Qass. Book. COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT P. ENGLISH, M The Doctor's Plain Talk OMEN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE OF THE SEXUAL SYSTEM AND THE RELATION OF THIS SYSTEM TO HEALTH, BEAUTY AND POPULARITY BY V. P. ENGLISH, M.D. Author of • ' The Mind and Its Machinery," " The Doctor's Plain Talk to Young- Men," "How to Cure Constipation, &c:" formerly Lecturer in the Extension Course of the Cleveland Uni- versity of Medicine and Surgery; Professor of Phrenology and Hygiene; Specialist in Spinal Irritation and all Dis- orders of Brain and Nerves, and the Diseases of Women. FIEST EDITION . . - • » a I 3 1902: Ohio State Publishing Company •' ' cleveland, ohio THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Two Cowes Recsjveo SEP. 29 1902 .CoPVmflHT ENTRY CLffSS cL XXa No. Class cu COPT 8. Copyright 1902, by V. P. ENGLISH, M. D. All rights reserved. CONTENTS CHAPTER I FEMININE BEAUTY AND WHAT IT SIGNIFIES Tribute that the world pays'to beautiful girls — The great Creator's noblest and best works — The beauty of per- fection — A perfect girl — The relation of beauty to femi- nine perfection — How a beautiful face and figure are developed — Mental beauty — The real secret of physical beauty — Practical conclusions. - 13-18 CHAPTER II SEXUALITY AND ITS RELATION TO HUMAN BEAUTY AND PERFECTION Who are the best men and women? — Sexuality — Influence and purpose of sex — Well sexed men and women — Sex- uality universally admired — The signs of sexuality an important part of feminine beauty — Appreciation be- stowed upon all well sexed ladies — Feminity in women always admired — Power and value of beauty — Beauty as an indication of superiority — How sexuality modifies the entire body and mind* .... 19-26 CHAPTER III IMPORTANCE OF A CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF NATURE'S SEXUAL LAWS Too much sexual energy and activity — Disasters wrought by uncontrolled sexuality — Why the sexual energies are so frequently misdirected — Erroneous opinions regard- iv CONTENTS ing the sexual organs — Degrading influences of ignor- ance — Notions of the ignorant regarding sexuality — Opinions of the more intelligent and refined — Rights of our young people — Health impaired and educational opportunities wasted — Nature's rewards and penalties — Helpfulness to be derived from the truth — Superiority in mental, physical and sexual poise — The kind of an angel a man likes. 27-36 CHAPTER IV RELATION OF THE SEXUAL ORGANS TO THE REST OF THE BODY Nature's method of perpetuating life — Different plans for reproducing different forms of life — Hermaphrodites — Functions of male and female reproductive organs — Eggs and seeds — Simple and complicated organs of re- production — Various names applied to the sexual or- gans — Influence exerted by the sexual organs — Advan- tages derived from a superior reproductive system — A frequent mistake of young girls — Girls that do not understand themselves — Those who have never loved and those who have loved and lost — How the sexes in- fluence each other — The women that are most loved — Ladies who cannot become mothers — Unmarried girls — Effects of sexual abuse — Summary of conclusions from facts already considered. - 37-48 CHAPTER V FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS Location of sexual organs, internal and external — Names of the female sexual organs — The womb ; its function — Size and weight of the womb — What the womb looks like ; its shape and dimensions further described — The os or mouth of the womb — The womb's location in the body — The vagina — Ovaries — How the ova get into the womb— Fallopian tubes— The hymen— The hymen as an evidence of chastity — Organs both internal and exter- nal —External organs ; the vulva — The mons Veneris — The external lips — The internal lips — The clitoris. 49-66 CONTENTS v CHAPTER VI MALE ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION What the male contributes in reproduction — The testicles — A test of virility — Glands — A test of an organ's import- ance — Seminal cells and tubes — The scrotum — The seminal vessels. ------ 67-74 CHAPTER VII HOW PLANT REPRODUCTION BEGINS IN BLOSSOMS Male and female plants — Sexual organs of plants— Stamens and pistils — Pollen — Fertilization of flowers — Structure of flowers — Names of the different parts of a flower — Analysi of the morning glory — Stamens analyzed ; the anther — Pistils analyzed ; the ovary and stigma — A dia- gram — Parts composing a flower — Pollen magnified — Process of fertilization — A feature common to all flow- ers — Perfect flowers and those incomplete — Different methods by which flowers are fertilized — Male and fe- male strawberries — Use of the honey, odor and bright color of flowers — Plan of fertilization in common field corn — How different varieties of corn are mixed in fer- tilization — Necessity of the humble bees in fertilizing clover — Fertilization of night-blooming flowers. - 75-88 CHAPTER VIII SEEDS AND EGGS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS IN REPRODUCTION What a seed really is — The germ — How to examine a germ — How the germ develops into a plant — A brief review — Some of Nature's plans for sowing her seeds — What an egg really is — Closeness of the similarity between eggs and seeds — The germinal spot — The development and depositing of eggs — How to examine the germinal spot — Hatching of fishes — Different methods by which eggs are fertilized — Requirements for hatching the eggs of warm blooded animals. ----- 89-100 vi CONTENTS CHAPTER IX REPRODUCTION IN THE HUMAN FAMILY Success in human reproduction demanded by human econo- mies — Profusion of seeds produced by a single plant — Nature's policy of reproduction in the lower forms of life, reversed in the higher — Bxtensive destruction of blossoms and seeds and the eggs of the lowest animals — Better protection of birds' eggs and young birds — Still better protection of the eggs and young of the higher animals — How the human embryo and baby are pro- tected best of all — Proper food insured to the human baby — How a human baby is created — Semen more fully described — The spermatozoa — Meeting of the spermato- zoa and ova — Impregnation — Organ in which the sper- matozoa and ova develop into a baby — Smallness of human ova explained — Naval cord and placenta or after- birth — How the embryo is nourished by the pure blood of the mother — Perfection of the plans of human repro- duction — When impregnation may occur — Superiority of the plans for protecting the ova — How the protection of the spermatozoa is insured — Protection insured to the unborn babe — Evidence of a master mind shown in the plans of reproduction. ... - 101-116 CHAPTER X nature's plans for insuring the most babies from the best parents Life of annual plants ended with the ripening of their seeds — Forces of the trees concentrated in reproduction — How plants exert every effort to reproduce — How the more vigorous plants crowd out the weaker — Why in- ferior flowers become extinct while the brighter and prettier thrive — Why the best animals perpetuatejihe species — Other reasons why the best animals beget and bear the most offspring — Why the best animals are mated first — How the stronger males prevent the weak- er from reproducing — The best babies possible insured by Nature's laws — Little birds and their rivals in mating —How song birds and those of brilliant plumage win their mates — Mating among wild animals — How the same laws operate in the human family. - 1 17-128 CONTENTS vii CHAPTER XI INFLUENCE OF SEXUALITY UPON THE POPULARITY OF MEN AND WOMEN A key to the hearts of both sexes — Secret of popularity ex- amined — The law of popularity — What the pages of his- tory reveal — What determines who shall be most popu- lar with you — Sexuality's immediate relation to popular- ity — What men and women most admire in each other — Facts that illustrate these laws — What attracts the sexes to each other — An instinctive desire to repro- duce^ — An instinctive desire to produce the best off- spring possible — What the sexes admire in each other most of all — Desires only instinctive ; not intellectual — The real attraction between the sexes, and what most people think it is — Physical developments that men most admire in women and why — A fine bust and what it signifies — Mental qualities most admired in women and why — The kind of men that make the best hus- bands — Physical developments of men that women most admire and why — Mental characteristics that women most admire in men and why — Physical figures of the man and woman compared — Masculine women and effeminate men — Excellent sexuality a characteristic o f all handsome men and beautiful women. -------- 129-142 CHAPTER XII AMATIVENESS AND ITS INFLUENCE UPON CHARACTER, CONDUCT, PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND POPULARITY The incentive that induces the sexes to be agreeable and attractive to each other — Location of the organ of ama- tiveness in the brain and how to estimate its strength — Why the cerebellum is a measure of amativeness and reproductive efficiency — Character and disposition of persons with large amativeness — Strength of amative- ness indicated by the chin — Strength and activity of the affections indicated by the lips — State of the affections indicated by biting the lips — Position that the head often assumes when strong affections are active — Gallantry a viii CONTENTS result of strong and active amativeness — How amative- ness affects the politeness and general conduct of ladies towards gentlemen — Relation of amativeness to muscu- lar power and endurance — Relation of amativeness to mental greatness — These laws illustrated by all promi- nent and popular men and women — Amativeness and sexuality not all, but an exceedingly important part of both beauty and popularity — Recapitulation. 143-154 CHAPTER XIII MASTURBATION — THE PHILOSOPHY OF ITS EVIL RESULTS The mind as a factor in this vice — Masturbation slow but certain suicide — Injurious influence of masturbator's mental attitudes — Masturbation destructive to all that sexuality builds — Effects similar to those produced by castration — Destructive to sexuality — Nervous wreck — The act absolutely unnatural and self-destroying — En- slavement of its victim — Abnormal excitability — Drift- ing toward certain destruction — Loss of will power — The victim usually not the one most censurable — Bad associates — Knowledge a safeguard. - - 155-166 CHAPTER XIV SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS THAT EXPOSE THE MASTURBATOR'S GUILT Congestion in the sexual organs — Sensitive, feverish, uncomfortable, irritable condition of sexual organs — The brain and all other parts of body, improverished — Weak and sickly destroyed most quickly — Development of organs, prevented — Timidity, bashfulness and lack of self-possession — Avoid and shrink form opposite sex — Destruction of qualities that render the sexes attrac- tive to each other — Extreme debility — Pimples upon the face — Nerves of sensation blunted — Brain dull and deadened — Mind unresponsive, weak, dejected, melan- choly — Sleep unrefreshing — Self-reproach, remorse, and misery unspeakable — Insanity — Loss of tone in all parts of body — Less ability to resist cold and all epidem- ics — Still hope for all who can stop, now. - 167-176 CONTENTS ix CHAPTER XV SEXUAL EXCESSES — CHASTITY — MARRIAGE Creater liability to disease — Motherhood — Chastity — Obliga- tion of husband — Certainty regarding who is a bab}-'s father, insured only by wife's chastity — The world's estimate of chastity — A girl's crowning virtue — A doub- le standard of morals and the reasons therefor — Un- wedded motherhood — The father suffers only in morals — The only safe course — What common sense demands — Prudence — Do not understand their own character — An injustice to men — Injustice to women — A more sensible view — Picnics, socials and parties — School girls and boys — Passion — A physician's experience — Secret thoughts and feelings — Only half in earnest — Each about equally responsible. - - . - - 177-194 CHAPTER XVI COMMON SENSE TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS Sexual passion — Relation between sexual passion and intel- lect — The animal part of man and the higher faculties — Shall we endeavor to kill animal passions or to wisely direct them? — Methods that do not require a physician — Treatment, both mental and physical — Starting on the road to recovery — Thoughts and feelings — Remove the cause — Cleanliness — Sitz bath — When the bath is most beneficial — A full bath — Diet — Nourishment without stimulation — Safeguards — Secret thoughts — Physical culture — Relation of passion to physical and mental effort — The whole matter in a nut shell — Associates — Possibilities of a single thought — Precautions that help to avoid sexual excitation — A noble life purpose — Wanted — Demand for superior women — Importance of hygienic measures — Caution against a possible mistake — Sexuality, not sexual passion — How sexuality may be developed — Excessive passion, depleting and exhaust- ing — Avoid the very beginning of danger — The reason that some patients fail — Impossibility of deceiving nature — Superb womanhood — Accumulated power, ener- gy and efficiency. ------ 195-220 ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. Page I The Womb Before Impregnation 52 2 B— Lef t Half of Womb ; C— Posterior Half of Womb 53 3 Location of Womb ..... 55 4 Right Half of Female Pelvis 56 5 Womb, Ovaries and Fallopian Tubes 58 6 Ovary and Fallopian Tube 60 7 Female Reproductive System 64 8 Half of Testicle 70 9 Cherry Blossom 79 IO Stamens and Pistil - 80 ii Pollen Magnified 82 12 Fertilization 83 13 Grains of Corn Germinating 90 14 Reproductive Organs of a Hen 97 15 Human Spermatozoa . 108 The Doctor s Plain Talk TO Young Women CHAPTER I FEMININE BEAUTY AND WHAT IT SIGNIFIES TRIBUTE THAT THE WORLD PAYS TO BEAUTIFUL GIRLS All the world loves a beautiful girl. In all coun- tries and in all climes she is sought after, courted and admired. Kings, Emperors, Presidents and men in obscurity, ladies of renown and those in humble sta- tions, each, and all, admire feminine beauty and per- fection. Warriors, statesmen, merchants, and laborers vie with each other in paying homage to a girl that is beautiful. They are all ever ready to show her a polite attention or to perform a gallant service for her. 14 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN Whenever she appears at an evening party, a picnic, church, or other social gathering, she is a center of attraction and admiration. Her photograph is published in magazines and news- papers, and she is admired by those whom she has never met, as well as by her most intimate friends. THE GREAT CREATOR'S NOBLEST AND BEST WORKS Throughout the whole world, the only recipient of greater attention or a higher degree of admiration, is a beautiful woman. And a beautiful woman is a beau- tiful girl matured and perfected. Perfect men and women are the great Creator's higest and noblest works. And boys and girls are men and women undeveloped. THE BEAUTY OF PERFECTION We all instinctively admire the beauty of perfection. In everything we admire and prize the best — the high- est mountains, the greenest fields, the greatest cataract, the most gorgeous sun-set, the fastest horse, the -heaviest cattle, the most beautiful'and fragrant flowers, the finest paintings, the largest trees, and the best machinery, are all objects of admiration the world over. And no matter what may be the language that the observer speaks, he usually expresses his admiration in a natural language, as well as in his native tongue, FEMININE BEAUTY 15 and he is readily understood, even by those who can- not interpret his words. A PERFECT GIRL The best in both nature and art is always admired, and it is almost always considered beautiful. As the best men and women are the highest and noblest of all Nature's great works, it is they that receive the very highest degree of admiration. As a perfect girl has no superior in all the world except a perfect woman, it is only a perfect woman that is the recipient of a higher degree of admiration. THE RELATION OF BEAUTY TO FEMININE PERFECTION Beauty is an essential element of feminine perfec- tion. No woman, young or old, can be perfect and not be beautiful. It does not follow, however, that every beautiful girl is perfect. On the contrary, many of them are very far from perfection. And while beauty is an element essential to perfection, it is not the only one. We have all known beautiful girls that possesed very grave faults — faults that absolutely prevented these fair ones from even approx- imating perfection. And when we investigate the matter closely, we find that what we really admire, is perfection; and that beauty is universally admired because it is a part of perfection. The high tribute paid to feminine beauty is simply an illustration of the 16 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN great appreciation that the world bestows upon a sin- gle element of feminine superiority. HOW A BEAUTIFUL FACE AND FIGURE ARE DEVELOPED Beauty, however, is a quality of no small signifi- cance. And those who have asserted that it is but " skin deep," have voiced a mistake. Beauty, on the contrary, extends to the very innermost recesses of the body. Every part and every tissue is characterized by the same degree of beauty and superiority. And it does not stop even there, but it extends to the very soul and permeates even the mind. Whenever the body is a beautiful one, this alone is positive proof that the mind is also beautiful, because the mind builds the body and it always builds a body that cor- responds with itself. When the mind is a beautiful one, it builds a body of equal beauty. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." No more truth- ful words were ever spoken. The mind is really the man. And the body is a workshop, tools or machinery that the mind constructs for the purpose of executing its desires. Our thoughts, feelings, emotions and desires, determine the qualities of our bodies. The kind of a body we have, depends upon the kind of thoughts we think, together with our feelings, desires, emotions and passions. FEMININE BEAUTY 17 MENTAL BEAUTY A beautiful girl has a beautiful mind, and she has been thinking beautiful thoughts. And she is beau- tiful because her mind is beautiful. And the degree of her physical beauty indicates the degree of her mental beauty. The degree of her physical perfection indicates the degree of perfection in the mind that built the physique. THE REAL SECRET OF PHYSICAL BEAUTY The mind and body always correspond with each other. Hence, to improve our bodies, we must first improve our minds. Elevate the character of the thoughts we think, and our bodies will be correspond- ingly beautified. To increase the utility of our living temples, and to enhance their beauty, there must first be an acquisition of power and an increased beauty in the conceptions of the architects that plan them and supervise their construction and rebuilding. PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS A beautiful girl, then, is the product of a beautiful mind. And the degree of her physical beauty cor- responds with the degree of beauty in her mental ideals. It corresponds with her mental conceptions, her thoughts, feelings, emotions, passions, appetites and desires. All beautiful girls, are in some respects 18 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN at least, superior girls. And they are universally admired because their beauty is instinctively recognized as evidence of this superiority. The nearness of a girl's approach to physical perfection, is a measure of her nearness to mental perfection. The fact that a girl is nearly perfect in physique, is prima facie evi- dence that she is nearly perfect in mind. But what is perfection? Who is the perfect man? And who, the perfect woman? And in what does their perfection consist? These questions will be discussed in the next chapter. CHAPTER II SEXUALITY AND ITS RELATION TO HUMAN BEAUTY AND PERFECTION WHO ARE THE BEST MEN AND WOMEN? The best men and women are those who are best qualified to execute all that Nature requires of perfect men and perfect women. The best men and women are strong and vigorous in every department of body and mind. They enjoy the best of health and are well balanced, evenly developed and harmonious. A part of their faculties and organs are not so strong and active that they are exercised beyond the point of endurance, and are consequently exhausted, while other faculties and organs are so weak that they are hardly exercised at all, thus leaving these people incomplete in a part of the essentials of a well rounded out and perfect body and mind. On the contrary, perfect men and women have perfect health and activity in every department of their bodies and minds. No part of the body or mind is over strong or active, and no part is weak and inactive. Every part is complete and it fully performs all of its functions, but it is not over large and strong,. 20 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN and it does not overpower nor detract from any other part. SEXUALITY One of the essentials of perfect manhood, is perfect fatherhood. And one of the essentials of perfect womanhood, is perfect motherhood. Perfect men and women, then, are, or may be, perfect fathers and mothers. But they are also per- fect in every other respect. Perfection, however, is exceedingly rare. Perhaps there never was a perfect man nor a perfect woman. The best, therefore, are those who most nearly ap- proach perfection. But it is not our purpose in this book to discuss all elements of human superiority. Our principal object is the elucidation of but one. And when others are discussed, it will be but incidentally and for the purpose of further elucidating this one. The one to which we refer, is that which distin- guishes man from woman. It is what enables a man to become a father, and a woman to become a mother. It is that in which man differs from woman. It is what renders man, masculine, and woman, feminine. It is the masculine part of men, and the feminine part of women. It is the sex. INFLUENCE AND PURPOSE OP SEX Sex modifies every department of both body and BEAUTY AND SEXUALITY 21 mind. A masculine body is dominated by a masculine mind, and a feminine body, by a feminine mind. A mas- culine body is developed for the purpose of executing the desires of a masculine mind. And a feminine body for executing the desires of a feminine mind. WELL SEXED MEN AND WOMEN One of the desires of a masculine mind, is father- hood. And it developes a body qualified to gratify this desire. Motherhood is one of the important desires of a feminine mind, and it developes a body qualified to gratify this desire. Parenthood is one of the most important objects of all animal life. And the better an animal can perform this office, the better is the animal. And in order that human beings, or any other animals, may be superior parents, the mas- culine characteristics must be strong in the males, and the feminine characteristics, strong in the females. In other words, the sex in each must be well developed. The man must be large and strong in those organs and qualities possessed by men and not by women. And the woman must be large and strong in those organs and qualities possessed by women and not by men. Such are said to be well sexed. And they are universally admired. SEXUALITY UNIVERSALLY ADMIRED Other things being equal, the better a person is 22 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN sexed, the more nearly is that person perfect, and the more admired. It is the masculine characteristics that ladies ad- mire in men, and the feminine characteristics that men admire in women, and so highly prize in a sweet- heart or wife. Eliminate the feminine characteristics from a woman, and no man would be attracted to her. No man would care any more for her society than for the society of a man. THE SIGNS OP SEXUALITY AN IMPORTANT PART OF FEMININE BEAUTY The men and women who are popular, and who are considered beautiful, are well sexed. Beautiful soci- ety ladies, actresses and singers, whose photographs are exhibited in our magazines and newspapers, are all well sexed. The indications of sex in a woman's face are a part of her beauty. With the sexual character- istics eliminated, a woman could not even approach perfection. The signs of excellent sexuality could not appear in her face and figure, and nobody would con- sider her beautiful. She would be incomplete and very imperfect, and nobody admires imperfections. The signs of sexuality in the face and figure, or the lack of them, cannot be hidden. Consequently, all who are well sexed, will exhibit the beauty that is always given by this valuable attribute. And all those who are not BEAUTY AND SEXUALITY 23 well sexed, can not conceal the deficiencies and homli- ness resulting from a lack of this quality. APPRECIATION BESTOWED UPON ALL WELL SEXED LADIES To be sure, most people have no intellectual under- standing of what these signs mean. They simply know that they like the appearance of certain ladies, and that they do not like the appearance of others. But all who investigate and understand these princi- ples, know that one of the things that is considered beautiful, and that is universally admired, is the com- bination of signs indicating a normal, healthful and vigorous sexuality. It matters not how nearly perfect a woman may be in all other attributes, if she does not exhibit the signs of being well sexed, she will be totally debarred from a contest for public apprecia- tion in a competition with ladies equal to her in other respects, and who have the additional advantage of being well sexed. FEMININITY IN WOMEN ALWAYS ADMIRED If she is well sexed, she will exhibit superior femininity, and that is what people admire in women. It is the most masculine men and the most feminine women that are best qualified to execute all that Nature expects of human beings. It is they who are 24 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN most nearly perfect, and therefore most highly ad- mired, because the world admires perfection. The world does not admire