Probably the most complete family history of this kind ever worked out is that of the "Familie Zero"--a Swiss family whose pedigree has been recently unraveled in a splendid manner by Jörger. In the seventeenth century this family divided into three lines; two of these have ever since remained valued and highly respected families, while the third has descended to the depths. This third line was established by a man who was himself the result of two generations of intermarriage, the second tainted with insanity. He was of roving disposition, and in the Valla Fontana found an Italian vagrant wife of vicious character. Their son inherited fully his parental traits and himself married a member of a German vagabond family--Marcus, known to this day as a vagabond family. This marriage sealed the fate of their hundreds of descendants. This pair had seven children, all characterized by vagabondage, thievery, drunkenness, mental and physical defect, and immorality. Their history for the three succeeding generations is incompletely summarized in Fig. 29. In 1905, 190 members of this family were known to be living, and probably many living are unknown on account of illegitimate birth. In 1861 a sympathetic and charitable priest attempted to save from their obvious fate many of these "Zero" children and others who resided in and near his village, by placing them in industrious and respectable families to be reared under more favorable auspices. The attempt failed utterly, for every one of the "Zero" children either ran away or was enticed away by his relatives. The blame for such an atrocity as this family or the Jukes does not rest with these persons themselves; it must be placed squarely upon the shoulders and consciences of the intelligent members of society who have permitted these predetermined degenerates to be brought into the world, and who are to-day taking no broadly sympathetic view of their treatment by exercising preventive measures. _Laissez faire?_