SEX IN LIVING FORMS 81 



varies in degree in different countries, but is never 

 changed. The average height and weight of American 

 men and women is considerably above that of the aver- 

 age human being. 



Men and Women Differ in Form.— The differences 

 in form are so marked that it is possible for the skilled 

 anatomist to determine the sex of a human being who 

 has been dead for ages, by an examination of the skele- 

 ton alone. In man, the shoulders are broad, the hips 

 narrow, and the limbs nearly straight with the body. 

 In woman, the shoulders are narrow and usually 

 rounded, and set farther back, the collar-bone being 

 longer and less curved, giving the chest greater promi- 

 nence ; while the hips are broad. 



The consequence of these differences is that woman 

 is generally less graceful and naturally less skilful in 

 the use of the extremities than man, and hence less 

 fitted for athletic sports and feats requiring great dex- 

 terity. A girl throws a stone awkwardly, less from 

 want of practice than from a natural peculiarity of 

 physical structure. A woman walks less gracefully 

 than a man, owing to the greater relative breadth of 

 her hips, requiring a motion of the body together with 

 that of the limbs. In consequence of this peculiarity, 

 a woman is less fitted for walking long distances. 



The Male and the Female Brain. —But there are 

 other important physical differences to which we must 

 call attention. As previously stated, man possesses a 

 larger brain than woman, but woman possibly makes 

 up the deficiency in size by superior quality. The 

 feminine brain differs from the masculine in other par- 

 ticulars so marked that one who has given the subject 

 attention can determine with perfect ease the probable 

 sex of the owner of almost any skull which might be 