an effeminate man, nor a masculine woman. Even with boys and girls this same principle applies. It is not the timid, cowardly, girlish boy that is a favorite, nor the bold, boyish girl. The schoolmates of such boys and girls treat them with contempt, pity, indifference or ridicule. It is the brave, self-reliant, positive and manly boy that is admired, and it is the girl who exhibits the qualities that are strictly feminine. Femininity, however, does not im- ply weakness and inefficiency. POWER AND VALUE OF BEAUTY A great deal has been said in regard to the dangers of beauty and also in regard to the faults of beautiful girls and women. But most of these criticisms are unjust and have been made by those who did not fully understand the subject. While beauty is a power that has sometimes been used by dangerous and designing women for the purpose of gaining some selfish end, it is not the beauty that should be censured in such in stances, but the objectionable qualities with which it is associated. And even these instances illustrate beauty's power and worth. And when the beauty of some innocent and unsuspect- ing girl has been the temptation that resulted in her BEAUTY AND SEXUALITY 25 downfall, it is not the beauty that should be condemned, hut the ignorance, imprudence, or deficiencies in other qualities that rendered her downfall possible. And also the lack of balance and discretion in the one that caused her misfortune. And instead of deprecating the physical beauty of these fair but unbalanced girls, a real and valuable service may be rendered by assist- ing them to develop equal superiority in all other de- sirable attributes. Let us not attempt to tear down or detract from any good quality because it over shadows or overbalances other good qualities that are not strong enough. On the contrary, let us endeavor to develop sufficient strength in all good qualities. BEAUTY AS AN INDICATION OF SUPERIORITY ' Whatever may be said to the discredit of physical beauty, it will ever remain an indication of superiority. And however thoroughly a person may decide intel- lectually that he disregards it, he will, nevertheless, instinctively feel and know that beauty is an evidence of superior qualities. Those who are greatly alarmed about its dangers and the vices to which it might lead, have seen only a part of the truth, and their pessimistic conclusions will soon be forgotten. But the great laws of Nature that render beauty an indication of superi- ority, will ever endure. And a more enlightened gener- ation will intellectually understand the reasons why we 26 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN. instinctively feel a high regard for all beauty, and especially for beautiful ladies and gentlemen. HOW SEXUALITY MODIFIES THE ENTIRE BODY AND MIND But physical beauty is not the only valuable attribute that is enhanced by being well sexed. Sexuality modi- fies the entire mind and body. It effects not only the entire physical appearance, but it also modifies the tones of the voice, the carriage, manners, and the very thoughts. Nothing is more influential in determining the success or failure of a person's life, than the de- velopment and health or disease o£ the sexual system. These laws are more fully discussed in succeeding pages.. CHAPTER III IMPORTANCE OF A CORRECT UNDERSTANDING OF NATURE'S SEXUAL LAWS TOO MUCH SEXUAL ENERGY AND ACTIVITY From the facts discussed in preceding pages the reader must not conclude that it is impossible for a person to be over well sexed, so to speak. In other words, to have too much sexuality — to have an exces- sively developed sexual system, or to have more than enough sexual energy and activity — for indeed all of this is possible And too much sexual energy and activity is even more unfortunate than a deficiency. And whenever there is more than can be properly con- trolled and directed, there is then too much. DISASTERS WROUGHT BY UNCONTROLLED SEXUALITY Nothing in fact is more thoroughly disastrous to all earthly prospects, than the uncontrolled, undirected or misdirected energies and activities of the sexual system. Nothing is more destructive to beauty, health, strength, vigor, mentality and all other desirable attributes. Nothing will more thoroughly force a person into the 28 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN very depths of inferiority. Nothing will cause more abject misery both mental and physical. WHY THE SEXUAL ENERGIES ARE SO FREQUENTLY MISDIRECTED It is very seldom, however, that there is so much sexuality that it cannot be controlled and directed. But the cases in which it is not, are very numerous. These cases, however, usually arise from the fact that the victim does not realize the importance of properly controlling and directing the sexual energies and ac- tivities, or else the unfortunate sufferer does not know how. Both of which we shall endeavor to make plain in the chapters that follow. ERRONEOUS OPINIONS REGARDING THE SEXUAL ORGANS The wrongs resulting from uncontrollable or misdi- rected sexual energy are, perhaps, responsible for the fact that so many people seem to think that the sex- ual system is something to be ashamed of. That the sexual organs are impure, unclean and vulgar. In generations past, when the masses were much less enlightened than they are at the present time, people saw the evils resulting from the sexual organs, Lut they failed to see and duly appreciate, all the good. They were in consequence fully impressed by the evils that might result from them, but they were ignorant IMPORTANCE OF SEXUAL LAWS 29 regarding many of the benefits. And they naturally concluded that the sexual organs are evil, unclean and vulgar. DEGRADING INFLUENCES OF IGNORANCE Ignorance is ever debasing. Ignorant people are usually superstitious and they can frequently see a great deal more evil in the world than good. Even the religion of the past was one of revenge, cruelty, intol- erance, oppression and gloomy forebodings, rather than one of kindness, sympathy hope and helpfulness. It taught the total depravity of man, and that only a fa- vored few, who were elected before birth, could ever be saved. Even our good old Presbyterian fathers taught that babies who die before they are baptized, will be burned throughout eternity in a lake of fire and brimstone. But the present tendency of the wiser and better part of the world is towards kindness, sympa- thy, humanity, cheerfulness, hope and mutual helpfulness. And though the doctrine of infant damnation is still a part of the Presbyterian creed at the time these pages are being written, perhaps nobody believes it. It is simply a dead letter and its continued existence in the creed is a matter of controversy between the more progressive thinkers in the church, and those who cling to past traditions. The more progressive are perhaps ashamed that such a doctrine was ever a part 30 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN of the Presbyterian creed, and they are anxious to blot it out. But the old fathers cling to it through their reverence for things antique and established. The more progressive recognize the fact that the greater enlightenment and refinement of the present and fu- ture generations are not in harmony with such inhu- man relics of a more barbarous age, and that the Presbyterian church can gather its membership from the progressive and refined people of the present and future, only by keeping more nearly abreast with the science and enlightenment of the times. And it is only a question of a little time until everybody will regard such creeds simply as relics of a less enlightened age. NOTIONS OF THE IGNORANT REGARDING SEXUALITY The same principles apply to sexual science. There are still many people among the ignorant and less pro- gressive classes who regard the sexual organs as neces- sarily impure, unclean, degrading and vulgar. And when these organs are mentioned they have a feeling of immodesty, shame, or vulgar curiosity. If they are parents, and speak of these sexual organs in the presence of their children, they do so with a sneaking, mean look and manner. They seem to think that ignorance is equivalent to innocence; and the only safe- guard to virture. IMPORTANCE OF SEXUAL LAWS 31 OPINIONS OP THE MORE INTELLIGENT AND REFINED But the more intellectual, refined and progressive people of to-day, recognize the fact that young people, as a rule, prefer to do whatever is to their best inter- ests. They also realize that it is the abuse of the sex- ual organs, and not their normal use, that can in any way render them vulgar. That the sexual system, rightly used, is just as pure and useful as any other part of the body. They recognize the possibilities of the sexual system in conducing to the highest, noblest and best interests of its possessor, as well as its possi- bilities in producing the most abject misery and suffer- ing. And when they fully consider the matter, they real- ize that the young who are uninformed, are even more liable to take the road that leads to destruction, than the one that leads to their best interests. The total depravity of our forefathers, perhaps. But the more highly intellectual and humane thought of the present day, will explain this apparent perversity by saying that there is but one right way — but one "straight and narrow path" — and there are hundreds of wrong ones. And it is altogether unreasonable to expect inexperi- enced and uninstructed mortals to always find the one right path which leads to their highest and best inter- 32 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN ests, when there are hundreds of paths apparently just as inviting, that lead to destruction. RIGHTS OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE Therefore, sensible, conscientious and humane men and women realize that girls and boys are just as much entitled to information regarding the sexual organs, as they are to any other education; and that it is not only unjust but absolutely inhuman to withhold such knowledge from them. It would be just as sensible to expect girls and boys to successfully operate a sewing machine, steam en- gine or electric motor without instruction, as it is to expect them to be wise without information, in regard to the proper care and use of the sexual system. Steam, fire, electricity and blasting powder are all forms of energy that greatly add to the comfort and well-being of man, if they are rightly used. But when wrongly used they may destroy him. The same is true of sexual energy and the sexual organs. And if the young are not taught their uses and guarded against their abuses, there is no just reason why they should understand what is right and what is wrong in regard to them. It is just as reasonable to expect uninstruct- ed young people to care for and operate an engine, motor, sewing machine, watch or automobile. If the IMPORTANCE OF SEXUAL LAWS 33 sexual system could be withheld until marriage and then given to them with full instructions, the case would be different. But it cannot be thus withheld. Every girl and boy must have these organs at birth. And when they need information and council most, is before they have arrived at the age of maturity and discretion. HEALTH IMPAIRED AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES WASTED Yet large sums of money are spent in order to ed- ucate and train the intellects of girls and boys who are left uninstructed regarding the sexual system, and who are thus permitted to ignorantly wreck their future prospects by a violation of Nature's laws, thus not only defeating their possibilities of gaining an education, but also preventing them from ever accomplishing any worthy purpose in the world, until after the health is repaired. And the repair of the health is often very difficult and is sometimes impossible. And when its repair is eventually accomplished, it is only after years of suffering and wasted time. Our common schools, academies and colleges would therefore be of much more real assistance to the young if they taught, at least, a part of the principles of sexual science. In the absence of such instruction in schools, to- gether with the inability or disinclination of so many 34 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN parents and guardians to properly impart a knowledge of sexual science, lies the necessity of such books as this. In this book we shall aim to give the kind of infor- mation that will be of real benefit and assistance to young women. We shall not attempt to preach nor to make the book semi-religious. A number of good books are already published for the benefit of those who can derive additional assistance and consolation from relig- ion in connection with their endeavors to understand sexual science and to apply it to their own lives. And what we shall attempt to do, is to teach and explain sexual science, rather than to advise and exhort. We shall not attempt to avoid delicate or disagreeable sub- jects, but to treat them in a practical, common-sense, and scientific manner. Neither shall we appeal to the morals, except as common-sense and morality are inseparable. The great laws of Nature are absolutely positive, unequivocal, unmerciful and irrevocable, but exceedingly just and impartial. And we are so adjusted to these laws that every loyalty to them brings its reward, and every vio- lation brings a punishment. There is not a single exception. There cannot be, and never was an exception, and what we shall attempt to do in this book is to teach a part of these laws. IMPORTANCE OF SEXUAL LAWS 35 Whenever we violate a law of Nature, we must pay the penalty. And when we harmonize our lives with these great laws, we receive our reward. No matter whether the observance or violation is intentional and with a full understanding, or is totally unconscious. The results are just the same in either case. It is therefore a matter of no little importance to know what these laws are. HELPFULNESS TO BE DERIVED FROM THE TRUTH And it is the purpose of this book to point out and explain a part of those that apply to the sexual system. "We hope to save innocent girls and young ladies from the misfortunes and miseries that are the penalties inflicted for violating sexual laws, and to instruct them in regard to the grand possibilities awaiting those who are Icyal to Nature's edicts. We shall endeavor to be plain and practical, to use language that all can under- stand, to discuss our subjects from the standpoint of a scientist and physician, rather than a sentimentalist, and to make the book really helpful. At present we shall not attempt a detailed enumer- ation of all the various penalties inflicted by Nature for a violation of her sexual laws, nor to describe in detail her rewards for their observance. These subjects will, however, be more fully described in subsequent chapters. 36 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN SUPERIORITY IN MENTAL, PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL POISE And in concluding this chapter we will again remind our readers that the highest type of woman is well sexed and well poised. Her sexual system is amply qualified to do all that Nature requires. But so are all her other organs. And there is a proper poise or balance between the sexual system and all other parts of the body The sexual system is not too weak to per- form its natural functions, nor so strong or active that it usurps energies that rightfully belong to other parts of the body. THE KIND OF AN ANGEL A MAN LIKES A part of what we mean by a well poised or com- plete woman, is forcibly expressed in the following quotation from a sermon by Rev. John L. Scudder, a Congregational minister of Jersey City, N. J. : " The kind of angel I like to see weighs not less than one hundred and thirty pounds. "Her waist is more than five inches in diameter; she never has hysterics. "She has a clear head, a pure heart and a cheerful disposition. She is a real woman — nothing artificial or assumed about her. She is no sham, no apology, or caricature of a woman. She is just what God meant her to be — healthy, hearty, and perfectly natural." CHAPTER IV RELATION OF THE SEXUAL ORGANS TO THE REST OF THE BODY nature's method of perpetuating life When animals and plants have reached a certain degree of maturity, they can then become parents. In other words, they can then produce young similar to themselves. Each variety of animal and vegetable life, is, therefore, enabled to reproduce itself. And all varieties are ever being thus reproduced. Horses, cattle, dogs, cats, trees, flowers, grass, vegetables, and all other species of animals and plants possess this ability. Reproduction is Nature's method of perpetuating animal and vegetable life. And if this part of her work should be suspended, all animals and all vegetation would gradually become extinct, and the earth would be a barren waste. The continued operation of these laws of reproduc- tion, is therefore a matter of considerable importance. And they apply, of course, to the human race just the same as to all other living things. 38 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN DIFFERENT PLANS FOR REPRODUCING DIFFERENT FORMS OF LIFE Nature's operations are not matters of luck nor chance. On the contrary, her laws are such that her objects must be accomplished. We frequently fail to understand her laws, and we are often unable to see why many of her objects are so successfully attained. But whenever we do understand what her objects are, and how they are accomplished, we see that she employs a definite means to enable her to accomplish a certain end. In her work of repro- duction, the methods and organs by which she accom- plishes her object, greatly vary in the different grades of vegetable and animal life, but the means employed in each grade are definite and effective. And in all grades, organs are employed that are especially well adapted to the functions for which they were designed. And while the methods of reproduction in the lower forms of life are very different from those employed in the higher, yet they all seem to be equally effective and the work of reproduction goes steadily on. HERMAPHRODITES In some of the lower forms of life, both the male and female repioductive organs are possessed by the same individual. Such an animal or plant is therefore RELATION OF SEXUAL ORGANS 39 both male and female. And the function of reproduc- tion begins and ends in the one individual. These ani- mals and plants are called hermaphrodites. But the higher animals are either male or female. The male reproductive organs belonging to one individual, and the female organs to another. Two of these animals, one of each sex, must therefore co-operate in reproduc- tion. The male supplies one element, and the female, another element. These two elements must unite in order to begin the existence of a new life. FUNCTIONS OF MALE AND FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS One of the functions of the male reproductive organs, is to produce the element supplied by the male in reproduction. And one of the functions of the fe- male reproductive organs, is to develop the element supplied by the female in reproduction. And a func- tion of both the male and female reproductive organs, is to bring the male and female elements together and to thus permit these elements to unite and usher into existence the beginning of a separate individual. EGGS AND SEEDS A plant usually develops from a seed. An animal, except in the lower forms of animal life, develops from an egg. In the highest animals, including human beings, 40 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN the young animal partly develops from the egg while it is still within the mother's body. Young birds, fishes, reptiles and many insects hatch from the eggs after they have passed out of the mother's body. This will all be more fully explained in subsequent chapters. SIMPLE AND COMPLICATED ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION As we have before stated, Nature employs a definite means to accomplish a certain end. To accomplish the work of reproduction, she employs organs that are adapted to perform this work. In the lower forms of animal life, the young animal is not a very complicated organization, and the organs by which it is brought into existence are correspond- ingly simple. But the young of all the higher animals, including human beings, are very complicated organizations, cor- responding with their parents, and a complicated and highly organized system of organs is required in order to bring them into existence. The human male and female reproductive systems, are therefore quite com- plicated and very highly organized. VARIOUS NAMES APPLIED TO THE SEXUAL ORGANS As the organs of reproduction are instrumental in generating new life, they are often called the genital RELATION OF SEXUAL ORGANS 41 organs. And also, the genitals and the organs of gen- eration. The sexual organs, organs of reproduction, repro- ductive organs, organs of generation, the genitals and the genital organs, are therefore simply different names for the same organs. INFLUENCE EXERTED BY THE SEXUAL ORGANS The reproductive organs exert an influence so great and far-reaching that it can never be fully appreciated "by a young girl, nor, indeed, by most other people. This influence can really be but indefinitely estimat- ed by the best philosopher, because it extends not only to all people in the world to-day, but also to those yet unborn. These organs affect not only the health, beauty, happiness and prosperity of people now living, but they also very largely determine the destinies of future gen- erations. The possibilities of future generations depend upon the qualities of the babies born in this generation. And the qualities of the babies are immeasurably influenced by the efficiency of the organs that bring them into existence. ADVANTAGES DERIVED FROM A SUPERIOR REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM Weak and inferior men and women cannot become 42 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN the parents of superior babies. Neither can men and women who are sufficiently well qualified in all other respects, but who are inferior sexually. Superior babies can be produced only by parents who are superior sex- ually and in other respects also. If the sexual organs are weak, undeveloped, ineffi- cient or diseased, they can generate only inferior babies or none at all. The future destiny of a nation will therefore be very greatly influenced by the sexuality of its men and women and its boys and girls. If the parents are superior, their babies will also be superior, and these babies will grow into superior men and women. A FREQUENT MISTAKE OF YOUNG GIRLS Some of the girls who read this will perhaps say: Oh, well, that don't concern me, personally, because I shall never marry. And I shall never have any babies. And a part of these girls will really believe that what they say is true. And of course some of them will not marry. But the majority of girls do. And the majority of those who read this book, will, regardless of what they may now think. GIRLS THAT DO NOT UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES There is perhaps nobody that has a more indefinite and erroneous understanding of self, than the average RELATION OF SEXUAL ORGANS 43 young girl. She does not seem to have the least concep- tion or realization of a part of her nature. If she talks about love and young men and marriage and mother- hood, it is usually only her intellect that is active, together with feelings that are not intimately related to these subjects, and she does not seem to even sus- pect that she may have other feelings, emotions and passions that are now quiet, but which are liable to become aroused, and which will then give her an almost irresistible desire to do the very things that she had only a little while before, felt that she would never wish to do under any circumstances. THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER LOVED AND THOSE WHO HAVE LOVED AND LOST But no matter what the girls who have never loved may now think, the chances are in favor of them marry- ing. And even those who have loved but have been disappointed in love, the chances are that they too will marry. Most girls in the past, have, and there is no reason to suppose that those of the present and imme- diate future will be very different in this respect from their mothers and grandmothers. And even though a girl may feel certain that she will neither love nor marry, nevertheless, she will most likely do both. 44 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN HOW THE SEXES INFLUENCE EACH OTHER She will probably meet a young man who will seem to her to be different from other men. And this young man, in some mysterious way that neither he nor the young lady could explain, will exert such an influence upon her that they will be mutually attracted to each other, and feelings that she never realized that she possessed, will become so very strong that she will " know that she could not live without him," nor without doing the very things that only a short time before she felt certain that she would never do. Not all the girls, of course, will have such an experi- ence as this, but many of them will, and the majority will marry and become mothers by virture of some reason, motive, desire, passion or other influence, regardless of what they may now think. And their happiness, comfort, satisfaction and success will be inconceivably increased by being good wives and mothers. THE WOMEN THAT ARE MOST LOVED If a wife is weak, sickly, fretful, nervous and dis- ordered sexually, a husband can never have the same regard and love for her that he would have if she were qualified in every way to be a first-class wife. And under these circumstances it would be impossible for a RELATION OF SEXUAL ORGANS 45 woman to bear fine, smart, strong and intellectual children. And the kind of children that a woman bears, influences her own happiness to an extent that it is impossible for a girl to any more than very indefinitely realize. The difference between being the mother of weak, sickly, dull or bad children, and those that are strong, bright, intellectual, happy, hopeful and in every way superior, is a difference too great to be fully