658 

physiological differences between the sexes are concisely 
summarised in a special appendix by Dr. J. G. Adami. 
The point of chief significance is the peculiarly rapid 
growth of the girls during the earlier phases of puberty. 
It is remarked that, as a consequence, the girl is almost 
adult while the boy is still adolescent. The memo- 
randum ends by noticing that some of the most signifi- 
cant physiological differences are to be found in the 
activities of the glands of internal secretion ; and, since 
recent research shows that these glands are intimately 
connected with emotional activity, this subtle physical 
difference is not without a deep psychological bearing. 
As regards psychological differences generally, the 
committee has found that two opposing views appear to 
be entertained by various persons who have expressed 
opinions upon the subject. The first view maintains 
that ‘ the higher the level reached in the development 
both of species and of individuals, the greater is the 
sex divergence ” ; and concludes that ‘“ educationally 
the first and safest classification is that which is based 
upon sex.”? The second view insists that “sex is the 
cause of only a small fraction of the mental differences 
between individuals,” the divergences of man from 
man, and of woman from woman, being far greater than 
those between one sex and the other. 
The committee has reviewed the few scientific investi- 
gations carried out upon this problem both in England 
and in America, and has manifestly decided that the 
weight of the evidence is upon the side of the second 
of these alternative beliefs. It has been stated, upon 
statistical grounds, that the largest sex-differences are 
. physical differences—differences in height, in weight, 
and in bodily strength. Intellectual differences are 
far smaller; and-here again the wider divergences 
are discovered not upon the higher but upon the 
lower levels of the mind, namely, in processes involving 
simple sensory or motor activity, in sensation and in 
movement ; in the higher and more complex processes 
—in general intelligence and in ability to reason—the 
differences during the school period are extremely 
small. In memory and retentiveness, it is true, girls 
seem to surpass boys, and women to surpass men ; nor 
is this without an obvious educational bearing. But of 
all psychological differences the most significant are 
those that relate to temperament and character. It is 
the quality of her emotions which, in the mental sphere, 
chiefly distinguishes the woman from the man. 
Thus, inborn sex-differences in mentality are far 
slighter than has been popularly assumed. On the 
other hand, the cumulative result of the emotional 
divergence, and still more of the difference in social 
functions, has resulted in wide separation of interest 
and outlook, which is only in a small degree innate and 
ineradicable, and is chiefly due to tradition, and to the 
NO. 2794, VOL. TI1]| 
NATURE 
[May 19, 1923 
varying play of educational influences, whether con- 
scious or unconscious. 
In actual educational attainments, the differences 
vary considerably according to the circumstances of 
teaching. Where boys and girls have been taught — 
together in mixed schools, the differences may be barely 
discernible ; 
standardised scholastic tests. 
The chief ascertainable differences appear to be the 
following : boys are better at arithmetic, mathematics, 
physical sciences, classical languages, geography, and 
drawing ; girls are better at reading, spelling, 
possibly history, modern languages, 
sciences. 
tradition are at work quite as much as constitutional 
differences of intellectual capacity. The part played 
by the two factors, however, can only be disngaeres 
by further inquiry. 
Indeed, the most suggestive paragraphs of the wie 
report are those in which the committee emphasises the 
need for further research. It is pointed out that the 
provisional conclusions arrived at rest mainly upon the 
casual impressions and subjective opinions of school- 
masters—men of considerable practical experience, but 
of little or no psychological training ; and it is urged — 
that there is both room and need for a widespread co- 
operative inquiry, in which strict scientific methods 
shall be employed, and in which teachers, psychologists, 
and medical men shall all take part. 

Science and Superstition of Primitive 
Mankind. 
a Study in Magic and Religion. 
Abridged Edition. 
The Golden Bough : 
By Sir James George Frazer. 
Pp. xiv+756. (Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London, — 
1922.) 18s. net. 
IR JAMES FRAZER’S “Golden Bough” is in 
many respects the greatest achievement of 
anthropology—a science the short life-history of which — 
allows still of a rapid survey and a correct apportion- 
ment of values. The book, like no other work, expresses 
the spirit of modern humanism—the union of classical 
scholarship with folk-lore and anthropology. The 
marble forms of antique legend and myth are made to 4 
lend their beauty to the crude and queer customs of 
the savage and the uncouth usages of the peasant, — 
while the Gods and Heroes of Olympus receive in 
exchange the vitalising breath of life and reality from 
their humbler yet more animate counterparts. 
It is difficult to review a new version of the work in 
but where they have been taught in 
distinct departments, there the divergence is wider. 
Such differences can be measured easily by means of © 
-hand- ~ 
writing, English composition, English literature, and — 
and _ biological 
Here very plainly the effects of interest and — 

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