Produced by Bryan Ness, Lisa Reigel, Michael Zeug, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) Transcriber's Notes: Words in italics in the original are surrounded by _underscores_. Variations in spelling and hyphenation remain as in the original. Ellipses match the original. A complete list of typographical corrections as well as other notes follows the text. [Illustration: THE THEORETICAL BABY AT 18 MONTHS.] HOMO-CULTURE; OR, THE IMPROVEMENT OF OFFSPRING THROUGH WISER GENERATION. BY M. L. HOLBROOK, M. D., 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. NEW YORK: M. L. HOLBROOK & CO. LONDON: L. N. FOWLER & CO. 1899. _Copyright by M. L. Holbrook._ _1897._ _Entered at Stationers' Hall._ PREFACE. 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.