40Exhibit C 97—100
C 98
C 99
C 100creation period from the 25th July to the 23rd September) and two peaks
rising above the “total” curve One of these is slight, yet distinct. It
refers to the months of birth, July and August, corresponding with the
procreation period from the 24th September to the 24th November. More
conspicuous is the second peak of the curve for the feeble-minded from
October to December, otherwise a time poor in births. The centre of the
corresponding period of procreation (25th December to 26th March) is in
February (carnival). This seems to confirm the suspicion that during the
wine harvest and carnival an increased procreation of feeble-minded occurs
(procreation during drunkenness?).
We cannot suppress the remark that the fluctuations of the
curve for the feeble-minded are much too small to admit of the
drawing of an getiological conclusion, but the fluctuations of the
intelligence curve and the illegitimate curve partly exceed the limits
of probable error. The peaks of both birth curves in February,
correspond to a peak in the procreation curve in May. Perhaps
one may attribute them to the existence of a remnant of a period of
“ heat ” (or a rutting season) in man.
Lead. Whereas the germ cells are well protected against many
harmful influences from without which affect the soma of the mother,
they and the foetus produced from them suffer considerably from
some. Amongst their deadliest enemies are certain poisons, and
notorious in this respect is lead. Table C 98 gives two sets of
statistics on this point, they justify the law in Germany, and in
other States, forbidding female labour to deal with lead and lead-
containing materials. Paul’s figures, showing that lead poisoning
of the father is also extremely adverse to the production of a healthy
progeny, are remarkable.
Female Labour. A baneful influence on reproduction is brought
to bear by the growing quantity of professional female labour away
from home and by the economic emancipation of women. Evidence
of this is given in Table C 99—“female labour and child
mortality ”—the data of which are taken from Prinzing’s work,
Infant mortality is higher the larger the percentage of females
employed in factories during the childbearing period. This is
partly due to interference with breast-feeding and partly to the
unfavourable influence on pregnancy.
Dr. Agnes Bluhm has given in Figure C 100 “Female Labour
and Reproductive Activity,” the statistics of Roger and Thiraux, as
well as the results of the investigation of the Imperial Statistical
Office on the “Relationship of illness and deaths in the Local
Invalidity Fund for Leipzig and surroundings.” Dr. Bluhm gives
ihe following explanation: “The top figure on the left is based on
material of the Local Invalidity Fund for Leipzic and surroundings,
