W. B. D WIGHT. 137-(107) 



place, to discharge some unusual and peculiar function 

 in addition to its legitimate one. This is probably a 

 sign of degradation. Thus in many fishes the roof of 

 the mouth, the surface of the tongue, and the gullet, are 

 furnished with teeth, while the stomach of the lobster is 

 provided not only with an elegant set of teeth, but also 

 with powerful jaws on which they are carried. 



Of a similar nature is the fact that the intestines of 

 some insect-larvae inhabiting the water are furnished with 

 tracheal openings and tubes, through which the larvge 

 breathe. 



Marked inequality in the size or appearance of the 

 sexes is a sign of inferior grade. This occurs with the 

 domestic fowl, and with many other birds. The male of 

 the celebrated "argonaut nautilus" is absolutely insig- 

 nificant in size as compared with the female, and there- 

 fore until very recently escaped notice. In several cases, 

 in certain orders of animals, the males are so insignificant 

 that they have been mistaken for minute parasites of the 

 female, like ticks on a rabbit. The males of spiders are 

 frequently minute as compared with the female, who is 

 not only a giant to her companion, but a very fierce and 

 cruel one, too. His wooing is a terribly perilous adven- 

 ture, for the one whom he woos is quite accustomed to 

 devour lover after lover, who tremblingly approaches 

 her. It is satisfactory to know that somewhere in the 

 animal kingdom, females have more than their rights. 



The various methods of reproduction have much bear- 

 ing upon rank. Asexual animals, which reproduce only 

 by budding, are of the lowest. The next higher grade is 

 seen in the presence of two sexes, but united in the same 

 individual, called a hermaphrodite, which is still a very 

 degraded type. The highest rank is universally accorded 

 to those species in which the sexes are represented by 

 separate individuals. Between these stages, however, 

 are intermediate ones, as far as grade is concerned, occu- 

 pied by families in which reproduction results from a 

 mixture of the above methods. Thus the ascidians are 

 both hermaphroditic and asexual. It is to be noted that 

 we find mixed sexual characteristics in two families of a 

 high order of intelligence and structure among insects — 

 the ant and the bee. Slowness of development from the 

 embryo to the mature state, is a sign of superiority ; 



