GENERATION OF ANIMALS, III. i.-ii. 



cause the movement of the heat to be faster than the 

 separation in the eggs, the yolk settles in the middle 

 and the white round the outside of it " ; i.e., the same 

 happens with the conglomerated mass composed of 

 all those eggs as with one single egg. 



We have now stated why some eggs are single- 

 coloured and others double-coloured. 



In eggs the place where the " principle " derived II 

 from the male ^ becomes separate and distinct is the ^^e eec'^ 

 point where the egg is attached to the uterus, and 

 that gives us the reason why the shape of double- 

 coloured eggs is unsymmetrical, i.e., not perfectly 

 round but more pointed at one end ; the reason is 

 that that part of the white in which the principle is 

 situated must be different. And that is why the 

 egg-shell is harder at that place than it is at the 

 bottom " : the " principle " has to be protected and 

 safeguarded. That also is why the pointed end of 

 the egg comes out last : for of course the part that 

 comes out last is the part that is fastened, which is 

 the part where the " principle " is, which is the 

 pointed end. The same arrangement obtains in the 

 seeds of plants. In some plants the " principle " of 

 the seed is fastened on to the twig, in others on to 

 the husk, in others on to the pericarp. This is clear 

 in the leguminous plants. The seeds of beans and 

 plants of that sort are fastened on at the point where 

 the two cotyledons ** are joined ; and that is where 

 the " principle " of the seed is. 



A puzzle may be raised about how eggs grow — Growth of 

 how, it may be asked, do they derive their gro^vth ^^^ '^• 

 from the uterus } Animals, of course, obtain their 

 nourishment through the umbilical cord ; but by 

 <• The two halves of the pea or bean. 



283 