realized. And the difference between grown up sons and daughters that hold positions of trust, honor and responsibility, and who are, in every way a success — the difference between these, and those that are weak and sickly, or so dull and inferior that they can hold only menial positions, is a difference so great that it can never be fully appreciated. LADIES WHO CAN NOT BECOME MOTHERS And if the sexual system is greatly deficient or dis- ordered, a woman can not become a mother at all. This to one that has strong motherly feelings, is a dis- appointment that is indeed very hard to bear. UNMARRIED GIRLS But the happiness and success of a young girl while she is still unmarried, are also very greatly influenced 46 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN by the state of her reproductive organs. These organs are so very intimately related to the rest of the body, that their condition greatly influences all other parts, and also the mind. Weakness, irritation, disease or lack of development in the sexual organs, detract from all desirable physi- cal and mental qualities. Health, vigor and normal development in these organs, have a very beneficial influence upon all other parts of the body and also upon the mind. The state of a girl's sexual organs so affects her entire body and mind that it has more influence upon her popularity in society than any other one thing. We have already seen how it influences her beauty, but her thoughts, feelings, emotions and manners are influ- enced, also. She can not be popular in society if her sexual organs are undeveloped or greatly disorderd, because her manner, thoughts, feelings and emotions will not be such that they will interest other people enough to render her popular. And when such a girl appears at social gatherings, she is one that will be avoided, disregarded, left alone, unnoticed, etc. EFFECTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE But of all the misfortunes that may overtake a girl, none are more disastrous than those caused by an abuse RELATION OF SEXUAL ORGANS 47 of the reproductive system. Even when the sexual organs are normal and efficient in every way, if they are abused, all desirable qualities, both physical and mental, will disappear. This abuse will slowly destroy all beauty, health, physical strength, mentality and popularity. Girls who are the victims of this self-destroy- ing habit, cannot learn their lessons well enough to compete with their schoolmates in study, neither can they have the strength, health and activity necessary to successfully compete in physical sports. They can neither work nor study effectively. They cannot understand their lessons, and they lose their memory and are unable to remember what they have learned. In short, they become vastly inferior in every way, and will be shunned, disrespected, annoyed and slighted in ways innumerable. But why further consider these points here? They are described and explained in detail and discussed at length in subsequent chapters. SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS FROM FACTS ALREADY CONSIDERED Some of the more important facts that we have thus far discussed, may be summed up as follows: The sexual system is that part of the body which comprises those physical organs by which the work of reproduc- tion is accomplished. These sexual organs are so very 48 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN intimately related to all parts of the body, and also to the mind, that their condition inestimably influences all physical and mental attributes. These organs of reproduction really form such a very important part of the body, that feminine beauty and popularity are dependent upon their normal develop- ment, health and vigor. If they are never properly de- veloped; or, if after having become normally developed, they then become greatly disordered or diseased; or if they are impaired or their vigor and efficiency destroyed by abuse or abnormal use, the deficiencies caused there- by, will leave a woman very incomplete, unbalanced and abnormal. The blank left in a woman's entire mind and body, by these deficiencies, is so very great that she can never be beautiful nor popular, nor equal to well sexed, normal women in physique or mentality. CHAPTER V FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS LOCATION OF SEXUAL ORGANS, INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL The reproductive organs of both sexes are located at the lower part of the trunk. In both sexes a part of these organs are on the outside of the body and part of them are concealed within. The following diagram exhibits the names of the female reproductive organs and indicates which of these organs are internal, and which external: Womb Vagina Internal ■ Ovaries NAMES Fallopian Tubes OF THE Hymen FEMALE " SEXUAL Larger or External Lips ORGANS External (Vulva) Smaller or Internal Lips Clitoris - Mons Veneris 50 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN These are the physical organs that enable a woman to perform her part in bringing little babies into exist- ence. Collectively, all the reproductive organs of either sex, are called a system: as — the male reproductive system, the female reproductive system, sexual system, generative system, etc. THE WOMB — ITS FUNCTION The first one of the female organs of reproduction that we shall describe, is the womb or uterus. It is the organ in which little babies begin their existence. In this organ they live and grow until they are old enough and strong enough to live without its protection. They are then born into the world. SIZE AND WEIGHT OF THE WOMB It would seem that the womb must be a very large organ in order to accommodate a baby weighing eight or nine pounds, as many of them do at the time of their birth. And some babies, of course, are still larger. But it is not necessary for the womb to always be large enough to accommodate a large baby, because the greater part of the time it does not contain a baby. And a part of the time when it does contain one, the baby is very small and it has plenty of room in a womb that is not very large. Consequently, while the womb is a very FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 51 large organ at the time of a baby's birth, it is not always large. On the contrary, the wombs of girls, and those of women who have never become pregnant, are quite small if they are in a state of health. The healthful, normal womb that has never been impregnated, really weighs no more than the largest letter carried for a two cent stamp. But it enlarges during pregnancy as the baby within it needs a larger home, and at the time of the baby's birth, the womb is many times heavier and larger than it was at the time of impregnation. WHAT THE WOMB LOOKS LIKE — ITS SHAPE AND DIMENSIONS FURTHER DESCRIBED The shape of the womb closely resembles that of a pear, except that the womb is somewhat flattened on two opposite sides. If you should take a soft pear, pull out the stem, and slightly flatten two opposite sides of the pear by pressing it between the open hands, or be- tween two books, you would then have an object almost the exact shape of the human womb. The larger end of the womb, the part that resembles the blossom end of a pear, is called its fundus or base. And about an inch of the womb's smaller end is called its neck. This is the part that resembles the stem end of a pear. The womb is about three inches in length, two inches in breadth, at its widest part, and about an inch thick. 52 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN It weighs from an ounce to an ounce and a half. Its size and weight of course vary somewhat in different persons. Those given apply to the average unimpreg- nated womb. During pregnancy it gradually becomes A Fig. 1 THE WOMB BEFORE IMPREGNATION Front View — Front part of the vagina is cut away showing mouth of the womb. 1, body of the womb ; 2, 2, angles; 3, cervix or neck ; 4, location of internal mouth ; 5, vaginal part of neck ; 6, exter- nal mouth; 7, 7, vagina. larger and larger, and heavier and heavier, until it weighs about two pounds, independent of its contents. After the baby is born, the womb gradually becomes smaller and smaller, and in the course of several weeks it is FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 53 almost as small and but little heavier than before preg- nancy. It seldom entirely returns to its original pro- portions, however, but usually remains about half an ounce heavier than before pregnancy. Fig. 2 B— LEFT HALF OF WOMB as seen from the right side, the organ having been cut in two from before, backward; 1,1, profile of the front surface; 3, 3, profile of posterior surface ; 4, body ; 5, neck ; 7, inside of body ; 8, inside of neck ; 9, internal mouth ; 10, external mouth; 12, 12, vagina C— POSTERIOR HALF OF WOMB viewed from the front, the organ having been cut in two from side to side ; 4, 4, openings into the fallopian tubes ; 5, internal mouth; 6, 7, inside of neck ; 8, external mouth ; 9, 9, vagina. 54 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN THE OS OR MOUTH OF THE WOMB The womb of course is hollow. And there is an opening into its smaller end which communicates with the hollow on the inside. This opening is called the os or mouth of the womb. When the stem is pulled out of a soft pear, the opening that is left, corresponds in location, with the location of the os in the womb. And if the core could also be removed from the pear, the resemblance of the pear to the womb would then be still more nearly com- plete. The os is the opening through which little babies pass out of the womb at the time of their birth. At that time it must necessarily be a very large opening. But it is not always large. In the normal, unimpreg- nated state of the womb, the os is not large enough to admit an ordinary slate pencil. But it gradually enlarges during pregnancy, and the parts surrounding it become softer and softer, thus preparing it for suffi- cient dilation at the time of the baby's birth. THE WOMB'S LOCATION IN THE BODY The womb is located nearly in the center of the lower part of the trunk. Just beneath the abdomen, at the center line of the front part of the trunk, there is a prominent arch of bones. It is called the pubic FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 55 arch. The womb is located directly back of this bony prominence, and about half way to the spine. The base of the womb is upward and the smaller end points downward. The flattened surfaces are before and backward. And the widest part of the womb is t Fig. 3 LOCATION OF WOMB Lower part of trunk — the pelvis — is lying upon the back, showing the womb and its relation to other organs in the pelvis. The figure represents the body as cut in two just above the hips, the upper part being removed. Jlf, pubic arch ; B, bladder ; U, base of uterus or womb ; T, T, fallo- pian tubes , J?> F, fimbriated extremities of fallopian tubes ; O t O, ovaries ; i?, rectum ; V, vertebra — a part of the back bone. from side to side. The bladder is located immediately in front of the womb and the lower part of the bowel is back of it. 56 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN cut Fig. 4 RIGHT HALF OF FEMALE PELVIS And its contents, as seen from left side The body is represented as having been cut in two from above, downward showing location of the uterus or womb, the vagina, bladder and rectum or lower part of bowel. The bladder is in front of the womb and vagina, and the rectum is back of these two organs. FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 57 THE VAGINA The vagina is a hollow tube that connects the womb with the outside of the body. It is about four to six inches in length. Its walls are of a delicate, silk-like material that somewhat resembles a soft rubber tube. On the inside of the vagina, there are numerous circular ridges or folds parallel to each other. The cuts that are most frequently presented to illustrate this organ, represent it as a distended tube. But that is not its usual condition. On the contrary, it is usually collapsed, and its walls lie in contact with each other. But they may be readily distended, and the vagina will then cor- respond with the cuts most frequently employed to illustrate it. (Figs. 4 and 7.) The vaginia is the canal through which little babies pass as they leave the womb and appear in the outer world at the time of their birth. The exter- nal opening of the vagina is immediately beneath the pubic arch. This end of the vagina connects directly with the body. But the internal end does not connect with the end of the womb. Instead of this, the small •end of the womb passes into the vagina, and the vagina connects with the outside of the womb, about half an inch above the womb's smaller end. If you could take a soft, flattened, hollow pear, with the stem pulled out, and pass the smaller end of the 58 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN ^ cu S-S as 0) Jh CU O o3 If CU rt .2 S S ^5 ir a: en £ B3-»H -*-• +3 t-i q_ tn^ g 58 2S S^ * o CJ cu a3 C ^ ►- CD ^ pq~ % b I « > § * > 5 ^i 9. . cu ^ cu «3 a cu .£ cd « >^ cu rt |of2 ^3 FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 59 pear about half an inch into a soft rubber tube, and then imagine the end of the tube to be grown fast to the pear, you would then have in your mind a most excellent picture of the womb and vagina and their connection with each other. OVARIES The ovaries are two in number, located one on each side of the broadest part of the womb. (Figs. 3, 5, 7.) ■ The ovaries are very important organs. It is they that develop the little eggs that the woman furnishes to unite with the male element and thus begin the development of a baby. The little eggs are developed from the blood that flows into the ovaries. The exact process by which the ovaries accomplish this work, is not clearly understood. The ovaries are about the size and shape of very large almonds. Each ovary measures about one and a half inches in length, three fourths of an inch in width and one third of an inch in thickness. Their location is just inside of the hips. One is on the right side and the other on the left. Each is about half way from the hip to the center of the womb. If a line beginning at the most prominent point at the top of one of the hip bones, is extended downward and inward to the center of the pubic arch, this line will pass over one of the 60 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 61 ovaries. The ovary will lie directly beneath the center of this line. (Figs. 3, 5, 6 and 7.) HOW THE OVA GET INTO THE WOMB There is no canal leading directly from the ovary to the womb. The little eggs (usually called ova; singular, ovum) must reach the womb in another way. The man- ner in which this is accomplished is quite interesting. Each ovum is developed near the surface of the ovary and it is retained in its position by a very thin, delicate membrane. At the proper time, this membrane is rup- tured and the ovum is thus liberated and left free upon the surface of the ovary. FALLOPIAN TUBES Just above each ovary there is a hollow tube extend- ing from the womb outward. These are called the f al- 1 opian tubes. The external end of each terminates in what anatomists call a fimbriated or finger-like extrem- ity. And when an egg is being liberated, this fimbriated extremity of the fallopian tube, grasps the ovary as you might grasp an apple or an orange between your two hands, and the ovum passes into the tube. On the in- side of the tube there are little hair-like projections that are supposed to be in constant motion during the passage of an ovum, and to push the ovum along towards the womb. (See Figs. 5, 6 and 7.) 62 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN THE HYMEN The hymen is a curtain-like membrane that is stretched across the vagina just within the external opening. The hymen is most frequently semi-lunar in shape, with its opening at the upper side. But it is sometimes circular with an opening at the center. And sometimes it has still a different shape. Occasionally there is no opening at all. In such cases an operation is usually necessary before menstruation can take place. THE HYMEN AS AN EVIDENCE OF CHASTITY Sometimes the hymen is very dense and firm and strong, and sometimes it is very delicate and easily ruptured. Sometimes there seems to have never been any hymen at all. This organ is usually torn away at the first copulation, if it still exists at that time, but it is not always ruptured even then. At one time the hymen was supposed to be an evidence of virginity. But it is now known that its presence is no positive evidence of chastity, nor its absence of the contrary. This fact is perfectly evident from what has already been stated. ORGANS BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL The organs already described are the internal organs. They are all within the body concealed from view. FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 63 Those that we shall now describe are the external organs. They are all on the outside of the body. EXTERNAL ORGANS — THE VULVA Collectively, the external female sexual organs are called the vulva. They include the labia major a or larger lips, the labia minora or smaller lips, the clitoris, the mons Veneris and the orifice of the vagina; and some authorities also include the orifice of the urethra. The urethra of the female has nothing to do with repro- duction, however. It is the canal that conveys the urine away from the bladder. Its external orifice is between the labia and just above the orifice of the vagina. There is another organ that we have included as a part of the vulva, that is not intimately connected with reproduction. It is the mons Veneris. Some authorities do not consider either the urethra or the mons Veneris as parts of the vulva. (Fig. 3.) THE MONS VENERIS The mons Veneris is the mount-like cushion of flesh that surmounts the pubic arch. It becomes covered with hair at the time of puberty. This mount is made up largely of an accumulation of fat beneath the skin. 64 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN FEMALE .REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS 65 THE EXTERNAL LIPS The external lips or labia majora, are the two per- pendicular folds that lie beneath the mons Veneris. And like the mons Veneris, the labia majora are also cushioned out by an accumulation of fat beneath the skin. They also become covered by a growth of hair at the time of puberty. The labia form an elliptical fissure that contains the clitoris and the external openings of the urethra and the vagina. The labia are a protection to these delicate organs that they surround and cover. THE INTERNAL LIPS The internal lips, or labia minora or nymphae, are the two perpendicular folds of mucus membrane that lie within the external lips. They are disproportionately large in babies and very little girls. At that period of life the internal lips extend outside of and beyond the external lips. But when little girls are from two to four or five years of age, the external lips become proportion- ately larger, and after that time they entirely conceal the internal lips. (Figs. 4 and 7.) THE CLITORIS This organ is surrounded and partly covered by the labia minora. It is located at the point where the labia minora unite at their upper extremities. The clitoris is 66 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN the most sensitive of all these organs. It is sometimes called the female penis and it closely resembles the male organ in some respects. It is of course many times smaller than the male organ and there is no urethra extending through it. (The female urethra lies below the clitoris.) Like the male organ, the clitoris is pro- vided with erectile tissues and with a glans at its ex- ternal extremity. The diameter of the clitoris is less than that of an ordinary slate pencil. It is usually not more than an inch long, and it is entirely concealed beneath the other tissues, except its external end or glans, and this appears only as a small rounded tubercle. Occasionally the dimensions of the clitoris are much greater than those we have just given. But the organ is then considered abnormal. (Figs. 4 and 7.) The orifice of the urethra is about an inch below tne glans of the clitoris. The orifice of the vagina is just below that of the urethra. CHAPTER VI MALE ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION Having described the most important organs by which the female performs her part in the work of reproduction, we will now explain the organs that enable the male to perform his. WHAT THE MALE CONTRIBUTES IN REPRODUCTION As we have before stated, the female must contrib- ute one element in reproduction and the male must contribute another. We have also seen that what the woman furnishes, is a very little egg;. But this egg is unfruitful and can avail nothing towards the commence- ment of a new life, until after the male element has united with it. What the man supplies is called semen or seed. The semen is manufactured by the testicles. THE TESTICLES are two oval, flattened bodies, suspended side by side, in the scrotum, between the upper parts of the thighs. Their size greatly varies in different individuals, but the 68 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN following dimensions are considered about an average: Length of each, one and a half to two inches ; breadth, one and a quarter inches; thickness, one inch. The longest diameter is from above downward, the shortest from side to side, and the intermediate, from before backward. A TEST OF VIRILITY The testicles are also called testes. (Singular, tes- tis.) This word is derived from one meaning to testify, test or witness. When the ancient Greek alchemists desired to test the purity of a precious metal, or to separate it from baser metals commingled therewith, or from dross, they melted the combination in a cruci- ble or testa. In this way they tested the purity and value of the precious metals. (Gold and silver.) And the testes were given their name because they are the test or witness of a man's virility or generative power. It matters not how nearly perfect a man may be in every other respect, if the testicles do not generate fruitful seed, he cannot procreate. In ancient times it was quite common to remove the testicles of servants and slaves, thus depriving these persons of the ability to become fathers. And when the testicles had not been removed, they were referred to as the test or wit- ness of manhood or procreative power. MALE ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION 69 GLANDS The testicles are glands. A gland is an organ that manufactures something from the blood that flows through it. The largest gland in the body, is the liver. It manufactures bile or gall from the blood that enters it. The bile is retained in the gall bladder and the blood flows out to other parts of the body. From the blood that flows through them, the salivary glands manufac- ture saliva, and the pancreas secretes or manufactures pancreatic fluid. The testicles secrete or manufacture the seed of man. A TEST OF AN ORGAN'S IMPORTANCE Physiologists often estimate the importance of an organ and the amount of work that it performs, by estimating the quantity of blood that flows through it. This is done by noting the size and number of blood vessels that pass into the organ. The blood vessels that enter and pass through the testicles, are both large and numerous, thus showing that a large quantity of blood flows into these glands. From this blood the testicles manufacture semen. Just exactly how they do this work will be difficult to explain. In fact some of the details of the process are not fully understood. But there are some things that we can tell you. 70 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN SEMINAL CELLS AND TUBES The testicles have a general pink color. But when they are cut in two, numerous little white lines Fig. HALF OF TESTICLE With its ducts and blood vessels. Testicle is cut in two from above, downward, showing its appearance upon the inside. The lobuli contain coils of little tubes. The inside of these little tubes is lined with cells that manufacture semen from the blood that flows into the testicle. TheVas Deferens conveys the semen to the Vesiculse Seminales. that are more or less indistinct, may be seen inter- mingled with the general pink color of the rest of the gland. These little white lines are little tubes that are MALE ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION 71 coiled up in the testicle. They are called the seminal tubes. By careful dissections under water, the seminal tubes have been separated from the rest of the gland and from each other. There are several hundreds of them and each tube is estimated to be from two and a quarter to sixteen feet in length, thus making their total length from about two thousand to four or five thousand feet. But they are so very small in diameter, that a hundred and fifty of them lain side by side, would not cover a space more than an inch wide. On the inside of these tubes there are several layers of cells. They are called seminal cells. Altogether there are millions of them. Many of the numerous blood vessels of the testicles lie in contact with the seminal tubes. And in some way not fully understood, the necessary ingredients pass from the blood to the seminal cells, and these cells man- ufacture the semen therefrom. The semen is then contained in the seminal tubes. These little tubes unite with each other and thus form larger tubes, like brooks and creeks unite to form small rivers. These larger tubes pass out from the testicle and they too unite with each other and thus form still larger tubes on the out- side of the testicle. These tubes also unite with each other and form a single tube of much larger dimensions than any of the branches that form it. From the smallest branches of the seminal tubes, 72 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN where the semen is formed, it passes into larger tubes and from thence to those still larger, and thus continu- ing it reaches the single largest tube before mentioned. This duct conveys the semen to one of the seminal vessels. THE SCROTUM is a sack or bag that contains the testicles and supports