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230   NATURAL INHERITANCE.


attached to my materials. It was primarily intended to discover whether any strong bias existed among the compilers to spare the characters of their nearest relatives. In not a few cases they have written to me, saying that their records bad been drawn up with perfect frankness, and earnestly reminding me of the importance of not allowing their remarks to come to the knowledge of the persons described. It is almost needless to repeat what I have published more than once already, that I treat the Records quite confidentially. I have left written instructions that in case of my death they should all be destroyed unread, except where I have left a note to say that the compiler wished them returned. In some instances I know that the Records were compiled by a sort of family council, one, of its members acting as secretary ; but I doubt much whether it often happened that the Records were known to many of. the members of the family in their complete form. Bearing these and other considerations in mind, I thought the best test for bias would be to divide the entries into two contrasted groups; one including those who figured in the pedigrees as either father, mother, son, or daughter-that is to say, the compiler and those who were very nearly related to him-and the other including the uncles and

aunts on both sides.

TABLE 1.
DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPER IN FAMILIES (per cents.

 

Relationships.-

~

.4

A

c4

w

c2

.2

4 -

'8

a

H

m

c y

o

0

a. Fathers and Sons    

35

12

32

12

9

100

188

b. Mothers and Daughters

39

18

31

8

4

100

179

c. Uncles   

32

13

25

18

12

100

272

d. Aunts    

39

14

29

9

9

100

2.18

e + b. Direct line   

74

30

63

20-

13

200 .

367

c + d. Collaterals   

71

27

54

27

21

200

510

 

Good.

Bad Temper.

   

e + b. Direct line   

104

96

200

367

c + d. Collaterals   

98

102

200

510