OBVERSE A PRIORI \ PRINCIPLE. 425 



ing of it up into discrete shapes. And, similarly, the larger 

 the proportion of matter consumed in the functional actions 

 of parents, the smaller must be the proportion of matter 

 which can remain to establish and support the functional 

 actions of offspring. 



Though the necessity of these universal relations is toler- 

 ably obvious as thus stated generally, it will be useful to 

 dwell for a brief space on their leading aspects. 



§ 325. That disintegration which constitutes genesis, may 

 be such as to disperse entirely the aggregate which integra- 

 tion has previously produced — the parent may dissolve wholly 

 into progeny. This dissolution of each aggregate into two 

 or many aggregates, may occur at very short intervals, in 

 which case the bulk attained can be but extremely small; or 

 it may occur at longer intervals, in which case a larger bulk 

 may be attained. 



Instead of quickly losing its own individuality in the 

 individualities of its offspring, each member of the race may, 

 after growing for a time, have portions of its substance begin 

 to develop into the parental shape and presently detach 

 themselves; and the parent, maintaining its own identity, 

 may continue indefinitely so to produce young ones. But 

 clearly, the earlier it commences doing this, and the more 

 rapidly it does it, the sooner must the increase of its own 

 bulk be stopped. 



Or again, growth and development continuing for a long 

 period without any deduction of materials, an individual of 

 considerable size and organization may result; and then the 

 abstraction of substance for the formation of new individuals, 

 or rather the eggs of them, may be so great that as soon as 

 the eggs are laid the parent dies of exhaustion — dies, that is, 

 from an excessive loss of the nutritive matters needed for its 

 own activities.* 



* I was here thinking only of the cases which are general among insects, 

 but it seems that vertebrate animals, too, furnish cases. Mr. Cunningham 

 writes : — " There is a curious instance of this in the Conger : the female 



