Homo-Culture; Or, The Improvement of Offspring Through Wiser Generation

Transcriber's Notes:
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THE THEORETICAL BABY AT 18 MONTHS.

OR,
EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL OF HYGIENE, AUTHOR OF HYGIENE OF THE BRAIN, HOW TO STRENGTHEN THE MEMORY, ADVANTAGES OF CHASTITY, ETC., ETC.
A New Edition of Stirpiculture, Enlarged and Revised.

Entered at Stationers' Hall.

During all ages since man came to himself, there have been enlightened ones seeking to improve the race. The methods proposed have been various, and in accordance with the knowledge and development of the time in which they have appeared. Some have believed that education and environment were all-sufficient; others that abstinence from intoxicating drinks would suffice. A very considerable number have held the idea that by prenatal culture alone the mother can mould her unborn child into any desired form. The disciples of Darwin, many of them, have held that natural and sexual selection have been the chief factors employed by nature to bring about race improvement.
No doubt all these factors have been more or less effectual, but the time has come for man to take special interest in his own evolution, to study and apply, so far as possible, all the factors that will in any way promote race improvement. In the past this has not been done. We are not yet able to do it perfectly, our knowledge is too deficient, lack of interest is too universal, but we can make a beginning; greater thoughtfulness may be given to suitable marriages; improved environment may be secured; better hygienic conditions taken advantage of; food may be improved; the knowledge we have gained in improving animals and plants, so far as applicable, may aid us; air, exercise, water, employment, social conditions, wealth and poverty, prenatal conditions, all have an influence on offspring, and man should be able, to some extent, to make them all tell to the advantage of future generations.