FOREWORD 



Many requests have been received by the American Social 

 Hygiene Association from parents and teachers, for help in 

 dealing with the various problems of sex education. The 

 inquiries take the form of specific questions or of requests for 

 books to be recommended for particular purposes. In the 

 effort to meet the needs of both parents and teachers the 

 Association, as a part of its educational work, has prepared 

 numerous exhibits, held parents' and teachers' conferences, 

 published leaflets, and replied to a large number of personal 

 applications for advice and information. The Association 

 has also conducted many careful experiments to determine 

 the books and other helps which would be most useful to 

 parents and teachers in their educational work. 



Out of this experience has come the realization that there 

 exists a genuine demand for a simple, scientifically accurate 

 book on the subject of the way plant, animal, and human 

 life begins, written in an interesting, non-technical way, and 

 with adequate illustration. 



Whether the authors and the Association, in acting as the 

 publisher of this book, have made a real contribution to sex 

 education literature, the reader will best judge. The book 

 tells the truth about reproduction, with regard for its moral 

 significance, seeing in reproduction, both of human beings 

 and of animals, one of the most interesting stories in the 

 world — a story that every youth should learn from competent 

 persons. 



The opinions and suggestions of readers upon ways in 

 which the book may be effectively used or changes which 

 should be considered in any future edition, will be welcomed 

 by the Association and the authors. 



Dealing as it does with a fundamental phase of sex edu- 

 cation, this book forms a fitting introduction to a series of 



