100 SEX-LORE 



born prematurely. The superstition that an eight- 

 month child cannot survive, while a seven-month 

 child can, has no scientific foundation whatever. 

 Normal birth occurs when maturity is reached. 



It was not always known that the semen played 

 an essential part in the process of fertilization. In 

 fact, it was only in the year 1685 that this was dis- 

 covered. The division of cells and their building-up 

 of the body has only been known since 1850. Con- 

 ception and everything connected with it has always 

 been a mystery to people. It was even denied that 

 the father had any share in the creation of the new 

 being, seeing that the child develops in the womb 

 of the mother. Some Australian tribes affirm that the 

 child is fully developed from the first, and that it enters 

 the mother's body in the shape of a bird, if it is to be 

 a girl ; if it is to be a boy, it enters in the shape of a 

 snake, and then takes its original form again. The 

 old Greeks believed that the semen does not actually 

 contribute to the make-up of the child, but acts as 

 a sort of force starting the whole process of develop- 

 ment of the ovum. There are still some primitive 

 peoples who believe that the father gives the soul to 

 the child, while the mother supplies the substance of 

 the body. 



There have existed and there still exist a number 

 of superstitions about the sex of the forthcoming 

 child, wkich is said to be determinable during and 

 even before pregnancy. Thus in Serbia, Bulgaria, 

 Russia, and other backward European countries, a 

 male infant is placed on the bride's knee, so that she 

 may give birth to a boy. Similar customs were 

 known to the ancient^Indians. The Suaheli believe 



