It must undoubtedly be true that many families possess, inherently, traits of ability which have never had an opportunity to exhibit themselves. This may account for the apparently sudden appearance of great men and women without obvious hereditary background. It is plainly possible, furthermore, to bring about a special combination of two family lines, the mental traits on neither of which exhibit remarkableness, but which, when combined, bring an extremely happy result. Mental ability does not depend upon education. Education can only enable an individual to utilize more fully his inherent ability; it cannot increase capacity. The same is true, of course, of physical capacity. Sandow has an extraordinary muscular ability, developed by certain exercises. Similar exercises will not, however, develop all men into Sandows, no matter how constant their faith and persistent their efforts. Sandow was, we may assume, hereditarily gifted with a superior muscular capacity, which his exercises have enabled him to fully develop. It is true, however, that few people ever realize their full physical and mental capacities, owing to lack of opportunity, inclination, etc., and that there generally exist untold possibilities for improvement for those who wish to get the most out of themselves. [Sidenote: A Majority of Sterling Traits] It is apparent that the make-up of an individual is the result of a very complex combination of traits. For this reason, the makeup is not likely to fall heir to all "bad" traits, any more than it is to all "good" traits. Even the feeble-minded, who have fallen heir to such an intensely undesirable trait--or rather, to the lack of intensely desirable traits--in many instances have simultaneously inherited many desirable traits, such as kindness, gentleness and generosity, often lacking in those possessed of scholarly capacities. Many women of the border-line type of feeble-mindedness, where mental incapacity often passes for innocence, possess the qualities of charm felt in children, and are consequently quickly selected in marriage. If a mentally able man possess as an ideal of womanhood other traits than mental capacity, no amount of schooling for his child can make up for the difference between the mental capacity of the offspring of such a mating, and the offspring of a mating with an able-minded woman. Although the trait of able-mindedness is dominant, so that the mating of an able and a feeble mind will result in fairly able-minded offspring, who may even be above the average, mentally, such offspring carry in their own germ plasm the defect derived from their feeble-minded parent, which defect may then be passed on to future generations through the germ plasm from which their children get their inheritance. A mother's hereditary influence on the child is just as important a factor as the father's, generally speaking. Where feeble-mindedness exists on a family line, care should be