272 EVOLUTION OF TO-DAY. 



other half, and hence like the original ovum. The 

 original ovum was capable of developing into a new 

 man, and so each half which has resulted from this 

 first division is in like manner capable of developing 

 into a man. But, although both of these segments 

 possess the power to develop, only one of them does 

 develop at once. This one begins immediately to 

 undergo changes resulting in its speedy develop- 

 ment into an adult, which we will call the first gen- 

 eration. The other segment, however, instead of 

 developing, remains unchanged. It becomes in- 

 closed in the body of the embryo developing from 

 the first segment, and there it remains even after the 

 individual is born. Suppose, now, this individual, 

 born from the first segment, be a female, the dor- 

 mant segment finds its way into the ovary of this 

 female, and remains there as an ovum. Years 

 afterward, when maturity is reached, and the proper 

 conditions present themselves, this ovum ceases its 

 dormant condition and begins to divide, just as did 

 the previous ovum. One half of it develops into an 

 individual the second generation, while the other 

 half remains dormant in the body of the second gen- 

 eration, to develop in like manner in its turn. And 

 so on ; half of the ovum is carried over from one 

 generation to the next. It is, with this hypothesis, 

 easy to see why the second generation should be 

 like the first, since each is developed from half the 

 same ovum. And so it is just as easy to under- 

 stand why the third generation should be like the 

 first and second, since all have arisen by direct de- 

 scent from the same ovum. Thus every generation 