these delicate organs in their proper positions, protect- ing them from being chafed by the clothing and thighs or otherwise injured. THE SEMINAL VESSELS or Vessiculse seminales, are two pouches located on the base of the bladder. These are reservoirs in which the semen is stored as it flows from the testicles. One is located on the right side of the base of the bladder and the other on the left. The seminal vesicles are each about two and a half inches in length, nearly half an inch in breadth and about a fourth of an inch in thick- ness. The semen is probably being formed continually by the cells within the seminal tubes, and it gradually flows from the small tubes into the larger, and eventually reaches the seminal vessels, in much the same way that water gathers from springs and forms brooks and creeks, and then small rivers, and still continues onward and MALE ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION 73 forms a single large river that flows on for considerable distance and then enters a large lake. The seminal vessel on the right side of the bladder, receives the semen from the right testicle, and the one on the left side, receives that from the left testicle. A supply of semen ever ready for use is thus maintained within the seminal vessels. Whenever this supply is reduced, it is very quickly replenished. The male is therefore almost always prepared to contribute his part in the work of reproduction. If the semen is not util- ized in reproduction, and is not lost by a weakness, disease or misuse of the sexual organs, the surplus is probably absorbed. It is then commingled with the blood and is thus carried to all parts of the body, to be used by the brain and the various bodily organs. At all events, this is a theory that is advocated by many excellent authorities. If it is not correct, the testicles must cease to secrete semen when the seminal reservoirs are filled. A duct leads from each seminal vessel to the penis. These ducts are called the ejaculatory ducts. They convey the semen from the seminal vessels to the penis. The penis is the organ that conveys the semen from the ejaculatory ducts to the female reproductive system. There the semen is deposited so that the requisite element thereof can unite with the ovum of the female 74 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN and thus begin the formation of another human body. There are two or three other organs included in the male reproductive system, but they are not of sufficient interest in this connection to merit a description. CHAPTER VII HOW PLANT REPRODUCTION BEGINS IN BLOSSOMS We will now briefly describe the process by which reproduction is accomplished and a new being developed. But as there are certain general principles common to reproduction in all grades of vegetable and animal life, before describing human reproduction, we will first explain some of these general principles and their demonstrations in the vegetable kingdom. By this plan a full and accurate understanding of human reproduction can be acquired more easily. MALE AND FEMALE PLANTS An examination of plants reveals the fact that they too are sexed. Some are males and others are females. And each is provided with appropriate organs for executing the work of reproduction. SEXUAL ORGANS OF PLANTS Plants develop from seeds. And the seeds are developed from flowers or blossoms. The flowers or 76 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN blossoms are, therefore, the sexual organs of the plants that produce them. It is in the flowers or blossoms that the work of reproduction begins. STAMENS AND PISTILS At the center of a flower, surrounded by its petals or leaves, there are a number of little pin-like stems. These little stems differ in the two sexes. Those in the male flowers are called stamens. Those in the female flowers are called pistils. The stamens, then, are the male parts of plants and the pistils are the female parts. Both stamens and at least one pistil, are usually found in the same flower. The plants that produce these flow- ers, are therefore like some animals, both male and female. The stamens and pistils, then, are the organs by which plants execute the function of reproduction. They are the real sexual organs of the plants, and the other parts of the flowers are simply accessories to the stamens and pistils. POLLEN In flowers, just the same as human beings, something that is developed in the male sexual organs, must be deposited in the female sexual organs, in order to begin the work of reproduction. In plants, what is developed by the male sexual organs is a yellow dust. It is called pollen. REPRODUCTION IN BLOSSOMS 77 The yellow dust that sometimes adheres to the nose when smelling a flower, is the pollen. In the spring, pollen may sometimes be seen in small clouds as it is blown from the blossoms of certain kinds of trees. During the latter part of August and throughout the entire month of September, and during October until frost has killed vegetation, the pollen from rag- weeds and other weeds and wild flowers, on dry breezy days, can often be seen rising in the form of small clouds of yellow dust which are wafted over the fields by the breeze.* FERTILIZATION OF FLOWERS This pollen is developed by the stamens of flowers, and it must be deposited in the pistils or the flowers can not develop fruitful seeds. Depositing pollen in the female flowers is called fertilizing them. And when the pollen has been deposited in the pistils, the flowers are said to be fertilized. STRUCTURE OF FLOWERS We will now make a brief investigation of the structure of flowers, more especially of the stamens, *This pollen is breathed into the nostrils of the people who are in the vicinity where it is floating in the air, and certain kinds of pollen cause an irritation of the mucus mem- brane in the nostrils of those in whom the mucus membrane is sensitive. This is hay fever. The pollen from a vase of wild flowers is sufficient to cause hay fever in some persons. Even smelling a bunch of certain kinds of flowers will cause this disease in persons who are especially sensitive. 78 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN pistils and seed pods, and we will then look into some of the methods by which fertilization is accomplished. NAMES OF THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF A FLOWER And in order to avoid any misunderstanding of the various parts of a flower, we will first name these parts, using the common red rose as an example. The base of the rose is a cup of green leaves called the calyx. The leaves composing this cup are called the sepals. Before the rose has opened, while it is still only a bud, the calyx is the green covering of the bud and is the only part visible. The rose itself, the red part, is called the corolla, and the separate red leaves that compose the corolla, are called petals. The thread-like yellow stems at the very center of the rose, are the stamens and pistils. As the stamens and pistils can be studied more easily in a flower in which they are larger, we will now leave the rose and investigate the morning glory and the blossoms of the cherry tree. ANALYSIS OF THE MORNING GLORY The corolla of the morning glory is a single bell- shaped leat, instead of several leaves or petals like the rose. If this leaf is torn apart, growing on its inner bor- der at the base, five stamens may be seen. While in the REPRODUCTION IN BLOSSOMS 79 very center is a single pistil. The pistil including seed- pod or ovary, will remain attached to the stem after the entire corolla is torn away. In different flowers, the number, size and arrangement of the stamens and pistils, greatly vary. But in all perfect flowers they exist in some form. Fig. 9 CHERRY BLOSSOM One side is cut away showing the blossom's internal structure. In the center is located its single pistil, showing stigma, stile and ovary. The ovary is an embryo cherry and seed. The stamens are attached to the corolla. They form a circle around the pistil. STAMENS ANALYZED — THE ANTHER The stamen consists of two parts — the main stem or filament, and the anther. The anther is a kind of head on the external end of the filament. It is the anther that produces the polen. 80 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN PISTILS ANALYZED — THE OVARY AND STIGMA The pistil consists of three parts — the ovary, the style, and the stigma. The style is the main stem of STAMENS AND PISTIL 1 — Stamen : a, anther ; p, pollen being discharged from anther ; y, fillament. 2 — Anther of a different kind and shape from the one above. 3 — Pistil: g, stigma; s, stile; o> ovary or seed-pod; r, stem supporting ovary. the pistil. It corresponds with the filament of the stamen. The ovary is at the very base of the pistil. It is the part that contains the seed. After the petals REPRODUCTION IX BLOSSOMS 81 of a rose have fallen off, the part that remains and contains the seed, is the ovary or seed-pod. Eventually the ovaries change from green to red as the seeds within them ripen. They then look like red berries and usually remain on the bush until the seeds within them are fully ripened and matured, and posses all the qualities necessary to enable them to grow into other rose bushes. The stigma is the tip of the pistil. It is often in the form of a little cup and is usually moist. A DIAGRAM The following diagram will assist you to form a distinct mental picture of these different parts of a flower and also to remember their names: PARTS COMPOSING A FLOWER Calyx j Sepals Corolla \ Petals Stamens (male) Pistils (female") Pollen Anther i Filament Stigma Style , Ovary 82 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN POLLEN MAGNIFIED When the pollen is highly magnified it is found to consist of separate and distinct grains. Fig. 11 POLLEN MAGNIFIED Showing this yellow dust to consist of separate and distinct grains. When the stigma and style are closely examined, their central parts are found to consist of very loose tissue. So loose in fact, that the stigma and style are almost a hollow tube. The part that is almost hollow, extends to the ovary and also communicates with the inside of this organ. PROCESS OF FERTILIZATION As flowers are being fertilized, the little grains of pollen are deposited in the moist stigmas, and the pollen grains send rootlets down through the loose tissues of REPRODUCTION IN BLOSSOMS 83 the stigmas and styles, and these rootlets unite with the elementary seeds in the ovaries. Very small drops of fluid pass from the pollen rootlets and enter the elementary seeds. This fertilizes the ovules and enables them to develop into complete seeds. If a "iZ) Eig. 12 FERTILIZATION Diagram illustrating a highly magnified pistil and grain of pollen during the process of fertilization. Que side of pistil is cut away. 2, ovary containing the female part of an embryo seed ; 1, grain of pollen in the stigma sending rootlet down through the style to unite with the female part of elementary seed. A minute drop of fluid passes from this rootlet to the ovule. This is fertilization. Fertilization in the vegetable kingdom corresponds with conception in the animal kingdom. 84 PLAIX TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN flower is divided into two halves by cutting it from above downward, all of its different parts may be seen at the same time. The flower thus shown in Fig. 9 is the blossom of the cherry tree. The embryo seed may be seen at the base of the flower, imbedded in the ovary. The seeds could never mature and grow unless they were rendered complete by the pollen rootlets uniting with them. If the pollen does not unite with them, the elementary seeds will eventually shrivel and die. Until after they are fertilized, they are soft and watery, and appear to consist of but little besides an outside skin- like covering that is filled with water. If they are properly fertilized, they are then enabled to develop into complete and mature seeds that will grow into other plants. A FEATURE COMMON TO ALL FLOWERS The sizes, shapes, arrangements and proportions of the various parts of flowers, present an endless variety. But with all of this variety there is still one thing in common with them all. They are all in some way qualified to aid in accomplishing reproduction, and all flowers have either a stamen or a pistil, at least. PERFECT FLOWERS AND THOSE INCOMPLETE In perfect flowers, as before stated, the stamens and pistils are both in the same blossom. But some flowers REPRODUCTION IN BLOSSOMS 85 have stamens but no pistil. Still others have one or more pistils and no stamen. The former are the real male flowers and the latter the real female flowers. Certain kinds of plants produce on the same stalk, some flowers that are males and others that are females. Sometimes the male flowers are on one plant and the female flowers on another plant. DIFFFRENT METHODS BY WHICH FLOWERS ARE FERTILIZED Sometimes the stamens and pistils are arranged so that the pollen naturally falls into the pistils. Some- times it is blown from one flower to another by the wind. But a very large number of flowers are fertil- ized by insects carrying the pollen from one blossom to another. Bees do the most of this work, but moths, flies and other insects assist. Flowers that are fertil- ized by insects, contain honey. Or rather, nectar, that may be converted into honey by the insects. And in seeking for the nectar, the insects brush the pollen from the anther and deposit it in the pistil. For example, a bee goes into a blossom searching for honey. The bee comes in contact with the anthers of the flower and it brushes off part of the pollen. Some of the pollen adheres to the bee's head, body, wings and other parts, and a portion of it may be deposited by the bee, on the stigma of the same flower. Soon the bee flies away and 86 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN enters another flower and part of the pollen that is car- ried from the flower previously visited, is now rubbed off from the bee and left in this second flower. This pollen adheres to the moist stigmas. MALE AND FEMALE STRAWBERRIES A certain well-known variety of strawberries pro- duces only female blossoms; or, at best, but very few male blossoms. If this variety is planted near a variety that produces an abundance of male blossoms, it is then an exceedingly prolific variety. If it is not thus asso- ciated with the male blossoms, it produces but very little fruit. The usual plan with gardeners who raise such a variety, is to plant a few rows of these that produce only the one kind of blossoms, and then plant a few rows of a variety that produces blossoms of the opposite sex. Next to these a few rows of the first variety are planted and then a few more of the second. The two varieties are alternated in this way all over the field, and an excellent crop is the result. USE OF THE HONEY, ODOR AND BRIGHT COLOR OF FLOWERS Honey, odor and the corolla of flowers are all acces- sories to the stamens and pistils, which are essentials. Insects visit the flowers for the honey, and in extract- ing the honey, they assist in fertilizing the flowers. REPRODUCTION IN BLOSSOMS 87 Bees and flowers are, therefore, of mutual benefit to each other. The odor and the bright colored corollas assist the bees to find the flowers. Blossoms that do not need the assistance of insects, are usually small, and have neither color, scent nor honey. Most forest trees have blossoms of this kind, and they are fertilized by the pollen falling or blowing from the anthers to the pistils. PLAN OF FERTILIZATION IN COMMON FIELD CORN In our common corn that may be seen almost any- where in the country, the pollen is produced by the tassel which grows at the extreme top of the stock. The end of the ear is provided with a large bunch of thread-like pistils called the silk. As the pollen grows on the top of the stock and the ear is only about half way from the ground to the top, the pollen naturally falls upon the silk and the ear is thus fertilized. Every breeze facilitates the falling of the pollen upon the silk. If the pollen does not reach the silk there are no grains of corn upon the cob. HOW DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF CORN ARE MIXED IN FERTILIZATION If several varieties of corn are planted near together, and they all mature about the same time, these different varieties will mix. The pollen from one stock 88 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN may reach the silk of several other varieties, and all of these different varieties will then partake of the qualities of the one that produced the pollen. If grains of pop- corn from an ear that is red, and other grains from an ear that is white, are all planted near a field of yellow corn, there will be some large ears of pop-corn and some small ears of yellow corn. Some of the ears of field corn will be red and others white. And some of the ears of pop-corn will be large and yellow. NECESSITY OF THE HUMBLE BEES IN FERTILIZING CLOVER Some varieties of clover cannot be fertilized by honey bees but require humble bees (bumble bees.) The honey bee cannot reach far enough down into the blossoms to carry the pollen to the pistils. The larger bee is required. Certain other flowers also require the humble bee because the honey bee is not heavy enough and strong enough to push the blossom apart and get into it. FERTILIZATION OF NIGHT BLOOMING FLOWERS Some flowers that bloom at night when bees are asleep, are fertilized by insects that fly and gather their food at night. The construction of these flowers is favorable for fertilization by such insects. CHAPTER VIII SEEDS AND EGGS AND THEIR FUNCTION IN REPRODUCTION WHAT A SEED REALLY IS A seed is a small plant imbedded in enough plant food to sustain the plant when it commences to grow and until its roots are large enough to draw sufficient nourishment from the soil. THE GERM If you will examine a seed, you will find one part that is different from the rest. This part is the little plant within the seed. It is called the germ. It can he seen in a large seed more easily than in a small one. And it can be seen still more plainly if the seed has lain in water two or three days. The germ has then commenced to grow and is consequently enlarged. HOW TO EXAMINE A GERM A lima bean being a large seed and having a large germ, the different parts can be seen very easily. If the outside smooth skin of a lima bean is removed, the 90 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN Fig. 13 GRAINS OF CORN GERMINATING In about four days after a grain of corn is planted, if the weather is warm and all other conditions are fovorable, it will look like the one shown in the upper right hand corner of the figure. The little shoot extending upward from the grain, is the beginning of the future corn stalk. The pro- longation downward is the first root with its minute branches. In about a week after a grain of corn is planted, the grain, stalk, leaves and roots will look like those shown in the left side of cut. SEEDS AND EGGS 91 bean will then be seen to consist of two halves. These halves can be easily separated and the germ can then be seen on the inside of one of the halves. Ifc consists of two little leaves and a very small bean vine. If you will now soak other beans in water for two or three days, the beans will enlarge, the germs will begin to grow and their different parts can be seen more plainly. HOW THE GERM DEVELOPS INTO A PLANT When a seed first begins to grow, the germ draws its nourishment from the rest of the seed. The germ is the vital part of the seed, and the rest of the seed is food for the nourishment of the germ after it begins to grow. When a seed is placed in soil and is supplied with heat and moisture, it soon sprouts like the beans soaked in water. As the leaves and the top part of the germ begin to grow upward, the roots begin to grow downward and to send out numerous little branches. These branches or rootlets draw from fertile soil the necessary nourishment for the plant; and the rest of the seed, in addition to the germ, is of no further use. It has usually served its purpose and has become exhausted by the time the roots of the plant are large enough to nourish the plant independent of the nourishment stored up in the seed. If several seeds — beans and corn are among the best — are planted, the development of the germs may 92 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN be readily observed at any time by digging up and ex- amining one or two of the seeds. The seeds should be planted about one inch deep, in almost any fertile soil, out of doors during warm weather, but in cold weather they should be planted in a flower pot, tin can or box of soil in a warm, sunny room. In about four days during warm weather, a germ of corn will acquire the development represented in the upper right-hand corner of Figure 13. In about a week the germ will look like the one shown in the left-hand side of the figure. A BRIEF REVIEW Let us now take a brief review of some of the more important features of reproduction in plants. We have seen in the previous chapter that the female part of blossoms — the pistils — develop embryo seeds. But these seeds lack vitality and have no power to grow into other plants nor even to continue to develop them- selves, until after they are vitalized by the pollen from a male flower. After the union of the two elements, an ovule continues to develop and eventually becomes a ma- tured seed, consisting of a diminutive plant imbedded in enough nourishment to feed this germ when it com- mences to grow, and before it has rootlets that can draw sufficient nourishment from the soil. This, then, is the usual plan of plant reproduction. An acorn is a diminutive oak tree imbedded in a SEEDS AND EGGS 93 quantity of nourishment, with a thin hard shell that surrounds and protects both. A grain of corn is a diminutive corn stalk imbedded in enough nourishment to sustain it for the first few days of its growth. A chest- nut is an embryo chestnut tree and a quantity of nourish- ment within a shell. Each seed, then, is a very small plant with a small quantity of nourishment, all protected within a shell, skin or some other kind of covering. And the development and scattering of seeds, is Nature's plan for reproducing piants. The seeds drop to the earth and become covered with leaves or soil and then the heat of the sun and the warm rains cause them to sprout and grow into other plants.* SOME OF NATURE'S PLANS FOR SOWING HER SEEDS Nature's plans for scattering seeds are many of them very novel and interesting, and they deserve a brief notice Many seeds are scattered by the winds. Those seeds that grow on high trees will scatter more or less in falling when there is no wind. But during a storm they scatter still further away from the parent trees. Maple seeds and sycamore, pine, ash and many other kinds are provided with a sort of wing or wings, that *The nourishment that is stored up in a seed for the use of the germ, is in many varieties also an excellent food for human beings and other animals. As it will nourish the germ it will also nourish animals. Wheat, oats, corn, rice and nuts are familiar examples. 