THE 

 COURTSHIP OF ANIMALS 



CHAPTER I 



INTRODUCTION 



The nature of Life and its power of reproduction — The stuflF of which 

 Life is made — The Emotions — The simplest living things — 

 Where is neither Birth nor Death yet the Population increases 

 — The First Marriage — The beginning of sex — The two 

 dominating instincts — The conditions of survival — The Oyster's 

 narrow world — "Fiddling work" — Amorousness — The superior 

 Male — Where Death begins — "Germ-plasm " and what it means 

 — Sex and " Secondary sexual Characters " — Some theories — 

 " Hormones," what are they ? 



The nature of life is generally regarded as affording a 

 theme which possesses no more than an academic interest : 

 but there is one aspect of this great subject which must 

 attract us all, and that is its power of reproducing itself. 

 Life begets Life, as Love is said to beget Love. The 

 nature of this mysterious power we can only dimly realize, 

 and the forces which underlie its manifestations few even 

 suspect, save perhaps in a vague way. Yet the tree of 

 Knowledge bears no fruit more vitally important to our 

 well-being, than that which will make us " as Gods, 

 knowing good and evil " in all that concerns the processes 

 of reproduction. But curiously enough, this is a for- 

 bidden fruit, and those who eat thereof are expected 



I 



