THE GENERATIVE GLANDS 3/9 



that complete extirpation of the ovary is impossible. Poulards 

 are not castrated birds, but hens which have been crammed before 

 arriving at sexual maturity, the oviduct being severed at the same 

 time, so that the eggs are deposited in the abdominal cavity. 



The true capon type is characterized by shrivelling of the 

 comb, wattles and spurs ; poor development of the neck and tail 

 feathers; hoarse voice; and excessive deposit of fat. This type is 

 obtainable only by the complete castration of young cocks. 

 Whether castration is perfect or not is revealed only post mortem. 

 Where the extirpation of the testicles is incomplete, the secondary 

 characters of the cock are retained ; in cases where these have 

 already attained a certain degree of development they will continue 

 to develop, provided that even a minimal amount of active testicu- 

 lar parenchyma is left in situ. Where, however, the amount of 

 tissue is less than minimal, the secondary characters will not 

 develop (Foges). 



Transplantation of the entire testicle is invariably unsuccess- 

 ful in castrated animals, and this explains the negative results t)f 

 R. Wagner's experiments. According to Foges, it is possible 

 to get small portions of testicle to heal in so well, that months 

 later they contain living spermatozoa. Castrated cocks with 

 transplanted portions of active testicular tissue, do not acquire all 

 the characteristics of normal cocks, but they cease to be true 

 capons. The wattles and comb still retain their capon-like 

 character, but the plumage and the entire external appearance of 

 the bird, with the exception of the head, resembles that of the 

 true cock. Whether the incomplete character of the male stig- 

 mata is due to the small size of the implanted portions of testicular 

 tissue (Foges), or to absence of communication between them and 

 the vas deferens (Nussbaum), is at present unknown. The first 

 view finds support in the fact that A. Lowy observed a better 

 growth of the comb and wattles in capons fed with testicular 

 substance than in the control birds. 



In the case of other animals (cattle, cervidas), the invariable 

 result of castration is insufficient development of the secondary 

 sex characters, never transformation into the heterosexual type. 

 A castrated cock never adopts the habit of a hen, a castrated 

 bull never resembles a cow, and in the same way castrated men 

 never resemble women. 



When viewed in the light of the fact that cessation of the 

 function of the genital glands, whether physiological or patho- 

 logical, produces heterosexualism, the fact that castration never 

 produces the positive characteristics of the opposite sex but 

 results in a certain fixation of the infantile type, supplies a weighty 

 argument in favour of the hermaphroditic origin of the sexual 

 glands. 



The information which we possess concerning the results of 

 castration before the age of puberty in women, is extremely 



