“_New_ predispositions can certainly never arise owing to such deviations from the normal course of development, and therefore a modification of the process of heredity itself is out of the question. It is, however, conceivable that more or less considerable abnormalities may affect the course of development, and either cause the death of the embryo, or else produce more or less marked deformities. The question as to whether such deformities really result in consequence of the drunken condition of the parents can only be decided by observation.”[59] This is all that Weismann has to say on the subject, since, not referring to functionally-produced modifications,[60] it does not concern his theory of heredity at all: yet it is upon this theory that the most palpable facts of the racial influence of alcohol are denied. Weismann's own remarks are quite open to criticism, as, for instance, where he denies that new predispositions can arise in the manner indicated. This is possibly only a question of words, and Weismann is perhaps merely denying that alcohol can produce progressive variations. Also his remarkably brief discussion of the subject seems to concern itself mainly with the influence of alcohol on the germ-cells _just before their union_. He has not a word to say regarding the influence on the germinal tissues of years of soaking in alcohol. It suffices, however, to make the point which is quite clearly made, that the Weismannians are going absurdly beyond their book in denying what, indeed, the book of Nature demonstrates. Let us turn now to the experimental side of this question. An American botanist, Dr. T. D. MacDougal, read an address on “Heredity and Environic Forces” at the Chicago Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1907. His experiments require confirmation, but may be provisionally accepted. He has permanently modified the germ-plasm of plants under the influence of various chemicals. There is here a vast field for experiment with alcohol. I quote one paragraph indicating the remarkable results of these experiments. The reader will see their bearing on our present question, and will also see that they do not for a moment affect Weismann's denial of the doctrine that by cutting off rats' tails you can produce a race of tailless rats, or that by learning a language you can save your future children the trouble of doing so for themselves:--