SECONDARY SEXUAL CHARACTERS 131 



assumption that has been current, at least by impUca- 

 tion, in much of the post-Darwinian writings. 



Third. Recent advances in the study of variations 

 have given us a new point of view concerning the na- 

 ture of variation and the origin of variations. If we 

 are justified in applying this new view to secondary 

 sexual characters, the problem appears greatly sim- 

 plified. 



