39^ 



DESIGN IN NATURE 



what is, practically, a curved tail. The superior and inferior extremities also appear as four buds : the eyes as two 

 black dots. 



At the end of the fifth week the body is less curved and the head more erect ; the hmbs showing signs of 

 differentiation into arm, forearm, and hand in the case of the superior extremity, and into thigh, leg, and foot in 

 the case of the inferior extremity. 



Between the fifth and sixth week the embryo measures about 15 milUmetres in length, and is contained in a 

 chorionic vesicle about 40 millimetres in diameter. At this period the allantois becomes vascular throughout. 



At six weeks the embryo measures about 19 milhmetres in length, the rudiments of eyelids are seen, and the 

 concha of the ear is indicated. The umbiUcal vesicle ceases to be active, and the fingers and toes are separated. The 

 embryo, having assumed a more or less distinct human form, is now called a foetus. 



At the end of eight weeks (second month) the foetus measures 25 millimetres in length (1 inch) ; the tail 

 beginning to disappear. At nine weeks or so (beginning of third month) the foetus and its coverings are nearly the 

 size of a hen's egg, the fcfitus measuring from 25 to 30 milhmetres (1 to IJ inch) : the umbilical cord has lengthened 

 considerably, but as yet its blood-vessels are not twisted round each other. The arm, forearm, and hand, and the 

 thigh, leg, and foot are distinctly mapped out ; the tail has also disappeared. 



At ten weeks (two and a half months) the foetus measures 32 milhmetres and traces of sex appear ; the genital 

 tubercle projecting about 1-5 millimetres, and having a knob-like extremity — the future glans penis or clitoris. On 

 the under surface of the tubercle the genital groove bounded by the genital folds (the nymphse in the female) 

 appears. The genital tubercle has on either side fleshy ridges which in the female form the labia majora and in the 

 male the scrotum. 



At seventy-five days, or about eleven weeks, the foetus measures 55 millimetres ; the eyelids are fairly well formed 

 and the nails and ribs begin to show themselves. 



At eighty-four days (towards the end of third month) the foetus measures from 75 to 80 millimetres, or about 

 3 inches in length. The foetal portion of the placenta is now formed, the chorion having shed more than half its 

 villi : the remaining villi dividing and displaying looped capillary blood-vessels. The umbilical cord is also con- 

 siderably elongated and twisted, the umbilical vein and the two umbilical arteries twining round each other. The 

 umbilical vesicle and allantois have also disappeared. 



At three and a half months the foetus measures 4^ inches ; the placenta and umbiUoal cord continuing to 

 develop. 



Towards the end of the fourth month the foetus measures about 125 milhmetres or 5 inches ; the placenta has 

 increased in size and thickness, and the umbilical cord, which now measures 3 inches in length, has been thickened 

 by the addition of Wharton's Jelly. 



The chorion and amnion have united, the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth have assumed their proper shape, and 

 the sex can be readily determined. 



At four and a half months the foetus measures 6 inches or thereby. The skin has assumed a rosy hue, and hair 

 appears on the scalp and elsewhere. 



Towards the end of the fifth month the foetus measures about 8 inches, and weighs a pound or thereabouts. 

 The placenta and umbihcal cord are well developed and the foetal circulation is established. 



The hmbs are shapely, the nails fairly well formed, and the movements of the foetus distinct. 



At the end of the sixth month the foetus measures about 12 inches and weighs about a pound and a half. The 

 sldn is loose and wrinkled, eyebrows and eyelashes can be detected, and the nails begin to project over the 

 extremities of the fingers and toes. 



It is not necessary to follow the development of the foetus further. Enough has been said to show that by a 

 series of successive developments, the child in utero becomes more and more perfect ; the developments being trace- 

 able to continued growth and differentiation in particular directions ; each differentiation plainly carrying out a 

 part of a pre-conceived plan or design. There is also suppression of growing parts. 



The only thing that remains in this connection is the segmented character of the foetus, and the placental and 

 fcetal circulation (Plate xcii., Fig. 3, page 396 ; Plate xciii., Figs. 7 and 9, page 403 ; Plate xciv.. Figs. 1 and 3, 

 page 404 ; Plate xcv.. Figs. 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6, page 407). 



It is a common behef that the human fostus during gestation passes through the several changes and stages 

 which characterise the adult fish, amphibian, reptile, and bird, to say nothing of all animals lower in the scale of 

 being, even to the protiston, which consists of an amorphous speck of protoplasm. Some go further and assert 

 that the kaleidoscopic changes referred to afford crowning proof of the truth of the doctrine of evolution. I am 

 not of this way of thinking. The doctrine, though A priori plausible, is not, in my opinion, tenable. There is nothing 

 known to me in geology, botany, zoology, or physiology which seriously supports it. There are, for example, gaps 