94 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN enable them to almost float in the air and to thus scatter to a long distance from the trees that produce them. The seeds of cotton-wood trees and of thistles, dandelions, etc., are not very heavy and they are attached to a kind of down that causes them to almost float in the air and to reach points far distant from where they grew. Lady's slippers, castor beans, and many other seeds are enclosed in a pod that bursts open suddenly and separates in such a way after the seeds are mature, that the seeds are thrown considerable distance. Some seeds are carried to far distant points by run- ning streams. Others, like the cocoanut, float on the sea and often reach far distant shores. Peach, cherry, plum, and many other seeds that are surrounded by an edible fruit,are eaten by birds and animals and deposit- ed at various distant points. Poke and elder seeds are scattered by the birds in this way. Squirrels often carry away nuts that are never eaten but are left to grow. Seeds that are embedded in burs like burdock or sand burs, and those that have sharp needles or hooks, often become attached to the hair or wool or skin of animals, and they are carried away by the animals and eventually dopped. Thus, we see, Nature's plans for sowing the seeds of her different plants are numerous and varied; but they are all more or less effective and her seeds are all scattered in some way. SEEDS AND EGGS 95 Having seen how plants are reproduced, we will now investigate some of the plans of animal reproduction. WHAT AN EGG REALLY IS All the higher animals are developed from eggs. An egg is really the seed of a female animal. It may con- tain a germ — the male element — and it may not. When it does contain this element, it is then analogous to a mature seed. If the egg does not contain the male element, it is then more like an embryo seed that has not been fertilized. CLOSENESS OP THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN EGGS AND SEEDS The similarity, then, between eggs and seeds, is really a close one. Both are designed for the same purpose, and they are quite similiar in construction. The greater part of an egg, like the greater part of a seed, is designed merely for the nourishment of the germ within. THE GERMINAL SPOT In a certain part of a fertile egg, as well as in a seed, there is one point that is more highly vitalized than the other parts. It is called the germinal spot. It is the life germ that may develop into a living animal. It is the male element of the egg. The rest of the egg is for the purpose of nourishing this germ. 96 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN THE DEVELOPMENT AND DEPOSITING OF EGGS The eggs of all animals are developed in the ovaries. In some animals only one or two ova are developed at one time. In other animals, thousands are developed and deposited all together. Birds and our common domestic fowls mature and lay but one egg each day. Fishes and frogs mature and deposit hundreds or thou- sands of eggs at one time. When a laying hen is killed and is opened as she is being prepared for a meal, a dozen or more eggs can be seen in different stages of development. All are attached to the ovary. If the hen is killed before she has laid that day, there will usually be one mature egg with shell complete. Another egg will be large enough to become fully matured by the following day. After all the eggs are matured by the ovary, the hen is then ready to set. By sitting over the eggs with her wings and warm body against them, she is enabled to keep the eggs warm enough for the germs within them to develop and grow into chicks. HOW TO EXAMINE THE GERMINAL SPOT If you will roll a sheet of paper or paste-board into a tube an inch and a half in diameter, and will then hold this tube before one eye and towards the light so that you can plainly see through it, a fresh hen's egg that is held before the farther end of the tube and slowly re- SEEDS AND EGGS 97 Fig. 14 REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF A HEN Showing various stages in the development and depos- iting of eggs — a, ovary sur- rounded by yolks in different stages of development; b, sack or envelop of membrane from which yolk has just been discharged ; c, yolk (just discharged from b) entering oviduct ; d, e, different stages in the development of the albumen or white part of the egg, and also the membrane or skin-like covering that surrounds the egg beneath the shell; g-, complete egg, with shell and all parts fully formed, ready to be depos- ited through h. 98 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN volved, will disclose the air chamber in one end of the egg and a very small darker spot in another part. This spot may seem to be about the size of a pin head or it may seem to be a mere speck. It is the germinal spot. If the egg is kept at the proper temperature by a hen or an incubator, or by any other means, the germinal spot will gradually enlarge, and in about three weeks, it will have developed into a chick large enough and strong enough to peck a hole through the egg shell and then to burst the shell and come out. When the germ begins to grow, it draws its nourish- ment from the rest of the egg. And it continues to appropriate the egg for its food until it has exhausted the supply of egg substance. By that time the germ has developed into a chick that is big enough and strong enough to eat other food and to live as older chicks. HATCHING OF FISHES Little fishes hatch before all the egg substance is exhausted. The head passes out at one side of the egg and the tail extends out at the opposite side. What is left of the egg surrounds the little fish's body and the fish swims around carrying the residue of the egg where- ever it goes. The egg substance becomes less and less, and the little fish becomes larger and larger, until the egg is entirely exhausted. The little fish must then eat food and derive its nourishment therefrom just as SEEDS AND EGGS 99 do the older fishes. At our government fish hatcheries, the little fishes may be seen in all stages of development. DIFFERENT METHODS BY WHICH EGGS ARE FERTILIZED The eggs of some animals are fertilized before they leave the female's body. Those of other animals are fertilized afterwards. In all cases the male seed or semen is what fertilizes them. Female fish and frogs deposit their eggs in the water and the males deposit their seed upon and among the eggs and they are then fertilized. But in all the higher animals the male seed must be deposited in the body of the female in order to fertilize the- eggs. The eggs of fishes, turtles, frogs and all similar animals require no other heat besides that derived from the sun, to enable them to hatch. Some of these animals prepare a kind of nest in which they deposit their eggs. The nests to a limited extent protect the eggs and add to their safety. But some of these animals prepare no nest at all. They simply de- posit their eggs wherever it happens to be convenient, and there the eggs are left to their fate. Many fishes that live in the deep water, however, go to the quiet waters at the head of a stream and there deposit their eggs where there is less danger than in the deep waters of the ocean, lakes or seas. L.oFC. 100 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN REQUIREMENTS FOR HATCHING THE EGGS OF WARM BLOODED ANIMALS But the eggs of warm blooded animals must be kept warm or the germs within will not develop and hatch. Eggs that are not fertilized contain no germinal spot. They can not hatch because there is nothing within them to develop and grow. An egg, then, before it is fer- tilized, is simply a collection of germ food that is pro- tected by a covering of shell or a skin-like membrane or both. After it is fertilized, it is then an animal germ imbedded in enough food to nourish it until it has de- veloped into an animal that can obtain its nourishment in some other way. We are now prepared to resume our study of human reproduction. CHAPTER IX REPRODUCTION IN THE HUMAN FAMILY Before describing the method by which human repro- duction is accomplished, we will discuss a few interest- ing facts immediately related thereto. SUCCESS IN HUMAN REPRODUCTION DEMANDED BY HUMAN ECONOMIES A great many other things besides reproduction demand the attention of human beings. Only a small part of their time and vitality can be exclusively devoted to this function. Plants and the lower animals have nothing else to do besides nourishing themselves and reproducing the species. They have the time and vitali- ty that is necessary to produce very large numbers of babies. And they can produce so many that a large proportion may perish and there will still be plenty left. But human economies demand a less proportion of fail- ures in reproduction. If reproduction in the human family even begins, if the embryos are created, a large proportion of them must become mature men and women. 102 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN PROFUSION OF SEEDS PRODUCED BY A SINGLE PLANT One tree or flowering plant often produces hundreds of thousands of seeds in a single year. But a human mother seldom bears more than one baby in a year and a half or two years, and while she is bearing and nursing a baby, her time and strength are diverted from other things. Therefore, when she makes this sacrifice of time and vitality, the conditions must be such that her baby has opportunities favorable to its maturity. Otherwise a human mother's life might be exhausted in reproduc- tion and still nothing would be accomplished. Her time and vitality would have been expended and still she would have no baby. But as plants and the lower animals have so little else to do besides the work of reproduction, and, as they reproduce so profusely, it matters not if a large number of their babies never mature. Indeed with the present plans of their reproduction, if the blossoms and embryo eggs for a single year should all reach maturity, the earth would be overrun. NATURE'S POLICY OF REPRODUCTION IN THE LOWER FORMS OF LIFE, REVERSED IN THE HIGHER In harmony with these conditions, we find in the lower forms of life, that Nature's plans insure the be- HUMAN REPRODUCTION 103 ginning of a profusion of reproductions; but only a small proportion of them are ever completed. Her motto seems to be : Begin a large number of baby plants and the lower animals, and a few may escape the dangers that await them and then reach maturity. But in the human family, the policy is reversed. A smaller number of babies are conceived but a much larger proportion of them reach full maturity EXTENSIVE DESTRUCTION OF BLOSSOMS AND SEEDS AND THE EGGS OF THE LOWEST ANIMALS Blossoms and immature seeds are eaten by the larger animals and also by insects and birds, and they are de- stroyed by cold, heat and storms. Myriads beyond con- ception are destroyed by all of these methods. And the mature seeds are also eaten by birds and various other animals and they are destroyed by the elements in count- less numbers. The parent plant has no means of pro- tecting its babies from the ravages of the innumerable hosts ever ready to destroy them. The immature babies of the lower animals are no better protected. Fish and frog eggs are deposited and usually totally abandoned by the parents. They are consequently eaten by other fish and animals and are otherwise destroyed by countless millions. And frogs and fishes are not the lowest animals. Those still lower are threatened by even more numerous dangers. 104 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN But they all reproduce in such profusion that only a very small proportion need to survive in order to maintain a full supply. If all the eggs from a single shad or sal- mon should hatch and become mature fish, there would be enough to supply quite a large city for several weeks. BETTER PROTECTION OF BIRDS' EGGS AND YOUNG BIRDS Birds are higher in the scale of animal intelligence and consequently superior. And they reproduce less pro- fusely, but their young receive better protection and a larger proportion reach maturity. Having more intel- ligence than fishes and the animals still lower than fishes, they consequently understand better how to protect their young. They do protect them much better, and a far less proportion of bird's eggs and of little birds are de- stroyed. Consequently a less number of bird's eggs are necessary to maintain a supply of birds. Some birds lay but two eggs during a season. Others lay four to six. While a few sometimes lay as many as thirty. Seldom any more than that number are laid by one bird during the year. But a fish deposits many thousands. A bird builds a nice nest and deposits her eggs therein. She or her mate watches these eggs day and night until they are hatched. She or her mate sits on the eggs most of the time in order to keep them warm enough for the little birds within them to grow. Con- HUMAN REPRODUCTION 105 sequently the old birds are always near the eggs to pro- tect them from many dangers. STILL BETTER PROTECTION OF THE EGGS AND YOUNG OF THE HIGHER ANIMALS The animals higher than birds, protect their young still better. And the better protection is not altogether due to superiority of intelligence. It is largely due to the better plans by which reproduction is accomplished. Horses, cattle, dogs, cats, monkeys, elephants, etc., all belong to the higher classes of animals. But as human beings are the very highest of all animals, and as the plans of reproduction are quite similar among all of these animals, we will describe human reproduction only. HOW THE HUMAN EMBRYO AND BABY ARE PROTECTED BEST OF ALL The human baby is much better protected than the babies of birds. The human baby develops from the egg of its mother before the egg leaves the mother's body. The human baby then remains in the mother's body and is protected for a still longer time. Larger birds and animals of various kinds may over- power and drive away the mother of little birds. Storms may break down the nest and destroy the eggs and fire may consume them. But the human embryo is not ex- 106 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN posed to such enemies. Snug in its little bed within its mother's body, it is fully protected from many dangers that ever threaten the little birds and all of the lower animals. The human mother cannot go away and leave her embryo. She always carries it with her. If danger threatens and she escapes, it also escapes. When fires, floods, cold or living enemies endanger a human mother and her unborn babe, if she succeeds in reaching a place of safety, the babe is also safe. Her safety insures its safety. This arrangement is also a great economy of time. If, for example, our domestic animals were reproduced by means of eggs that were laid and afterwards hatched, these eggs would be a constant care and would be in constant danger. Much of the mother's time would be required to protect and hatch them, and many of them would be destroyed even then. PROPER FOOD INSURED TO THE HUMAN BABY Besides providing a better protection for unborn babies, the plans of human reproduction also insure their proper nourishment afterwards. All human mothers that are healthful and normal, prepare within their own breasts, the proper food for their babies. This insures that even the very youngest babies will be pro- vided with plenty of food. And it is always of the right kind. It is never too hot nor too cold. It is never over- HUMAN REPRODUCTION 107 cooked nor burned. Neither is it under done. It is not too hard to chew nor is it too rich. It is not indigesti- ble nor deficient in nourishing properties. On the con- trary, it is just right. There is always plenty of it and it is always ready. If the normal, healthful mother can secure plenty of food for herself, and it is of the proper kind, she always has plenty for her babies. Those cases in which a mother's milk is deficient in quantity or quali- ty, are cases in which the mother is either not normal or not healthful. If the babies of human beings and those of all the higher animals, were not provided for by the milk of their mothers, they would perish in large numbers be- cause a proper food could not always be procured and properly prepared for them. HOW A HUMAN BABY IS CREATED We will now investigate the plans by which a human baby is created, and we will begin by a more thorough description of semen. SEMEN MORE FULLY DESCRIBED Semen is a thick, whitish, albuminous fluid, it looks somewhat like the white part of an egg. As we saw in a previous chapter, it is formed in the testicles. 108 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN THE SPERMATOZOA When a drop of semen is magnified, a very curious fact is disclosed. The semen is found to be filled with little living animals or animalcule. They are called spermatozoa. They are exceedingly small and there are Fig. 15 HUMAN SPERMATOZOA Magnified eight hundred diameters. These are the animalcule or little living animals that may be seen in semen when it is highly magnified. thousands of them in a single drop of semen. They are so very small that it requires from four thousand to ten thousand of them lain side by side to cover a space an inch wide. They look very much like polly-wogs or tad- HUMAN REPRODUCTION 109 poles; or the embryo mosquitoes or wiglers that can often be seen in the rain barrel and in ponds during the summer. The spermatozoa are very active and lively. When a drop of fresh normal semen is viewed through a power- ful microscope, the spermatozoa are seen in very large numbers, wiggling and darting hither and thither in various directions through the semen. (They soon die, however, on being exposed to the air or cold) The spermatozoa are the important part of the semen. The rest of the semen is a fluid that constitutes a home for the spermatozoa, and perhaps their food, and it is a vehicle by which they may be carried from one part of the -sexual system to another, and also from the male to the female reproductive organs. It is the sperm- atozoa that unite with the ova and thus create embryos to develop into babies. MEETING OF THE SPERMATOZOA AND OVA During coition or sexual intercourse, the semen is deposited in the vagina) at or near the mouth of the womb] The spermatozoa then begin to move into the womb. But they are so very small that they do not move very fast. [It probably requires two or three hours and perhaps much longer for them to penetrate into the center of the body of the womb?) Nobody knows exactly how much time is required. And there 110 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN is a difference of opinion in regard to where the sperm- atozoa meet the ova. Some physiologists think that it is in the womb; others say that it is in the fallopian tubes; and still others claim that it is in the ovaries. But they meet somewhere in one organ or the other, and when one of the spermatozoa unites with the ovum, the two objects then form but one. The spermatozoa perhaps enter the ova. IMPREGNATION This union of the male and female elements is called impregnation or conception. And when it has taken place, the female is said to have conceived. Or, to be pregnant. This is the beginning of a new life. A new human being is then ushered into existence. At this time, how- ever, the human embryo has very little resemblance to a baby. But it will continue to develop and grow, day after day, and in about nine months it will be a baby large enough and strong enough to be born. All people and all the higher animals begin their existence in this way. ORGAN IN WHICH THE SPERMATOZOA AND OVA DEVELOP INTO A BABY Wherever the spermatozoa and the ova may first meet, one thing is very certain ; and that is the fact, HUMAN REPRODUCTION 111 that within a very short time after they meet, they are then in the womb. And it is in this organ that they develop into a baby. SMALLNESS OF HUMAN OVA EXPLAINED The ova of the higher animals are much smaller than the eggs of birds and the eggs of our domestic fowls. (The ovum of a woman is not larger than the head of a small pirn) It requires about one hundred and twenty of them lain side by side, to reach an inch. It may seem strange that little birds should develop from large eggs, while a human baby begins its existence in one so small. The explanation is this: A little bird must be nourished by the egg in which it grows, until it can eat as other birds. Little quails and kill-deers are so well developed by the time they leave the shells, that they can run al- most immediately, and so fast that a boy has hard work to catch them. Consequently, the eggs from which they hatch, must be large enough to contain the quantity of nourishment that is necessary to develop birds so large and strong. But the human embryo is nourished by the ovum only for a few hours. Or but for a few days at the very longest. It is then nourished by its mother's blood di- rect from her body. It therefore requires only a very small egg. As the spermatozoa are so very small, they 112 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN require but very small ova to nourish them even for several days. NAVAL CORD AND PLACENTA OR AFTFR-BIRTH By the time a human embryo has exhausted the contents of the little ovum, an organ has been developed by which the embryo's nourishment can be derived from the mother's blood. This organ is attached to the in- side of the womb. It is called the placenta or after- birth. A cord called the naval cord extends from the placenta to the abdomen of the baby. The placenta contains a number of blood vessels, the mouths of which unite with the mouths of blood vessels in the womb. The naval cord contains three blood vessels. HOW THE EMBRYO IS NOURISHED BY THE PURE BLOOD OF THE MOTHER Pure blood passes from the mother's womb into the placenta and thence through the naval cord into the baby's body. After circulating through the baby's body, the blood returns, impure, through the naval cord into the placenta, and thence into the mother's womb and is then carried to her lungs and is again purified. PERFECTION OF THE PLANS OF HUMAN REPRODUCTION Can you imagine anything nearer perfection than HUMAN REPRODUCTION 113 these plans of creating, protecting and nourishing a human baby? How every detail evinces the mind of a master! Their ultimate object is the reproduction of the species. And every feature of these plans exhibits an adaptation to this end. Every detail is perfectly ad- justed to work in harmony with every other detail, and all are perfectly adapted to the successful accomplish- ment of the ultimate object. WHEN IMPREGNATION MAY OCCUR (Each twenty-eight days the normal woman develops and matures one or more oval) These are retained, ready for impregnation, a large part of each month. If they are not impregnated, they eventually pass out of the womb and in due time others take their place. The normal woman, therefore, is prepared to reproduce during the greater part of the time from puberty to the menopause. And the male is practically always pre- pared. Vegetation and the lower forms of animal life, reproduce only at certain seasons when the weather is favorable. But human beings, possessing the intelli- gence to provide for their babies even in severe weather, they are prepared to reproduce during all seasons. The male is prepared during the entire time, and the female, during a large part of each twenty-eight days. 114 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN SUPERIORITY OF THE PLANS FOR PROTECTING THE OVA The plans of human reproduction require the ova to be small and delicate. The ova are, therefore, easily injured, and their safety demands that they shall be well protected. All this is amply provided for by their lo- cation in the mother's body. The warmth of her body keeps them warm. And the part of her body in which they are located, being secure and well protected, they also are well protected. HOW THE PROTECTION OF THE SPERMATOZOA IS INSURED The spermatozoa of the semen are so very small that they could not be otherwise than tender and deli- cate. But they are never exposed to cold nor other dangers from the time of their creation until their mis- sion is accomplished. They are protected in the warm body of the male until they are deposited in the warm body of the female. They are, therefore, never exposed at any time. PROTECTION INSURED TO THE UNBORN BABE And a baby is never exposed from the time of its conception, until it is large enough and strong enough HUMAN REPRODUCTION 115 to be safe with less protection. It is then born. Dur- ing the time that an embryo is developing, it is in a very secure part of its mother's body. It is surrounded by a bony frame-work called the pelvis, which even protects it from blows or other similar accidents to the mother. EVIDENCE OF A MASTER MIND SHOWN IN THE PLANS OF REPRODUCTION Thus we see, every detail of the work of reproduc- tion exhibits evidence of having been planned by a master mind. But this product of an infinite mind is given into the keeping of mortals. And much of mortal happiness and misery is the direct result of a wise or an unwise use of the reproductive system. And while its construction and the methods of its operation bear evidence of having been designed by a mind beyond the human understanding, yet the care and the use of these organs are given into the keeping of each indi- vidual. And our ability to investigate, discern and reason, enables each to ascertain what is wise and what is unwise in regard to their care and use. How these organs shall be cared for, and when they shall be used, and how, is left to each individual. And each individual is held responsible for the results. The rewards for the wisdom and the punishments for the mistakes are given without a single exception. The laws of Nature are so 116 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN adjusted that there can be no escape from the punish- ments deserved, nor any methods of securing the rewards that are not earned. The results of either line of action are inevitable and unavoidable. It is there- fore the part of wisdom to understand these great laws of Nature, and to so adjust our lives that we shall be in harmony with their requirements, and thus secure the rewards for well doing and escape the penalties of wrong doing. To assist you to thus live, is the object of this book. CHAPTER X NATURE'S PLANS FOR INSURING THE MOST BABIES PROM THE BEST PARENTS The wisdom evinced in the great laws of reproduc- tion, is not confined to the construction of the reproduc- tive organs and their adaptation to the work for which they were designed, but it is also seen in the operation of these laws. Nature has not rested satisfied when she had designed organs that are perfectly adapted to the work of reproduction. She has not ceased her efforts when she had established laws and organs by which the work of reproduction may be accomplished, but she has gone one step further and has established laws which insure that this work shall be accomplished. And she does not stop even here. She not only in- sures that reproduction shall take place, but her laws also operate to insure the best results in reproduction. These laws insure that the best males and the best females shall reproduce most. This insures a larger proportion of babies to be born and matured by the best parents. This is constantly improving plants and animals. The proportion of the better ones is constantly becoming 118 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN greater and greater, and the proportion of the poorer ones is constantly becoming less and less. LIFE OP ANNUAL PLANTS ENDED WITH THE RIPENING OF THEIR SEEDS Let us now examine some of the facts upon which these statements are based. Among the plants that live but a single season, reproduction seems to be the principle object of their existence. They grow and thrive until they have matured their seeds, and then they die. If a farmer fails to gather his crops of wheat, oats, rye, barley, etc., when they are ripe, the stalks or straws will soon become too weak to support their load of ripened grain, and they will bend to "the ground and scatter the seeds. The crop is then lost. The grain is soon moistened by the rains and dampness of the earth and it sprouts and grows preparatory to the pro- duction of another crop. With other annual plants the results are practically the same. When they have ripened their seeds, the object intended by Nature seems to have been accom- plished and the parent plants then die. And the next season their places are filled by their children. The em- bryo plants — the germs within the seeds of the parent plants — have then developed into other plants that in their turn become parents and mature other seeds. This process is repeated year after year as time goes on. MOST BABIES FROM BEST PARENTS 119 FORCES OF THE TREES CONCENTRATED IN REPRODUCTION Among trees and other plants that live for a number of years, we find that the results are practically the same, except that the parent plants do not die each season. That is, the entire plant does not die; but part of it — the leaves — are renewed each spring and they die each autumn, except those of the evergreens. And part of the leaves of the evergreens die and are replaced by others every year. Each year, therefore, marks a distinct cycle in the lives of trees. After having remained dormant during the winter, with the return of the bright sunshine and the balmy breezes of spring, the vigor that the trees seem to have accumulated during this rest, is expended in reproducing a new crop of seeds. A new foliage appears, and a new growth of twigs, together with the blossoms for the new seeds. In due time the seeds are matured and the leaves of the trees eventually fall. Each season during the life of a tree seems to be util- ized by the tree either in reproducing or in preparing itself for reproduction. HOW PLANTS EXERT EVERY EFFORT TO REPRODUCE And no matter how unfavorable may be the condi- tions of a plant, it will usually make the effort to re- 120 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN produce. If the farmer has planted his wheat or oats too late to give the plants time to grow large and to become vigorous, they will nevertheless make the effort to reproduce. Even though each plant is small and it is too weak to produce very many seeds, still, when the time for harvest arrives, it will produce some seeds if it is at all possible. And these seeds will ripen but very little later than the seeds produced from the plants that have had plenty of time to grow If the soil lacks fertility, the results are about the same. The plants do not have enough vigor to become large, and they may be unable to produce very many seeds; but if it is possible, they will produce some. But these seeds will be smaller than those grown on fertile soil. Crab-grass and weeds of various kinds that have been cut or broken off repeatedly, until the season for them to produce seed is almost passed, will still send up new shoots and endeavor to produce seeds as long as the season lasts. And even though the destruction of the plant is almost complete, if there is any chance for it to produce even a few seeds, it will do so. HOW THE MORE VIGOROUS PLANTS CROWD OUT THE WEAKER When there are plenty of seeds in a given space of ground, it is the more vigorous ones that will germinate first, and they will develop into the largest and most MOST BABIES FROM BEST PARENTS 121 vigorous plants. And if there is not room enough for all, the weaker seeds may not germinate at all, and even if they do germinate, they develop only weak plants that are often crowded out by the stronger ones. And if they continue to live and grow, they produce but a few seeds. It is the largest and most vigorous plants that will produce the most and the best seeds, which will in turn develop into large and vigorous plants. This improves the stock. The best thus produces most and is perpetuated while the poorer is crowded out and eventually becomes extinct. WHY INFERIOR FLOWERS BECOME EXTINCT WHILE THE BRIGHTER AND PRETTIER THRIVE Among the flowering plants, those that produce the most vigorous, bright and beautiful flowers, are the ones that gradually become the most numerous. In seasons when there is a scarcity of bees, the small, obscure and poorly colored flowers are overlooked by the bees and are not fertilized. They consequently produce no seed. While the bright, showy, conspicuous flowers are easily found by the bees, and they are consequently visited by them in their search for honey. These flowers, there- fore, are fertilized and produce plenty of seeds which continue the existence of that species of plants, while their less favored neighbors fail to reproduce and con- sequently that stock disappears. 