHUR GILMAN. M.A. Fourth
Edition. With 57 Illustrations and Maps.

THE STORY OF THE

10 Ireland. By the Hon. EMILY LAWLESS. Revised and
brought up to date by J. O'Toole. With some
additions by Mrs. Arthur Bronson. Eighth
Impression. With 58 Illustrations and Maps.

11 Chaldea: From the Earliest Times to the Rise of
Assyria. By ZENAiDE A. RAGOZIN. Seventh
Impression. With 80 Illustrations and Maps.

12 The Goths: From the Earliest Times to the End
of the Gothic Dominion in Spain. By HENRY BRADLEY.
Fifth Edition. With 35 Illustrations and Maps.

18 Assyria : From the Rise of the Empire to the Fall

of Nineveh. (Continued from "Chaldea.") By

Z^NAIDE A. RAGOZIN. Seventh

Impression. With 81 Illustrations and Maps.

14 Turkey. By STANLEY LANE-POOLE, assisted by
C. J. W. Gibb and Arthur Gilman. New
Edition. With a new Chapter on recent
events (1908). With 43 Illustrations and Maps.

15 Holland. By Professor J. E. THOROLD ROGERS.
Fifth Edition. With 57 Illustrations and Maps.

16 Mediaeval France : From the Reign of Huguar Capet
to the beginning of the 16th Century. By GUSTAVE MASSON,
B.A. Sixth Edition. With 48 Illustrations and Maps.

17 Persia. By S. G. W. BENJAMIN. Fourth
Edition. With 56 Illustrations and Maps.

18 Phoenicia. By Professor GEORGE RAWLINSON, M.A.
Third Edition. With 47 Illustrations and Maps.

19 Media, Babylon, and Persia: From the Fall of
Nineveh to the Persian War. By Z&NAIDE A. RAGOZIN.
Fourth Edition. With 17 Illustrations and Maps.

20 The Hansa Towns. By HELEN ZIMMERN. Third
Edition. With 51 Illustrations and Maps.

21 Early Britain. By Professor ALFRED J. CHURCH, M.A.
Sixth Impression. With 57 Illustrations and Maps.

THE STORY OF THE NATIONS-con<in«ed

22 The Barbary Corsairs. By STANLEY LANE-POOLE.
With additions by J. D. KELLY. Fourth
Edition. With 39 Illustrations and Maps.

23 Russia. By W. R. MORFILL, M.A. Fourth
Edition. With 60 Illustrations and Maps.

24 The lews under Roman Rule. By W. D. MORRISON.
Second Impression. With 61 Illustrations and Maps.

25 Scotland: From the Earliest Times to the Present
Day. By JOHN MACKINTOSH, LL.D. Fifth
Impression. With 60 Illustrations and Maps.

26 Switzerland. By LINA Huo and R. STEAD. Third
Impression. With over 54 Illustrations, Maps, etc.

27 Mexico. By SUSAN HALE. Third
Impression. With 47 Illustrations and Maps.

28 Portugal By H. MORSE STEPHENS, M.A. New
Edition. With a new Chapter by Major M. HUME and
5 new Illustrations. Third Impres-
sion. With 44 Illustrations and Maps.

29 The Normans. Told chiefly in Relation to their
Conquest of England. By SARAH ORNE JEWETT. Third
Impression. With 35 Illustrations and Maps.

30 The Byzantine Empire. By C. W. C. OMAN, M.A.

Third Edition. With 44 Illustrations and Maps.

31 Sicily : Phoenician. Greek, and Roman. By Professor
E. A. FREEMAN. Third Edition. With 45 Illustrations.

32 The Tuscan Republics (Florence, Siena, Pisa, Lucca)
with Genoa. By BELLA
DUFFY. With 40 Illustrations and Maps.

83 Poland. By W. R. MORFILL. Third Impres-

sion. With 50 Illustrations and Maps.

34 Parthia. By Professor GEORGE RAWLINSON. Third
Impression. With 48 Illustrations and Maps.

THE STORY OF THE

35 The Australian Commonwealth. (New South Wales,
Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria,
Queensland, New Zealand.) By GREVILLE TREGARTHEN.
Fifth Impression. With 36 Illustrations and Maps.

36 Spain. Being a Summary of Spanish History from
the Moorish Conquest to the Fall of Granada (A.D.
711-1492). By HENRY EDWARD WATTS. Third
Edition. With 36 Illustrations and Maps.

37 Japan. By DAVID MURRAY, Ph.D., LL.D. With a new
Chapter by JOSEPH W. LONGFORD. 35 Illustrations and Maps.

88 South Africa. (The Cape Colony, Natal, Orange Free
State, South African Republic, Rhodesia, and all other
Territories south of the Zambesi.) By Dr. GEORGE
McCALL THEAL, D.Litt., LL.D. Revised and brought up to
date. Eleventh Impression. With 39 Illustrations and Maps.

