CHAPTEE III 



HBEEDITY 



Generation is a continuation of growth — The cause of the normal 

 hypersensibility of the testis and ovary — Dynamic impulses 

 bear the character of the parts from which they proceed — 

 The bed-rock of the dynamic theory — The translation of 

 the influence of regional environment through the nervous 

 system to the testis and ovary — Evidence of dynamic 

 elements in the spermatozoa and ova — The transmission of 

 acquired character — The dynamic transmission of syphilis — 

 The influence of a previous impregnation — The determina- 

 tion of sex. 



Nutrition is, if one may so express it, stationary Genera- 

 growth. ' Generation,' said Letourneau, ' is so much Mntinua 

 a continuous growth that its processes are identical ^"J'wtL 

 with or analogous to those of growth.' In dealing 

 with the nutritive or metabolic processes of the body 

 two kinds of force were defined, the electro-chemical 

 force, or that of atoms and of ether, and the nervous 

 force. In the problems connected with reproduction 

 these factors again recur for the simple reason so well 

 expressed by Letourneau, ' that generation is a con- 

 tinuous growth.' The primary impulse in repro- 

 duction comes from the tissues, and is transmitted 