122 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN WHY THE BEST ANIMALS PERPETUATE THE SPECIES Among animals, Nature's laws are equally effectual in preserving and increasing the best. It is the more weak and sickly birds that are most frequently caught and devoured by hawks and other enemies, while the strong, vigorous and shrewd ones escape and reproduce. When there is a scarcity of food for wolves, the less fleet and those that are weak and sickly, starve. But those that are swift, strong and vigorous, secure the little food that can be gotten, and it is they that live and reproduce. When there is a scarcity of food for lions, tigers and foxes, those that are the most sly, secretive, and cunning, are the ones that secure the little food that is to be had, and it is consequently they that live and reproduce, while their less proficient rivals starve. When the enemies of deer, antelope, sheep, etc., are especially numerous and ravenous, those animals escape which are the most prudent, alert and fleet, and it is they that preserve the stock. Thus we see, Nature's laws operate to perserve and perpetuate the best of her productions, and also to con- stantly improve them. Illustrations of these laws might be multiplied until they would fill a large volume. But it is not the purpose of this book to consider them any MOST BABIES FROM BEST PARENTS 123 further than is necessary to illustrate the subjects dis- cussed herein.* OTHER REASONS WHY THE BEST ANIMALS BEGET AND BEAR THE MOST OFFSPRING The desire to procreate and to protect their young, are among the very strongest propensities that animals possess. During the mating season, the desire to pro- create is so intensely strong that animals will make almost any sacrifice to accomplish that object. And the love of offspring is so very great, especially in the female, that almost any personal sacrifice will be made, and almost any pain, inconvenience or hardship will be endured, in order to protect and rear the young. Even mothers of a mild and timid disposition, often become perfectly reckless of their own safety when their babies are in danger, and they frequently fight for their progeny with an intensity and desperation that often holds at bay, cowes and defeats an enemy more powerful than themselves. All animals possess these propensities, therefore it is the natural tendency of them all, to endeavor to re- produce and rear their young. But the more healthful and vigorous the animal, the stronger and more intense and masterful are these propensities. This insures that *For further information on this subject, see Darwin's "Origin of Species." 124 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN the most healthful and vigorous animals, will put forth the strongest efforts to reproduce. And when there are difficulties in the way of reproduction, the propensities of the healthful and vigorous are often strong enough to cause them to overcome the difficulties, w T hile those less healthful and vigorous are deterred. This insures the most offspring from the best animals and consequently improves the species. WHY THE BEST ANIMALS ARE MATED FIRST Another law that is also very effective, is the law which leads animals to prefer for their mates, the best ones of the opposite sex, and to consequently select them first in mating. Therefore, if for any reason, there is not a sufficient number of either sex, to mate with all those of the opposite sex, then those that will be sup- plied with mates, and that will reproduce, are the best that can be selected from the entire number of that sex. Consequently, those that will reproduce, are the best. HOW THE STRONGER MALES PREVENT THE WEAKER FROM REPRODUCING Working in harmony with this law, is the law that leads animals, especially males, to fight their rivals. This fighting decides which one is the best, and it enables the best to subdue all rivals and to drive them away. MOST BABIES FROM BEST PARENTS 125 For example, if there are two or more roosters with one flock of hens, these roosters will fight until one of them is acknowledged the victor. This proves him to be the best, and the weaker ones are glad to keep out of his way and thus escape further punishment. As long as all the other roosters are prevented from ap- proaching the flock, of course it is only the strongest and bes;t one that will be the father of all chicks pro- duced by those hens. In this way, Nature has selected the best rooster obtainable for the father of the chicks that those hens produce. THE BEST BABIES POSSIBLE INSURED BY NATURE'S LAWS This law, therefore, insures that the father of the chicks shall be the best rooster. And the best fathers beget the best children. Consequently the chicks from that flock of hens, are the best possible under the circumstances. LITTLE BIRDS AND THEIR RIVALS IN MATING Even the little birds that seem the very embodiment of love and joy and song, will fight most desperate battles in order to secure the mates desired. They also sing and coo to each other for the same purpose. It is in the spring that the birds mate. At that time the male often seems to bubble over with song, music and 126 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN ecstacy as he pours forth his song in an earnest effort to win and hold the affections of the female bird that he desires for his mate. And if another male should appear upon the scene as a rival for the affections of his sweet- heart, a battle would immediately ensue. HOW SONG BIRDS AND THOSE OF BRILLIANT PLUMAGE WIN THEIR MATES It is usually during the spring that peacocks and turkey cocks and all other birds of brilliant plumage, strut and display their fine feathers, and they do this to win the admiration of the females. And if there are not enough females for the wives of the entire number of males, then those that sing poorly and those that have the least beautiful plumage, are the ones that will not be mated unless they can vanquish their rivals in battle. If they succeed in this, then beauty, sweetness and brilliancy in song, and beauty and display in plumage, must give way to the superior physical powers of the more lusty. The fair are then won by the strong and brave, and not by those that are beautifully dressed and talented in song. MATING AMONG THE WILD ANIMALS Among the wild animals every mating season exhibits renewed evidence of the operation of these laws. Every MOST BABIES FROM BEST PARENTS 127 season the males contend with each other, and the more powerful defeat their rivals. The one that was most powerful during a previous season, may this year be defeated by a younger and more vigorous adversary. And another that is too young this year to successfully contend with a more mature antagonist, may be the victor next year. In this way Nature ever selects the best males for the fathers of her babies. Even the animals that are usually very timid and peaceful, are no exception to this law. The male elk, deer, gazelle and even the rab- bit, fight fiercely and courageously whenever they meet with rivals in their love affairs. And the elk and deer and other animals that shed their horns, are best pro- vided with these weapons only during the mating season. After each mating season, the horns are shed. In due time another set of horns begins to develop but they are not fully matured until about the time of the next season for mating. Our common domestic animals also illustrate the operations of these laws. HOW THE SAME LAWS OPERATE IN THE HUMAN FAMILY These same laws operate, and are equally effective, in the human family. But among human beings, they 128 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN are, of course, modified in their actions, and their op- erations are often concealed by human intelligence. Nevertheless, they have their influence upon human actions, and we will discuss them more fully in subsequent chapters, and will point out some of their results in mod- ifying human character and conduct. CHAPTER XI INFLUENCE OF SEXUALITY UPON THE POPULARITY OF MEN AND WOMEN Sexuality stamps its imprint upon every department of mind and body. No part is left uninfluenced. And the more numerous and diversified the mental attributes are, the more far-reaching sexuality is seen to be. A KEY TO THE HEARTS OF BOTH SEXES Nothing contributes more to the success and pop- ularity of men and women, than does this valuable qual- ity. It is a key to the hearts of both sexes. No man or woman was ever great and popular without this im- portant attribute. Its deficiency leaves an incomplete- ness of manhood and womanhood for which no other virtues will recompense. And being absolutely essential to the completeness of every man and woman, it is admired, appreciated and prized the world over. The majority of men and women, however, do not fully realize these facts. They know that they admire certain persons. And they may also realize that what 130 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN they admire, is certain qualities, powers, manners and attributes. But they do not realize that many of these attributes are the indications of sexuality; that they are qualities and actions that are developed or induced by sexuality; that they are accessories to sexuality; that they are developed or induced for the purpose of assisting the sex principle to more effectually accomplish the purpose of its existence; and that these superior qualities are never found in persons deficient in sexuality. SECRET OF POPULARITY EXAMINED , But let us see. Let us examine some of the char- acteristics that render men and women popular; and let us ascertain how intimately these characteristics are related to sexuality. The facts, principles and laws that we have already noted in preceding pages, will assist us in this investi- gation; and for our further assistance, we will now examine others. THE LAW OF POPULARITY Men and women, the world over, who are the most popular, are those that have done the most for the world. Sometimes the value of a service is not realized at the time it is rendered. Sometimes its value is not SEXUALITY AND POPULARITY 131 recognized until years after the death of the one by whom it was rendered. And this person may have been very unpopular during life. But whenever the value of a service is fully understood, then it is appreciated, and the one by whom it was rendered, is popularized in pro- portion to the estimated value of the service. Sometimes, therefore, a person is popular with his most intimate associates, and sometimes he is popular only with subsequent generations. And many persons who are very popular at some given time during their lives, are soon forgotten because their services are found to have been over-estimated. The law of popularity, then, may be stated as follows : Those whom we admire, appreciate and popularize, are those whom we believe to have done, or to be doing, or to be prepared to do, something for us that we value. WHAT THE PAGES . OF HISTORY REVEAL Search the pages of history from beginning to end, and you will not find a single exception to this law. The names in history that are most familiar to every- body, are the names of those who have done the most for everybody. And the men and women now living, who are the most popular with everybody, are those who are supposed to be performing the greatest services for everybody. But, as we have already seen, at the time a service 132 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN is rendered, we are very liable to be mistaken in regard to its value. History, however, makes few mistakes in this respect, and the historical characters who are pop- ular, are permanently popular. And those now living who are popular to-day, will continue to be popular or they will soon be forgotten, just as their services prove to be valuable or of little worth. WHAT DETERMINES WHO SHALL BE MOST POPULAR WITH YOU If you will think over your personal acquaintances who are the most popular with you, you will find that these persons are those that you think have done the most for you or who can and will do the most for you. Your estimate of their services may not be correct. You may be over-estimating some, and under-estimating others. It is in fact most probable that you are more or less mistaken. Nevertheless, your mistakes do not change the law, and the real motive that actuates you, is the one that we have explained. SEXUALITY'S IMMEDIATE RELATION TO POPULARITY But what has all this to do with sexuality? Let us see. First, a man or woman deficient in sexuality, lacks the ability and power to perform a service sufficiently SEXUALITY AND POPULARITY 133 valuable to render him or her great enough to be popu- lar with a large number of people. Second, sexuality and what is developed by virture of sexuality, are the very attributes that are the most influential of all, in rendering the sexes popular with each other. WHAT MEN AND WOMEN MOST ADMIRE IN EACH OTHER Sexuality and the accessory qualities developed thereby, are the very qualities that men most highly appreciate in women, and they are also the qualities that women most highly appreciate in men. Eliminate sexuality, and there is then no more attraction between the sexes, than there is between persons of the same sex. In fact, not so much. With sexuality eliminated, there is really nothing to attract the sexes to each other. There are no interests in common between them. A man has certain interests in common with other men that he does not have with women. And a woman has certain interests in common with other women that she does not have with men. But sexuality, and what grows out of sexuality, are the only attractions between the sexes, that do not also exist between persons of the same sex. 134 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN FACTS THAT ILLUSTRATE THESE LAWS We will now examine some of the facts that support the statements we have made. For illustrations of popularity being in proportion to services rendered, we will mention a few well-known names. Among those who have benefited the entire world, and who are con- sequently respected, appreciated, honored and popular- ized all over the world, we will mention Galileo, Newton, Harvey, Watts, Whitney, Fulton, Stephenson, Morse, Edison, Columbus, Franklin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Frances E. Willard and Clara Barton. Among those who are popular, more especially in America, because the services that they have rendered are of greatest value only to Americans, we will mention Washington, Jefferson, LaFayette, Grant, Sherman, Lincoln and Clay. WHAT ATTRACTS THE SEXES TO EACH OTHER The attractions between the sexes, are based upon the advantages of the sexes to each other; the pleasures that they derive from each other; the services that each renders to the other. Each sex loves the other because each derives benefits, pleasures and assistance from the other. In reproduction, the sexes must co- operate. In no other way can this object be accom- plished. And to most successfully co-operate and accom- SEXUALITY AND POPULARITY 135 plish the work of reproduction, the sexes must be at- tracted to each other. Sexuality, more than ail other things combined, is what attracts them. AN INSTINCTIVE DESIRE TO REPRODUCE In all normal men and women, there is an instinctive desire to reproduce. A desire that is entirely independ- ent of any intellectual preference. The intellect or judg- ment may be, and often is, positively antagonistic to this desire. Nevertheless, it exists, and is ever impelling towards reproduction. But, of course, this desire may be opposed, counteracted, suppressed or its execution deferred, by the judgment or the actions of other feel- ings. AN INSTINCTIVE DESIRE TO PRODUCE THE BEST OFFSPRING POSSIBLE There is also an instinctive desire to become the parent of the best babe possible. This necessitates the selection of the best helpmate possible. The better the parents, the better the offspring. WHAT THE SEXES ADMIRE IN EACH OTHER MOST OF ALL And what the sexes especially admire, appreciate and prize in each other, is the ability to become superior 136 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN parents. Other attractions between the sexes are based upon and grow out of this one. What a man most ad- mires in a woman, is her ability to render him the best services as a wife to him and a mother to his children. And what a woman most admires in a man, is his ability to be the best husband to her and the best father to her children. DESIRES ONLY INSTINCTIVE — NOT INTELLECTUAL This is frequently altogether instinctive or intuition- al. But there may also be an intellectual desire, and there often is with persons who understand these laws. Of course there are other things that the sexes ap- preciate in each other, but they are all based upon this one, or else they are services that may be rendered by the same sex. THE REAL ATTRACTION BETWEEN THE SEXES, AND WHAT MOST PEOPLE THINK IT IS The ability to become a superior parent, includes not only the ability to reproduce, but also, all of those accessory qualities that contribute to the very best suc- cess in reproduction. And it is usually these accessory qualities, only, that men and women recognize intellect- ually; consequently, as a rule, they think that these SEXUALITY AND POPULARITY 137 accessory qualities in a person of the opposite sex, are the only qualities that attract them to that person. As the sexes admire in each other, the ability to become superior parents, they also admire all of those accessory qualities that contribute to that end. These include all of the masculine qualities in the males and all the feminine qualities in the females. Let us now endeavor to see what some of the more important of these qualities are. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENTS THAT MEN MOST ADMIRE IN WOMEN AND WHY That a woman may bear the best babe possible, she must have the capacity and ability to properly nourish it until the time of its birth. This requires healthful and vigorous reproductive organs, a body large in th« region of these organs, and good vital powers. That a woman may carry a large babe within her womb, she must have broad hips, and the distance from the front part of her abdomen, to the spine, must be ample. This is necessary to insure sufficient room for a large baby. Her vital organs must be well developed to enable her to properly nourish both the babe and herself before it is born. Large vital organs give her a plump, round form, face and limbs. All of these physical developments are admired by men. Most men, 138 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN however, could not tell why. They simply know that they admire such developments in women. A FINE BUST AND WHAT IT SIGNIFIES That the babe may be amply nourished after its birth, large, healthful and vigorous breasts are neces- sary. And a fine bust is admired by all intelligent and progressive people in all parts of the world. All of these developments are feminine. They all contribute to a woman's success in the capacity of a mother. They insure the greatest size and strength where they are most needed.- MENTAL QUALITIES MOST ADMIRED IN WOMEN AND WHY As a woman with a babe in her womb, or in her arms, or even with a small child by her side, is not in a condition to meet and resist physical dangers or as- saults, it is to her interest and also to the interest of the race, for her to avoid these dangers. She does not therefore have the physical strength necessary to meet such dangers. On the contrary, her body should be, and is, strong in the organs of motherhood, but not in the organs most essential in battle. And the most su- perior women also have a character that is in harmony with these physical developments. Therefore a woman SEXUALITY AND POPULARITY 139 is not brave, bold and aggressive. On the contrary she is cautious, prudent, discreet, careful, insinuating, appreciative, etc. All of these qualities men admire in women. THE KIND OF MEN THAT MAKE THE BEST HUSBANDS The woman therefore needs protection and assist- ance and so do her babies. And her husband and their father, is the one who should render this service. She will therefore admire in a man, the qualities that give him the ability and inclination to afford this protection and assistance. To insure these benefits, the husband must have the requisite physical strength and the mental characteristics to best use it. The woman's strength should be in the organs of motherhood and in the mental characteristics that will render her a good and prudent wife and mother. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENTS OF MEN THAT WOMEN MOST ADMIRE AND WHY As the male reproductive organs require but little room in the pelvis, it is not necessary that a man's hips shall be broad. He requires strength in these parts in- stead of breadth. His hips are therefore more narrow than a woman's, but he has more physical strength in this region. 140 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN The man also needs strong shoulders and strong arms and hands and limbs. Just what we find exactly. All these parts are strong and the shoulders are broad, and the chest broad and deep. The lungs must be large in order to furnish sufficient oxygen for a strong and ac- tive man. Large lungs require a large chest. In short, the entire body must be large and vigorous in the parts that give strength. Therefore, the male form is not round and plump like that of a woman, but it is more angular and strong. The muscles of a man's arms and hands, lower limbs and body are proportionately larger and more prominent than those of a woman. His bones are also larger and the joints are more prominent. These developments insure greater physical power in the male. MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS THAT WOMEN MOST ADMIRE IN MEN AND WHY But to use this physical power most effectually, the male must also have the requisite mental qualities. These are self-reliance, courage, bravery, persistence, independence, generosity, etc. All of these qualities women admire in men. PHYSICAL FIGURES OF THE MAN AND WOMAN COMPARED Comparing the physical figures of the two sexes, we SEXUALITY AND POPULARITY 141 find that the man is broadest at the shoulders, and his body tapers from the shoulders towards both extremi- ties. The woman is broadest at the hips and her body tapers from the hips towards the upper and lower ex- tremities. These forms give each the most size and strength where they are most needed. The woman, in the organs of motherhood, and the man, in the organs most needed to best protect and care for wife and babies. MASCULINE WOMEN AND EFFEMINATE MEN In masculine women and effeminate men, all of these characteristics are more or less reversed. And nobody admires the masculine women, except the effeminate men, and nobody admires the small effeminate men, ex- cept the masculine women. Women often enjoy the society of little effeminate men, but only for the purpose of talking to them and teasing them or playing with them, so to speak, as they might with a boy or some pet. The men that they really admire and respect and desire to marry, are those who are large and strong and well endowed with the masculine attributes. In other words, they prefer the men who can be of most real service to them, as protectors, supporters, and the fathers to their prospective children. 