THE CONDITION OF WOMEN. 1$1 



semi-fluid contents of their bodies takes place. The result of this 

 process is the production of new individuals which, deriving their pro- 

 toplasm from two parents which are not exactly alike, are themselves 

 different from either of them, and have individual peculiarities which 

 are, it is true, the resultant of the peculiarities of the parents, but 

 which are nevertheless new variations. 



In the simplest forms of conjugation the functions of both parents 

 appear to be identical, but in organisms which are a little more spe- 

 cialized we find male and female reproductive bodies, and the offspring 

 is the result of the union of the male element of one individual with 

 the female element of another ; that is, we have true sexual reproduc- 

 tion in its simplest form. 



Among the lower animals and most plants both sexes are united 

 in the same individual, but the law of physiological division of labor, 

 the principle that an organ or organism, like a machine, can do some 

 one thing better and with less expenditure of force when it is specially 

 adapted to this one thing than when it is generally adapted for sev- 

 eral functions, would lead to the preservation by natural selection of 

 any variations in the direction of a separation of the sexes, and we 

 should therefore expect to find among the higher animals what we 

 actually do find : the restriction of the male function to certain' indi- 

 viduals, and the restriction of the female function to others. From 

 this time forward the male is an organism specialized for the produc- 

 tion of the variable element in the reproductive process, and the 

 female an organism specialized for the production of the conservative 

 element. We soon meet with structural peculiarities adapted to aid 

 and perfect the performance of these respective functions ; and the 

 various organs, habits, and instincts by which, among the higher ani- 

 mals, the rearing of young is provided for form one of the most inter- 

 esting chapters of natural science. On a priori grounds we should 

 expect a still greater specialization to make its appearance. Since the 

 male organism has for its function the production of the variable re- 

 productive element, and since variations which originate in a male 

 have their perpetuation especially provided for, it would clearly be of 

 advantage that the male organism should acquire a peculiar tendency 

 to vary, and any steps in this direction would accordingly be seized 

 upon by natural selection and perpetuated. The female organism, on 

 the other hand, having for its function the transmission of the estab- 

 lished hereditary features of the species, we should expect the female 

 to gradually acquire a tendency to develop these general characteris- 

 tics more perfectly than the male. The male organism would thus 

 gradually become the variable organism, as well as the transmitter of 

 variations, and the female organism would become the conservative 

 organism, as well as the originator of the conservative element in re- 

 production. 



The study of the higher forms of life shows that this specialization 



