CORRESP ONDENCE. 



409 



There is, however, in this particular contro- 

 versy, much excuse for the plain speaking to 

 which our correspondent takes exception. 

 The real woman question, which, as Mr. Al- 

 len points out, is whether woman shall un- 

 sex herself or not, has long been obscured 

 by a sort of sentimental glamour which is 

 daily exerting the worst kind of influence in 

 society ; and when the scientific man takes 

 up the subject, it becomes his duty, if he 

 would be true to the spirit of his craft, to 

 set forth in the strongest light the essential 

 facts of the case. All through his article it 

 is the biological question involved which Mr. 

 Allen keeps to the front, and in the passage 

 complained of he, as we read him, is simply 

 emphasizing the supreme importance of this 

 aspect of the subject. Editor. 



ENVIRONMENT AND THE REPRODUCTIVE 



POWER OF ANIMALS. 

 Editor Popular Science Monthly : 



I have read with great interest an article 

 in the November number of " The Popular 

 Science Monthly " entitled " Conditions af- 

 fecting the Reproductive Power of Animals," 

 and, while I fully agree with the facts as 

 stated, it seems to me that the manner in 

 which- it is written savors overmuch of the 

 " carpenter theory of creation." 



I do not deny that " the activity of the 

 reproductive function is in proportion to the 

 unfavorableness of the embryonic environ- 

 ment " ; but is not this a fact rather than a 

 law ? It is true that the power of producing 

 young in immense numbers is the conditio 

 sine qua non among lower orders of ani- 

 mals, but should we not look deeper for the 

 reason of this power ? Are there any laws 

 in nature which exist simply because they 

 are good ? 



Among the lower orders of animals the 

 weight of each offspring is much less in pro- 

 portion to that of the parent than among the 

 higher. The organization of the lower or- 

 ders being much simpler than the higher, the 

 offspring can be brought to perfection in a 

 much shorter time. Therefore, each in- 

 dividual offspring of the lower orders is pro- 

 duced with much less expenditure, on the 

 part of the parent, of both matter and vital- 

 ity. Were these the only differences, they 

 would be sufficient to account for a vast dif- 

 ference in reproductive power. 



This reproductive power is fostered by 

 natural selection. Among those species 

 whose young are exposed to so many chances 

 of destruction, those varieties which possess 

 the greatest reproductive power are more 



likely to survive in the struggle for exist- 

 ence, and will transmit to their offspring 

 their more vigorous reproductive power. 

 To say that the reproductive power of an 

 animal can be affected directly by anything 

 which may happeD to the offspring after 

 birth reminds us of the belief current 

 among children that, if a lost tooth be swal- 

 lowed by a dog, a dog's tooth will grow in 

 its place. 



We know that the existence of a species 

 in any given state depends upon certain con- 

 ditions. While the study of that species 

 may teach us much concerning those condi- 

 tions, it is necessary for us 10 take a wider 

 and deeper view before we can discover the 

 causes which led to them ; and we should 

 ever keep in mind the fact that while the spe- 

 cies owes its existence, in any given state, to 

 those conditions, the conditions were not 

 necessarily created by Nature for the sake of 

 preserving the species in that particular state. 

 Nature helps those, and only those, who 

 help themselves. 



Charles A. Peple. 

 Richmond, Va., November 4, 18S9. 



A CORRECTION. 



Editor Popular Science Monthly : 



Dear Sir : My attention has been called 

 to a slip occurring in my article in the April 

 issue of the " Monthly." In the sentence (in 

 the foot-note, page V27) reading "... Add 

 to this the confession of an exposed medium, 

 Mr. D. D. Home," etc., the exposed medium 

 is not D. D. Home, but one cited by him as 

 exposed. The only hint I have as to the ori- 

 gin of the printed version is from my frag- 

 mentary notes for the paper, in which the 

 words stand thus : " Add to this the confes- 

 sion of an exposed medium (D. D. Home, 

 ' Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism,' etc.)." 

 I remember deciding to omit all mention of 

 names wherever possible, and must have 

 crossed off part of the parentheses instead 

 of all. I am very sorry that so slight an 

 error should have ended in throwing blame 

 where it did not belong, and especially so as 

 my point was simply that a medium was 

 exposed in the manner indicated, it being en- 

 tirely immaterial who the medium might be. 



I must further apologize for the lateness 

 of my writing, on the plea of a six months' 

 absence abroad, and the consequent accumu- 

 lation of duties awaiting me on my return. 

 Truly yours, 



Joseph Jastrow. 

 Madison, Wis., Oct 31, 18S9. 