142 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN EXCELLENT SEXUALITY A CHARACTERISTIC OF ALL HANDSOME MEN AND BEAUTIFUL WOMEN The indications of these masculine attributes in the face and form of a man, are considered handsome. And feminine beauty is largely composed of the indications of superior feminine sexuality. Both masculine and feminine beauty are therefore, to a marked degree, the products of superior reproduc- tive powers. In other words, a large part of physical beauty is an indication of superior powers of reproduc- tion and a strong unconscious desire to reproduce. CHAPTER XII AMATIVENESS AND ITS INFLUENCE UPON CHARACTER, CONDUCT, PERSONAL AP- PEARANCE AND POPULARITY THE INCENTIVE THAT INDUCES THE SEXES TO BE AGREEABLE AND ATTRACTIVE TO EACH OTHER The ability and instinctive desire to reproduce, also express themselves in what is called amativeness or love for the opposite sex. This sexual love inspires in the sexes a desire and an effort to be agreeable and attrac- tive to each other. It expresses itself in the conduct, manner, voice, attitude, face, gestures and personal appearance. LOCATION OP ORGAN OF THE AMATIVENESS IN THE BRAIN AND HOW TO ESTIMATE ITS STRENGTH Amativeness is a power of the mind, and it expresses itself through a certain part of the brain that we call the organ of amativeness. This part of the brain is the cerebellum or little brain. It is that portion of the brain located lowest down in the back part of the head. 144 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN On the back of the heads of most persons, there is a decided protuberance of the skull that is called the occipital spine. It is more large and prominent in men and women with large bones. The cerebellum occupies the entire back part of the skull below this point and as far forward as the bony prominences immediately behind the ears. The size of the cerebellum is in pro- portion to the width of this part of the head, together with the distance it extends backward from the open- ings of the ears. Other things being equal, the love for the opposite sex is in proportion to the size of the cerebellum. The cerebellum is the part of the brain that is most intimately related to the reproductive organs and to the function of reproduction. It is through the cerebellum that the mind presides over reproduction and the repro- ductive organs. It is the cerebellum that generates the nerve power or nerve force that supplies the re- productive system, and it is through the cerebellum that the mind communicates with the organs of repro- duction. The cerebellum is the electric switch-board, so to speak, that the mind operates upon in order to communicate with and control the reproductive organs and the function of reproduction, Through this part of the brain, the mind receives reports from the reproductive system. These reports include all information regarding the state and needs AMATIVENESS 145 of these organs. The cerebellum is therefore a sort of central station in the mind's telephone system. It is also the dynamo or electric battery that generates the nerve force necessary to operate, direct and control the reproductive system and its functions. Even the building and developing of the reproductive system is regulated through the cerebellum. WHY THE CEREBELLUM IS A MEASURE OF AMATIVE- NESS AND REPRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY The cerebellum is therefore a part of the machinery of reproduction. As a chain is no stronger than its weakest link, so is no part of the reproductive system any more effective than every other part. The size of the cerebellum is therefore an indication of the power, vigor and effectiveness of the reproductive system and its function. Consequently, the cerebellum is a measure of the power of reproduction and of the love for the opposite sex. CHARACTER AND DISPOSITION OF PERSONS WITH LARGE AMATIVENESS When this part of the brain is large, sexual love is strong and its possessor will endeavor to be agreeable and attractive to persons of the opposite sex. So far as sexuality is concerned, such persons are well quali- fied to be superior wives and mothers, husbands and 146 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN fathers. These persons naturally desire to become parents and this natural inclination tends to render them so agreeable and attractive to the opposite sex, that they are especially popular in society and they are consequently among the first to be chosen as wives and accepted as husbands. All this is in harmony with Nature's plans, and it insures a greater number of child- ren by the men and women who are capable of produc- ing the best. STRENGTH OF AMATIVENESS INDICATED BY THE CHIN The size and state of the cerebellum, and consequent- ly the degree of amativeness or love for the opposite sex, are also indicated by certain signs in the face. A broad, prominent chin indicates a large and powerful cerebellum, and consequently, strong amativeness. A small, narrow, weak, retreating chin, indicates a small, weak, cerebellum. STRENGTH AND ACTIVITY OF THE AFFECTIONS INDICATED BY THE LIPS Large, full and prominent lips also indicate a large cerebellum and strong love for the opposite sex. Small, thin, pale, compressed lips, indicate a cold, distant na- ture — an extreme deficiency of affections. It is the red part of the lips to which we refer in speaking of their AMATIVENESS 147 color. This color in the lips is determined by the amount of blood therein, and the lips are so intimately related to the affections, that the state of the affections influences the quantity of blood that centers in the lips and increases their color. The more active and ardent the affections are, the greater is the quantity of blood that flows into the lips and they are consequently more red. A dark cherry red indicates the most active, ar- dent and intense state of the affections. It is, however, the central portions of the lips that are most affected by amativeness. The corners of the mouth are related to the love of children and pets. And the portions of the lips between the centers and the corners of the mouth, are related to friendship. A mother with very strong and active parental love, kisses her baby with the corners of her lips. If the lips are large but pale, they indicate a strong affectional nature, but that it is not active at the pres- ent time. While lips not so large, if they are highly colored, indicate a less strong affectional nature, but one that is at the present time, very active. Very large, moist lips, indicate grossness and sensuality, and their owner should be rigidly avoided. STATE OF THE AFFECTIONS INDICATED BY BITING THE LIPS When the blood is crowded into the lips and thus 148 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN increases their color, it also increases the pressure there- in. This produces a pleasant sensation that is often in- creased by pressing the lips with the fingers or some other object. Affectionate school girls frequently press their lips with a pencil or pen-holder or book. Both ladies and gentlemen who are very affectionate, fre- quently use the most convenient objects possible, and press their lips against their teeth. All this explains why affectionate people desire to kiss and be kissed. Affectionate persons whose affections are not active, will frequently converse for a long time without press- ing their lips. But if the conversation is turned into channels relative to their beaux or sweethearts or any other subject that excites their affections, then the blood will often immediately begin to gather in their lips in greater quantities, thus increasing the pressure therein, which the owner will still further increase by biting the lips. POSITION THAT THE HEAD OFTEN ASSUMES WHEN STRONG AFFECTIONS ARE ACTIVE Strong and ardent affections, when unusually active, will also frequently express themselves by causing the head to drop backwards and toward one side, so that the head rests upon one side of the organ of amative- ness. This also throws the chin upward and toward one AMATIVENESS 149 side, the position that it is most likely to occupy in the act of kissing. GALLANTRY A RESULT OF STRONG AND ACTIVE AMATIVENESS Strong amativeness causes gentlemen to be gallant, attentive, polite and obliging to ladies. It leads them to be ever ready to say something appreciative, compli- mentary and gallant. Gentlemen with large amative- ness love ladies, and they desire to be loved and appre- ciated by them. They are therefore ever ready to say and do something to increase the ladies' happiness and comfort. It is the gentlemen with large amativeness who are anxious to surrender to the ladies, their seats in a car or ferry, and a smile of appreciation from a lady thus favored, is ample recompense to one of these gen- tlemen. It is these men, therefore, that most readily win the esteem of the ladies, and it is they that the ladies pre- fer for husbands and the fathers of their children. HOW AMATIVENESS AFFECTS THE POLITENESS AND GENERAL CONDUCT OF LADIES TOWARDS GENTLEMEN Amativeness exerts an equally marked influence up- on the conduct of ladies. It leads to the words and acts on the part of ladies, that win the esteem of gentlemen. 150 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN It leads to the smiles, the compliments, politeness, win- ning looks and general loveliness of ladies that gentle- men find irresistible. Ladies with large amativeness are anxious to do or say something to increase the happi- ness and win the appreciation of gentlemen. They love the gentlemen and they desire to be loved and appre- ciated by gentlemen. They are consequently so much loved and admired by gentlemen, that the gentlemen prefer them for their wives and the mothers of their children. RELATION OP AMATIVENESS TO MUSCULAR POWER AND ENDURANCE In addition to what we have already mentioned, amativeness is also intimately related to muscular pow- er and to muscular control and endurance. The cere- bellum generates the nerve force by which the various muscles are enabled to work together in harmony and accomplish a desired result. Large amativeness is therefore essential to a superior physique. A superior physical man or woman with small amativeness is an impossibility. Sufficient nerve power to develop and effectually operate a fine physique, cannot be generated by a small cerebellum. The mind requires a large cere- bellum to operate upon in effecting the proper co-ordi- nation of the muscles of a large physical body, and it also requires a large cerebellum in order to maintain a AMAT1VENESS 151 fund of reserve nerve power that is sufficient for pro- longed physical action. Therefore, every man or woman with a superior physique, has large amativeness. There is not a single exception. All athletes of every kind illustrate this law. The champions of all great contests in walking, running, jumping, swimming, lifting, boxing, bicycle and horseback riding, fencing, etc., are all men and women with large amativeness. There are no ex- ceptions nor can there be. A large cerebellum is abso- lutely essential to physical vigor, effectiveness and endurance. The endurance necessary to withstand the strain of a protracted and hard fought political contest, demands a large cerebellum. The same is true of a strenuous and protracted law-suit or any other severe contest. RELATION OF AMATIVENESS TO MENTAL GREATNESS Even mental greatness is largely dependent upon the cerebellum. The severe and protracted mental effort that is essential to great mental attainments, cannot be endured without a superior physique. And a superior physique cannot be built up and maintained without a large cerebellum. Therefore, all great lawyers, ministers, teachers, statesmen, physicians, merchants, actors, sing- ers, warriors, explorers, engineers, etc., are men and women endowed with well developed, healthful and 152 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN vigorous cerebellums, together with the strong ama- tiveness that is associated therewith. The men and women who are especially prominent and popular, are not those with a small, contracted cerebellum; thin, white, compressed lips; nor a short, narrow, weak chin. With the deficiency of the cere- bellum that is indicated by such lack of development in these parts, a man or woman would not have the phys- ical strength and endurance that are necessary to do the work required to render a person popular. Neither would such persons have the disposition or instinctive impulses necessary to cause them to say and do the kind of things that render men and women popular. THESE LAWS ILLUSTRATED BY ALL PROMINENT AND POPULAR MEN AND WOMEN The men and women who are to-day the most suc- cessful and popular as the leaders in any important line of effort, are therefore persons that are well sexed. All actors and actresses, singers, public readers, imper- sonators, lecturers, ministers, lawyers, doctors, states- men and all other public speakers and leaders of all kinds, are men and women who are well sexed. They are men and women whose heads and faces, physiques, voices and manners show that these persons are well sexed and that they have a strong love for the opposite sex. AMATIVENESS 153 These are the men and women who are especially desir- able as husbands and wives. The reader may attend public lectures, operas, meet- ings and entertainments of all kinds, where prominent and popular men and women may be seen, and each will be found to illustrate and confirm the statements that we nave made. There are no exceptions. There can be .none, and observations in private life will still further confirm our statements. AMATIVENESS AND SEXUALITY NOT ALL, BUT AN EX- CEEDINGLY IMPORTANT PART OF BOTH BEAUTY AND POPULARITY We do not mean to say, however, that sexuality is all that is required to render a person beautiful and pop- ular. Not by any means. But sexuality is a feature so very important that it is absolutely essential to both beauty and popularity. It is so important, that when it is excluded, there is not enough left in the person to give the qualities and powers essential to popularity. With sexuality eliminated, so much of the man or wo- man is lacking, that there is not enough left to give either beauty, efficiency or popularity. RECAPITULATION We find, then, that the popularity of men and wo- men is measured by the services that they are supposed 154 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN to have rendered to others, or that they are expected to render. Sexuality increases the ability to render valuable services, and it is, therefore, an important element of success and popularity. Among the im- portant qualities that are developed and enhanced by sexuality, are physical and intellectual strength and endurance, and beauty of face, figure, voice, attitudes, gestures, movements, conversation, disposition, manners and conduct. These qualities and powers render ladies and gentle- men attractive, pleasing, agreeable and serviceable to each other. The men and women with these qualities best developed, are the best men and women, and they are the most popular with each other because best. And they are consequently those first chosen as hus- bands and wives. If there are not enough of either sex to mate with all those of the other sex, it is therefore the inferior ones that are hot mated, and who conse- quently will not reproduce. Their stock will therefore become extinct. These laws consequently insure the largest proportion of children by the best parents, and the race is being continually improved thereby. CHAPTER XIII MASTURBATION— THE PHILOSOPHY OF ITS EVIL RESULTS The word masturbation is probably derived from two Latin words — manus, the hand, and stupro, to ravish. Its literal meaning is to ravish with the hand. And the word is supposed to have been coined for the express purpose of conveying that meaning. But whether this is true or not, it is certain that the word has long been used to denote an abuse of the sexual organs that is accomplished by means of the hands. This abuse con- sists in handling, rubbing, fingering or manipulating the sexual organs, for the purpose of exciting the sexual passions and producing certain sensations. This act is also called self -abuse, self-indulgence, self-pollution and various other names. THE MIND AS A FACTOR IN THIS VICE As before indicated, the purpose of this act is to produce pleasurable animal sensations in the sexual organs. And the victims of this vice perhaps expect these sensations to resemble those of proper and normal 156 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN sexual intercourse. At all events, the expectation or imagination is a very influential factor in this exceed- ingly injurious vice. As long as the imagination is healthful, the sexual organs may be properly bathed, or handled in any other way that is necessary to health and comfort, and no evil results will be caused thereby. But when the mind is filled with sensual, obscene or lascivi- ous thoughts, and the manipulation of the organs is for the very purpose of exciting passional sensations, the results are then very different. While the first is harm- less, proper and right, the latter is wrong, unnatural and destructive to both body and mind. The one is nec- essary to health. The other, destroys health. The proper care of the sexual organs is conducive to all the best interests of every boy and girl, man and woman. Masturbation, or any other abuse of these or- gans, subverts all the best interests of every one guilty of the practice. MASTURBATION SLOW BUT CERTAIN SUICIDE Masturbation is, in fact, one method of committing suicide. It is a method that is slow, gradual and in- sidious, but absolutely certain. There is no escape from its deadly effects. Every time the act is performed, it saps a part of the life forces. And its frequent and continued repetition will eventually destroy the victim's life entirely. During this process of gradual self-de- MASTURBATION 157 struction, the powers of mind and body slowly decrease and wither. One after another wanes to nothingness and disappears. Eventually there is nothing left but a most miserable wreck that is soon completely destroyed, and death closes the scene. INJURIOUS INFLUENCE OP MASTURBATOR'S MENTAL ATTITUDES One of the important reasons why masturbation is so very disastrous, may be explained as follows: The action of the mind that induces and consummates the act of masturbation, is unfavorable to health and vigor, and is directly opposite to the mental attitudes that build up reproductive powers. Masturbation is destruc- tive; the desire to reproduce, constructive. As we have already noted in previous chapters, the instinctive desire to reproduce, includes, or is accom- panied by, the instinctive desire to produce the best offspring possible. This desire to produce the best off- spring possible, guides, directs and influences the mind in a way that is favorable to all the best interests of the individual. It not only develops superiority in the organs most intimately related to reproduction, but it also develops all those mental and physical qualities that tend to render the work of reproduction, the greatest possible success. These qualities include those attri- 158 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN ftutes that render a person attractive to and popular with the opposite sex. MASTURBATION DESTRUCTIVE TO ALL THAT SEXUALITY BUILDS Masturbation, on the other hand, has no object in view except personal, sensual gratification. This de- velops no qualities that are of any use to anybody. It develops no qualities that are even pleasing to any- body. It does not even develop qualities that are of any service to the victim. Every quality developed by this vice, is against the interests of the victim, and is of no possible service to anybody else, except as an example of the disgusting results that the habit pro- duces. As the vice is practiced in secret, and does not re- quire the co-operation of a second person, there is no object in developing those qualities that would render the victim attractive to and popular with, others. The mind, therefore, so far as influenced by this habit, does not direct the life forces in a way that will develop such qualities. On the contrary, the influence of this vice is to destroy whatever of such qualities the victim may have already possessed. So far as this vice is concerned, the male has no use for those qualities that give the ability to compete with other males in the physical encounters often necessary MASTURBATION 159 to reproduction. The object of this vice is not repro- duction. And the qualities that give superior success in reproduction, are of no service in the perpetration of this act. The influence of the act, therefore, is to destroy and not to develop such qualities. The female does not need, in the practice of this vice, the qualities that are distinctively the result of feminity, and the mind does not develop them. And whatever may have been possessed at the beginning of the habit, even they will retrograde and disappear under the blasting influence of this vice. EFFECTS SIMILAR TO THOSE PRODUCED BY CASTRATION The results produced by castration illustrate these principles. An animal that is thus deprived of the abil- ity to reproduce, does not continue to develop those qualities and powers that assist in the work of repro- duction. On the contrary, the animal develops those qualities only that are of service to it in its changed condition. Masturbation exerts an influence upon a boy or girl that is similar to castration. There is one im- portant difference, however. Castration totally unsexes an animal at once. Masturbation is a slow, gradual unsexing. Castration immediately and radically changes the action of the mind. Masturbation produces a rad- ical change, but the change is effected in a manner so 160 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN gradual and insidious that the victim does not realize the change until it is well advanced. The results, how- ever, are quite similar and equally disastrous. The qualities that are given by superb sexuality, are all slowly destroyed, and gradually, one after another, disappear. DESTRUCTIVE TO SEXUALITY As the only object of masturbation is the self-grat- ification of sensuality, the mental states that are asso- ciated with the act, tend to develop only such qualities and organs as will contribute to this end. The mind does not, therefore, even develop the reproductive or- gans. It is only a part of the machinery of reproduc- tion that is directly involved in the act, and it is only the parts involved that the vice influences the mind to develop. Other parts retrograde, because the mental stimulus is withdrawn therefrom, and they consequently decrease in size and power. The one object of this act is to excite the nerves of sensation within the sexual organs and to produce pleasurable sensations thereby. NERVOUS WRECK If our reasoning throughout this work has been cor- rect, it must necessarily follow that masturbation will result in an increased excitability of these nerves of sensation. This excitability will become greater and greater, and all organs and powers that do not contrib- MASTURBATION 161 ute thereto, will become weaker and weaker as the perpetration of this act continues. The excitability and irritability of these nerves of sensation in the sexual organs, will therefore become intensely acute, and every other department of body and mind will gradually become weaker and weaker, until the victim will event- ually become a mere wreck, with such an intense irrita- bility of the sexual organs, that there will be an almost constant desire for self -defilement. These, as before stated, are the conclusions to which our reasoning naturally leads. And these conditions are exactly what observation proves to be the results produced by this unnatural act. Masturbation destroys all sexual attributes except t he excitability of the nerves of sensation in the sexual organs, and the qualities or powers that contribute there- to. And this excitability develops into an intense irri- tability that is even more destructive to everything good, than a weakness or even a paralysis of those nerves could possibly be THE ACT ABSOLUTELY UNNATURAL AND SELF-DESTROYING This act is, therefore, absolutely unnatural, and is ul- timately destructive to every physical and mental power. Sexual vigor and efficiency are no exceptions. Sexual- ity, in fact, is one of the very first qualities to be blighted, 162 PLAIN TALK YOUNG TO WOMEN and the ability to reproduce is in time totally destroyed. Of course a single act does not cause all of these wrongs. Nor do a dozen acts nor even many more. But every act contributes to the final result, and if the vice is continued, it will eventually produce all the dis- gusting conditions to which we have already alluded, besides innumerable distressing symptoms that have not been mentioned. ENSLAVEMENT OP ITS VICTIM One of the deplorable results of this vice, is the en- slavement of its victims. When the habit is acquired, it is very difficult to throw it off. When a person begins this vice, it is hard to stop. And the longer the vice is continued, the more difficult its cessation becomes. And every time the act is repeated, it increases the tightness of the entwining coils of habit. Every repe- tition of the act increases the hopelessness of the victim's slavery. Freedom is purchased only by a discontinu- ance of the act. And the discontinuance is very diffi- cult. If the habit has been long established, there is an almost irresistible impulse to repeat the act. And every repetition binds the victim still more closely. The only possible chance of relief lies in stopping the practice. And it is almost impossible to stop. MASTURBATION 