39 Venice* By ALETHEA WIEL. Fifth
Impression. With 61 Illustrations and a Map.

40 The Crusades : The Story of the Latin Kingdom of
Jerusalem. By T. A. ARCHER and C. L. KINGSFORD.
Third Impression. With 58 Illustrations and 3 Maps.

41 Vedic India: As embodied principally in the Rig-
Veda. By ZENAIDE A. RAGOZIN. Third
Edition. With 36 Illustrations and Maps.

42 The West Indies and the Spanish Main. By

JAMES RODWAY, F.L.S. Third

Impression. With 48 Illustrations and Maps.

43 Bohemia : From the Earliest Times to the Fall of
National Independence in 1620 ; with a Short Summary
of later Events. By C. EDMUND MAURICE. Second
Impression. With 41 Illustrations and Maps.

44 The Balkans (Rumania, Bulgaria, Servia and Monte-
negro). By W. MILLER, M.A. New Edition. WTith
a new Chapter containing their History from 1£96 to
1908. With 39 Illustrations and Maps.

THE STORY OF THE

45 Canada. By Sir JOHN BOURINOT, C.M.G. With 63
Illustrations and Maps. Second Edition. With a new
Map and revisions, and a supplementary Chapter by
EDWARD POKRITT. Third Impression.

46 British India. By R. W. FRAZER, LL.D. Eighth
Impression. With 80 Illustrations and Maps.

47 Modern France, 1789-1895. By ANDRES LEBON.
With 26 Illustrations and a Chronological Chart of the
Literary, Artistic, and Scientific Movement in Con-
temporary France. Fourth Impression.

48 The Franks. From their Origin as a Confederacy to
the Establishment of the Kingdom of France and the
German Empire. By LEWIS SEBGEANT. Second
Edition. With 40 Illustrations and Maps.

49 Austria. By SIDNEY WHITMAN. With the Colla-
boration of J. R. MCILRAITH. Third
Edition. With 35 Illustrations and a Map.

50 Modern England before the Reform Bill. By
JUSTIN MCCARTHY. With 31 Illustrations.

51 China. By Professor R.K. DOUGLAS. Fourth Edition.
With a new Preface. 51 Illustrations and a Map.
Revised and brought up to date by IAN C. HANNAH.

52 Modern England under Queen Victoria : From the
Reform Bill to the Present Time. By JUSTIN MCCARTHY.
Second Edition. With 46 Illustrations.

53 Modern Spain, 1878-1898. By MARTIN A. S. HUME.
Second Impression. With 87 Illustrations and a Map.

54 Modern Italy, 1748-1898. By Professor PIETRO
ORSI. With over 40 Illustrations and Maps.

55 Norway : From the Earliest Times. By Professor
HJALMAR H. BOYESEN. With a Chapter by C. F.
KEARY. With 77 Illustrations and Maps.

56 Wales. By OWEN EDWARDS. With 47 Illustrations
and 7 Maps. " Fifth Impression.

THE STORY OF THE

57 Mediaeval Rome : From Hildebrand to Clement VIII,
1073-1535. By WILLIAM MILLER. With 35 Illustrations.

58 The Papal Monarchy: From Gregory the Great to
Boniface VIII. By WILLIAM BARRY, D.D. Second
Impression. With 61 Illustrations and Maps,

59 Mediaeval India under Mohammedan Rule. By
STANLEY LANE-POOLE. With 59 Illus-
trations. Twelfth Impression.

60 Parliamentary England : The Evolution of the
Cabinet System, 1C60-1832. By EDWARD
JENKS. With 47 Illustrations.

61 Buddhist India. By T. W. RHYS DAVIDS. Fourth
Impression. With 57 Illustrations and Maps.

62 Medieval England, 1066-1350. By MARY
BATESON. With 98 Illustrations.

68 The Coming of Parliament. (England, 1350-1660.)
By L. CECIL JANE. With 51 Illustrations and a Map.

64 The Story of Greece: From the Earliest Times
to A.D. 14. By E. S. SHUCK-
BURGH. With 2 Maps and about 70 Illustrations.

65 The Story of the Roman Empire. (29 B.C. to A.D.
476.) By H. STUART JONES. Third
Impression. With a Map and 52 Illustrations.

66 Sweden and Denmark. \Vith Chapters on Finland
and Iceland. By JON
STEFANSSON. With Maps and 40 Illustrations.

67 Belgium. (See page 2 for special announcement.)

IMPORTANT.-ASK YOUR BOOKSELLER TO LET
YOU EXAMINE A SPECIMEN VOLUME OF
"THE STORY OF THE NATIONS " SERIES

T. FISHER UNWIN Ltd., 1 Adelphi
Terrace, London, W.C.2

And of all Booksellers throughout the World

THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
STAMPED BELOW

AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS

WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN
THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY
WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH
DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY
OVERDUE.

APR 2 1935

" 1936

10

LD 21-100m-8,'34

V I

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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY