THE DETERMINATION OF SEX. 37 



of either sex. Few maintain that the sexes are essentially 

 equal, still fewer that the females excel ; the general bias of 

 authority has been in favour of the males. From the earliest 

 ages philosophers have contended that woman is but an 

 undeveloped man ; Darwin's theory of sexual selection pre- 

 supposes a superiority and an entail in the male line ; for 

 Spencer, the development of woman is early arrested by pro- 

 creative functions. In short, Darwin's man is as it were an 

 evolved woman, and Spencer's woman an arrested man. 



This notion of the superiority of males has formed the basis 

 of many theories of sex. As a good illustration of this opinion, 

 a few sentences may be quoted from Richarz : — "The sex is 

 not a quality transmitted from the parents, but has its basis in 

 the degree of organisation attained by the offspring. The male 

 sex represents to a certain extent a higher grade of organisation 

 or development in the embryo. This is attained when the 

 reproductive efficiency of the mother is specially well developed, 

 and the resulting male offspring more or less resembles the 

 mother. But if the maternal re[)roductive power be weak, the 

 ovum does not attain to maleness, and the resulting female 

 offspring more or less resembles the father." Thus Hough 

 thinks males are born when the maternal system is at its best ; 

 more females at periods of growth, reparation, or disease. 

 Tiedman and others regard female offspring as arrested in the 

 original state ; while Velpau conversely regards females as 

 degenerate from primitive maleness. 



Reacting from such speculations as to superiority of either 

 sex. Starkweather firmly maintains that " neither sex is 

 physically the superior, but both are essentially equal in a 

 physiological sense." This is true in the average, but yet in 

 each pair a greater or less degree of superiority on one side or 

 other must usually be conceded. Granting this, Starkweather 

 states, as his chief conclusion, " that sex is determined by the 

 superior parent, also that the superior parent produces the 

 opposite sex." Referring the reader to the Ency. Brit. i\rticle 

 " Sex," for some critical notes, it is enough here to notice, that 

 just like "comparative vigour," so "superiority" has little more 

 than verbal simplicity to recommend it, since it lumps a great 

 variety of factors under a common name. Yet, in justice to its 

 author, we may admit that it is the algebraic sum of these 

 which he aims at expressing. 



§ 9. Darwin's Positiofi. — Neither in regard to the origin of 



