64 TABOO AND GENETICS 



In males, the secretion of the sex glands 

 alone seems to be of particular importance, 

 again suggesting this idea of " strength " which 

 comes up over and over again. Removal of 

 these glands modifies the male body much more 

 profoundly than it does the female. (8.) It is 

 quite generally supposed that the action of this 

 one secretion may have much to do with the 

 superior size and vigour of males. For example, 

 Paton says (9) : " The evidence thus seems 

 conclusive that in the male the gonad, by pro- 

 ducing an internal secretion, exercises a direct 

 and specific influence upon the whole soma, 

 increasing the activity of growth, moulding the 

 whole course of development, and so modifying 

 the metabolism of nerve and muscle that the 

 whole character of the animal is altered." It 

 used to be said that the male was more " kata- 

 bolic," the female more " anabolic." These 

 expressions are objectionable, inasmuch as they 

 hint that in a mature organism, with metabolism 

 rather stable, tearing down, or katabolism, 

 could go on faster than building up, or ana- 

 bolism, or that one of two phases of the same 

 process might go on faster than the other. 

 It seems safer to say merely that a lower meta- 

 bolism in the female is accompanied by a tend- 

 ency to store materials. 



A long time will doubtless be required to work 

 out the details of differences in metabolism in 



