XIV 



THE CONTINUANCE OF LIFE 



303 



the Female is passive, sedentary, one who waits for her partner and 

 is a conserver of energy." 



Perhaps the average differences between the sexes 

 may be summed up tentatively in this tabular contrast : 1 



MALE. 



Sperm-producer. 



Less expensive reproduction. 



More intense metabolism. 



Relatively more katabolic. 



Often with shorter life. 



Often smaller. 



Often more brilliantly coloured 

 and more decorative. 



Rising to more intense outbursts 

 of energy. 



More impetuous and experi- 

 mental. 



More divergent from the youth- 

 ful type. 



Often more variable. 



Making more of sex-gratification. 



More combative. 



FEMALE. 



Egg- producer. 



More expensive reproduction. 



Less intense metabolism. 



Relatively more anabolic. 



Often with longer life. 



Often larger. 



Often quieter in colour and 

 plainer in decoration. 



Capable of more patient endur- 

 ance. 



More persistent and conserva- 

 tive. 



Nearer the youthful type. 



Often less variable. 

 Making more of the family. 

 Consolidating the family. 



Apart from the general problem of the evolution of 

 sex, those who find the subject interesting should think 

 about the evolution of the so-called " sexual instincts," 

 as illustrated in the attraction of mate to mate. One of 

 the outstanding facts is that the stimulus of proximity 

 and contact, which is alone apparent in the lower reaches 

 of the animal kingdom, comes to be associated, as w r e 

 ascend the scale, with all manner of subtle esthetic 

 attractions. In this study of what has been one of the 

 great dynamics of evolution, we all do well to remember 

 with Thoreau, that " for him to whom sex is impure, there 

 are no flowers in nature." 



3. Divergent Modes of Reproduction. (a) Hermaphrc- 

 ditism. Especially among lower animals, both ova and 

 spermatozoa may be produced by one individual, which 



1 From Sex, by Geddes and Thomson, Home University Library, 

 1914. 