163 ABNORMAL EXCITABILITY The abnormal action of the mind associated with this habit, causes the vital forces to center in the sex- ual organs. This, together with abnormal passion, causes uneasy, discomf ortable and irritable sensations therein. These sensations lead to an almost irresisti- ble impulse to handle, rub or scratch the organs. If the victim yields to this impulse, the passions are al- most sure to become still more excited, and further re- sistance is even more difficult. Handling the organs often increases their abnormal sensations, and these re- act upon the mind and cause lewd thoughts and desires, which still further augment the passions and the un- natural sensations in the sexual organs. The mind and the irritable sexual organs thus con- tinue to act and react upon each other, and the victim becomes a most deplorable, helpless and pitiable slave. Almost too disgusting to excite sympathy, yet most sadly in need of the assistance of a strong, well balanced mind and a kind heart. DRIFTING TOWARDS CERTAIN DESTRUCTION A person beginning this destructive vice, might be compared to a swimmer floating in the stream a consider- able distance above Niagara Falls. At the beginning it would be quite easy to regain the shore. But if the 164 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN poor deluded victim continues to drift towards the falls, it soon becomes very difficult to return or to reach the land. If he continues, inevitable destruction awaits him. To regain the shore is very difficult. But it must be reached, or he will be carried to certain destruction. And the longer he drifts, the more difficult it becomes to avert the impending calamity. It requires a firm resolve and a strong and continued effort. LOSS OP WILL POWER But the victim of masturbation has lost will power together with all other powers. A firm resolve and a strong determined action are among the things that are exceedingly difficult to the masturbator. And if the vice is sufficiently well established, this will power is almost entirely lost. The vice must stop or insanity and death will result. But to stop is almost impossible. THE VICTIM USUALLY NOT THE ONE MOST CENSURABLE The condition of such a person is indeed pitiable. And it becomes doubly pitiable when we consider that the victim is usually not the one who is most to blame. Little boys and girls often begin this habit in mere infancy, because the sexual organs are not kept clean, and the uncleanliness causes an itching and irritation that leads the little ones to rub and scratch the organs MASTURBATION 165 in endeavoring to obtain relief. This often leads to the habit of manipulating the organs for the very purpose of producing sensations therein. BAD ASSOCIATES Thousands of other boys and girls are taught the vice by older boys and girls and by servants and other irresponsible adults. In all such cases they fall more readily because their parents or guardians have left them unprotected by proper instruction. We think that in all such cases the parents and guardians are the ones who have done the greatest wrong, morally, and who are really the most to blame. We will venture the assertion that the cases in which this habit is acquired after ample instructions, are very rare indeed. And if there are any, it is because the victims have inherited passions that are practically ungovernable, and it is cer- tainly the parents and not the victims who are most responsible for that. But so far as results are concerned, it matters not who is to blame, it is the victim that pays the penalty. KNOWLEDGE A SAFE-GUARD We believe that most boys and girls have consider- able common sense, and that they will usually endeav- or to do whatever they can understand to be to their best 166 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN interests. And that so far as masturbation is con- cerned, those that err, most frequently do so through inherited tendencies or else in ignorance of the results. We believe that it is to the best interests of every- body, to make the environments of all humanity, and especially of boys and girls, such that the influences will all tend upward. And that in the absence of such en- vironments, the only safety to our boys and girls, lies in proper instruction. To withhold that instruction, under the circumstances that exist to-day, is abject cruelty to the average boy or girl. CHAPTER XIV SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS THAT EXPOSE THE MASTURBATOR'S GUILT CONGESTION IN THE SEXUAL ORGANS A direct result of the act of masturbation and of the mental states associated therewith, is to cause an abnormal quantity of blood to center in the sexual organs. This congestion of blood is one of the imme- diate causes of the abnormal sensitiveness and irritation that has already been described. The abnormal quan- tity of blood thus crowded into these parts, causes a feverish condition therein, and it distends and stretches the walls of the blood vessels and thus causes the blood vessels to unduly press upon the nerves. This congested, feverish condition, and the pressure upon the nerves, augment their irritability and sensi- tiveness and thus assist to intensify the conditions pre- viously mentioned. And besides the congestion of blood, the act of masturbation and the mental states with which it is associated, also destroy the equilibrium of the body's nerve force, diverting the nerve currents 168 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN from their usual channels and causing an abnormal quantity of nerve force to center in the sexual organs. CONDITION OF SEXUAL ORGANS Thus, the act itself, and the mental states associated therewith, together with the congestion of blood and nerve force produced thereby, all combine to augment the uneasy, sensitive, feverish, uncomfortable and irri- table condition of the masturbator's sexual organs. THE BRAIN AND ALL OTHER PARTS OF BODY, IMPOVERISHED But this is not all. The congestion of blood and nerve force not only produce the effects that we have explained, but all other parts of the body and brain are robbed of their just proportions of blood and nerve force in order to effect this congestion. All other parts of body and brain are therefore depleted and weakened because they are insufficiently supplied with blood and nerve force, and the sexual system is congested and injured because it is crowded with an excess that can- not be utilized. WEAK AND SICKLY DESTROYED MOST QUICKLY The most vigorous and able-bodied men and women could not resist the injurious consequences of this de- SIGNS OF MASTURBATORS GUILT 169 bilitating folly. But those who are already weak and sickly, would of course, be more quickly destroyed. The vice is, therefore, especially injurious to a boy or girl, because the immaturity of childhood, leaves them more weak and unable to withstand any drain upon the sys- tem. Even a limited practice of this vice is consequently very injurious to them. DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANS, PREVENTED And there is also another reason why it is especial- ly injurious during childhood. At that time the various organs of the body are undeveloped, and this abuse will prevent them from ever developing so well as they oth- erwise would. Even if the habit is abandoned later in life, such persons cannot acquire the superiority that was once possible, because the proper time for such development is then past. POSSESSION A gradual loss of those qualities that render the sexes agreeable and attractive to each other, are among the prominent signs of the masturbator's guilt. This is shown in a timidity of the sexes when in the presence of each other. There is a lack of confidence and self-pos- 170 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN session which render the victims unable to look people honestly in the face, and in various other ways. This is more noticeable in the males. In the female it might be mistaken for real feminine modesty. It appears very different, however, when closely observed. But there is no occasion to mistake these signs in the male. As the vice continues, it destroys the cour- age, self-reliance, hope, assurance, inclination to action and aggression that are well marked characteristics of the well sexed male. AVOID AND SHRINK FROM OPPOSITE SEX Boys and young men who are victims of this secret vice, avoid society and shrink from the presence of peo- ple in general. But they are especially afraid of girls and women. If forced to come into the presence of ladies, they dare not look at them. If they must talk to the ladies, they direct their gaze towards the floor or to one side. The effect upon the female is marked but less no- ticeable, because of her natural modesty. But the shrinking away from the opposite sex and the inability to act in a manner that would render her agreeable and attractive to the opposite sex, are very different from genuine feminine modesty, and need not be mis- taken. SIGNS OF MASTURBATORS GUILT 171 DESTRUCTION OF QUALITIES THAT RENDER THE SEXES ATTRACTIVE TO EACH OTHER As the only object of masturbation is the gratifica- tion of self, the entire action of the mind and all the effects of the act, tend to destroy those qualities that render the sexes mutually attractive and agreeable to each other. As this self -pollution continues, those at- tractive qualities given by sexuality, gradually wane and disappear, and the victim becomes absolutely repellent to a pure person of the opposite sex. EXTREME DEBILITY Health is slowly undermined and the victim gradu- ally becomes an invalid. There is a wasting away of the entire body and a progressing deterioration of every part and tissue. The muscles become weak and relaxed; the motions of the body are feeble and irreso- lute; the gait is weak and undecided; the chest is fre- quently bent forward and the head and shoulders drooped; the knees become weak and tottering; a gen- eral and extreme debility gradually ensues. PIMPLES UPON THE FACE Pimples appear upon the forehead, chin and near the nose, and sometimes upon the entire face. 172 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN NERVES OF SENSATION BLUNTED The nervous system is impaired and debilitated; the sense of touch becomes obtuse and less discriminating; taste is blunted and perverted and the victim loses an appetite for wholesome and nourishing foods and craves stimulants; the sense of smell loses its discrim- inating powers and but faintly perceives even those delightful odors breathed forth by nature and adding to the pleasure of all normal persons; the ear grows dull, hearing becomes indistinct, and there is a decrease in the capacity to derive pleasure from music, the songs of birds, the hum of insects and all those delightful sounds common to Nature's happier moods. Instead, there is often a constant ringing in the ears suggestive of what is and what might have been. BRAIN DULL AND DEADENED The brain becomes impaired, deadened and dull; the blood therein ceases to be normally distributed, and becomes congested, at times, in various parts, resulting in aches, pains, heaviness and uncomfortable, distressed feelings. MIND UNRESPONSIVE, WEAK, DEJECTED, MELANCHOLY The mind becomes unresponsive, weak, feeble and ■dull; any systematic application to study is extremely SIGNS OF MASTURBATORS GUILT 173 irksome and exhausting, and eventually it becomes impossible; mental energy and elasticity gradually decline, and by imperceptible degrees the mind be- comes utterly fickle, weak and feeble; the power of application, perception and reason, continually diminish, and memory slowly decays. As a result of this pro- gressive decadence, the victim early experiences an occasional dejection of spirits, which is gradually replaced by an habitual depression, and then a deeper gloom. Eventually a cheerless melancholy gathers in. permanent darkness over the shattered mind. SLEEP UNREFRESHING Sleep gradually ceases to be sound, sweet and refreshing, and becomes restless, disturbed, broken and full of obscene and distressing dreams. SELF-REPROACH, REMORSE, AND MISERY UNSPEAKABLE The mind of the self-afflicted sufferer is filled with self -contempt, disgust and reproach; there is no relish for the ordinary amusements and pleasures of life, and no enjoyment of society; the mind is continually tor- mented with vague anxiety and fear, and is constantly full of disquietude, anguish and dread; the victim sighs and weeps; tears flow without any definite apprehension 174 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN of their cause; remorse, despair and misery unspeaka- ble are a direct result of this self-destroying vice. INSANITY Reason is frequently dethroned and insanity usurps its place; and the vice is usually not discontinued even then; the victim seems to be even more relentlessly driven to repeat the act, and the most watchful care of the attendants often fails to prevent it. Hand-cuffs and devices of various kinds have been used to restrain the victim from repeating the act, but even these severe measures are only partially successful. Among the unfortunate inmates of our lunatic asylums, none are more incorrigible, nor more utterly incurable, than the deluded victims of this wretched vice. The deceit and cunning so common to insane persons, is craftily exercised in devising means and securing opportunities to elude the vigilance of the keepers and indulge the tyrant lust. LOSS OF TONE IN ALL PARTS OF BODY Heart, lungs, blood-vessels, liver, stomach, intes- tines, kidneys, skin, and all other organs and tissues of the body, lose their tone and become weak, feeble, dis- eased and utterly incapable of properly performing their functions. There is not an organ, part, tissue or SIGNS OF MASTURBATORS GUILT 175 faculty of the entire body or mind that escapes. There is not a spot in the entire body that feels strong, vigor- ous and comfortable. LESS ABILITY TO RESIST COLD AND ALL EPIDEMICS Each victim suffers in proportion to the original lack of strength, health, vitality and vigor, the fre- quency of the act, and the length of time that the habit has continued. Even in those cases in which the habit has been of short duration and the act infrequent, there is some impairment of the constitution. Even then the offender is more easily and more powerfully affected by those causes which disturb and depress vitality. There is less ability to endure fatigue, heat, cold, sud- den changes of temperature, etc- There is greater liability to colds and all epidemics; digestion is more easily disordered and deranged; dyspepsia, consumption, rheumatism, nervous disorders and all chronic diseases are less readily resisted; and whenever tired, depressed in health or slightly sick, there is a stronger tendency to depression of spirits, melancholy and despair. STILL HOPE FOR ALL WHO CAN STOP, NOW Dark and dismal as this picture is, there is still hope for all offenders who can and will stop, now, and 176 PLAIN TALK YOUNG TO WOMEN who will abandon the vice forever. All such need not be discouraged. The fact that there is the ability to stop, is positive evidence that an improvement and cure are possible. If too much injury has been done, it will be impossible for the patient to ever acquire the supe- riority that was once within reach. But the retrograde movement may be stopped and the journey toward better health and more vigor may be commenced by the adoption of proper remedial measures. An immediate and complete repair, however, is im- possible. It is only by slow and imperceptible degrees that a cure is accomplished. The cure is a gradual building process. But with patience and persever- ance in the use of proper remedial measures, the strength, vigor, vitality, efficiency and health will be slowly built up. And although the fine form, superior physical powers and intellectual superiority that were once possible, may never be fully acquired, neverthe- less, good health and excellent abilities are within the reach of all those who will permanently abandon the vice. CHAPTER XV SEXUAL EXCESSES— CHASTITY— MARRIAGE Even the normal and proper action of the sexual system, becomes abnormal and injurious when excessive. While marriage, sexual intercourse, fatherhood and motherhood, are conducive to many of the highest and noblest qualities of mankind, they are, nevertheless, also destructive. And even sexual intercourse that does not result in offspring, if too frequently repeated, will gradually exhaust both the physical and mental powers. It does not have the same disastrous effects upon the mind as the effects produced by masturbation. It does not obliterate the masculine and feminine charac- teristics, but it does exhaust the physical powers, and thus detracts from the ability to perform either physi- cal or mental work. And if it becomes greatly exces- sive, the physical powers are so much reduced that there is only weakness and inefficiency. GREATER LIABILITY TO DISEASE And in this weakened condition, there is much greater liability to diseases of all kinds. There is not 178 PLAIX TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN sufficient strength and vitality to resist disease, and persons thus reduced in strength, vigor and vitality, are very frequently the victims of colds and any epidemic that may be prevalent, besides chronic diseases of vari- ous kinds. Such persons frequently sicken and die, when they could readily have resisted the disease that .afflicted them, if their powers had not been reduced. MOTHERHOOD ^Motherhood is one of the highest, noblest and most important missions of woman. But excessive child bearing, leaves neither time nor the mental and physi- cal power to accomplish other things equally import- ant. The children born are necessarily inferior, be- cause the mother's strength and vitality are not suffi- cient to produce superior babies. And the mother is quite likely to lose her life either in gestation or child- birth, or by some disease that her weakened and re- duced condition prevents her from successfully resist- ing. Either continence or moderation in the use of the sexual system, is therefore absolutely essential to mentality and physical power and effectiveness. And a moderate exercise of the maternal function, is abso- lutely essential to the production of superior children.* *For further information regarding sexual excesses, see '•'The Doctor's Plain Talk to Young Men," by the author. SEXUAL EXCESSES 179 CHASTITY Another thing, that is absolutely essential to the production of the best children, is the proper protec- tion of their mother during gestation and the nursing period. During the time she carries her babies within her womb and nourishes -them by her own blood, and also during the time she nourishes them from her breast, a mother needs assistance and protection. Dur- ing this period she is dividing her time and her strength with her babes. She is, in fact, dividing her veiy life with them. She is therefore, very poorly prepared or qualified to battle with the world and protect and pro- vide for herself and babies. During this time some- body must protect the mother and provide for her wants and also those of her young children. OBLIGATION OF HUSBAND Nobody is under greater obligation to her. at this time, than the father of her babies. Nobody else has equal interest in her welfare and that of her children. The babies are his as well as hers, and everysense I kindness, sympathy and justice demands that he shall assist in their support and in furthering their interests m eveiy way. It is more convenient and economical for the mother to look after the immediate details in the care of the family, and for the father of the babes 180 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN to afford protection for them and their mother and to supply whatever is required for their sustenance, cloth- ing, shelter, education, etc. CERTAINTY REGARDING WHO IS A BABY'S FATHER, INSURED ONLY BY WIFE'S CHASTITY But no man is under any especial obligation to the babies of any other man, nor to their mother. And it is the right of every man to be reasonably certain that the babies he thus supports, protects and provides for, are surely his, and that the woman he thus supports, is surely the mother of his babies instead of those of another man. All this can be insured only by chastity on the part of his wife. Of course she has equal rights. But if she has been chaste, there can be no question in her mind in regard to who is the father of her babies. It is impossible for any other man to be their father so long as she is true to her husband. It is practically impossible for any other man to be the father of her babies without her knowing that there had been such an opportunity. But such is not the case with the husband. He might be perfectly true, and yet every baby that his wife should bear, might be the offspring of another man, and the husband might forever be ignorant of the fact. His only safety, therefore, is in the chastity of SEXUAL EXCESSES 181 his wife. And his only assurance, is his confidence in her and the evidence of her chastity. THE WORLD'S ESTIMATE OF CHASTITY Any deviation from chastity on the part of either husband or wife, is a great wrong to the other. Every- body seems to instinctively feel and understand this fact, and the injured party is more or less excused for almost any retaliation no matter how severe. Even a murder is partly excused when the cause of the crime is infidelity to the marriage vows. Our laws and customs demand that a man shall have but one wife; and a woman, but one husband; and that each shall be true to the other. And any deviation from this is considered so great a wrong, that the injured party is at least partially excused for any crime that may be committed in the heat of passion resulting from a knowledge of such wrongs. In all civilized nations, the wrong is considered so great, that the wronged party is entitled to separation and divorce. The rights of both parties can be protected only when each is true to the other. And any deviation from this course is liable to result in contentions, troubles and crimes cf the most dire and disastrous kinds. Society, without this chastity, would be in a continual turmoil, and all our domestic relations would be exceedingly unstable and unreliable. Children would 182 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN be left unprotected and the parents of many would be unknownt This uncertainty regarding parentage would result in endless contentions and law-suits regarding the inheritance of property. A girl's crowning virtue As a safeguard to chastity in marriage, prudence demands chastity before marriage. So important is this considered, that chastity on the part of a girl, is considered her greatest virtue. If she has not been chaste before marriage, people seem to instinctively feel that there is less assurance that she will be chaste after marriage. A DOUBLE STANDARD OP MORALS AND THE REASONS THEREFOR Society demands more of a girl in this respect than of a young man. Many think, unjustly, but there are reasons therefor. And while we have no disposition to excuse young men for any of their wrongs, it does not seem wise to disregard certain facts. The fact that a man has become a father, does not in most respects, detract from his ability to become the father of other children, and to protect and support them and their mother. However he may have been affected morally, by the act, his physical injury, if any, is imperceptible. SEXUAL EXCESSES 183 UNWEDDED MOTHERHOOD But this is not true of a girl. She cannot carry a babe within her womb for nine months, and then give it birth, and nurse and care for it for a much longer time, and still be as well prepared to be the wife of another man and to bear and care for his babies. She is the proper one to care for her first babe. And even if its own father supports it, she has not as much time, vitality, vigor and strength to bestow upon another man and his babies, as would have been possible if she had been chaste before marriage. THE FATHER SUFFERS ONLY IN MORALS The young man has suffered only from a moral point of view. And if he supports the babe, or both the babe and its mother, he suffers, in addition to mor- als, only in the cost of such support, and the time and labor demanded therefor. And he can escape these burdens unless the mother is assisted by the laws and those who enforce them. But there is no escape of any kind for the girl. When she becomes pregnant, she cannot shift the burden of carrying the babe, to the husband nor to any one else. Her escape is impos- sible. She must herself bear the burden, no matter how devoid of morals. The disadvantages of pregnancy and childbirth are 184 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN so great to her, independent of morals, that few men would desire her for a wife. But independent of moral considerations, the disadvantages of fatherhood, are to a young man, so slight, that he is not disqualified for a husband, and if he is desirable in other respects, many may still wish to marry him. Not being disqual- ified for a husband, except morally, he is still welcomed into society. But it is not so with the girl who has become a mother. Her disqualification is so great that she is not desirable as a wife. And other ladies hope to gain favor by shunning, exposing and still further injuring this unfortunate one. THE ONLY SAFE COURSE Now, we have no disposition to excuse nor condone this state of affairs. But being fully assured of its existence, we deem it the part of wisdom to recognize the facts, make them plain to our readers, and urge, that no matter how wrong may be the conduct of some men, and no matter how unkind and unjust society may be, it is better to realize and understand the facts and to act accordingly. Whether right or wrong, no unmarried girl can afford to assume the risk of deviating from the path of chastity. The danger is too imminent, and the results of unwedded motherhood, are too extremely disastrous SEXUAL EXCESSES 185 and destructive to all earthly prospects. The risk of sexual intercourse cannot be safely assumed under the promise of marriage, an engagement nor even on the eve of a wedding. Even then, sudden sickness, an acci- dent or some other cause might delay or prevent the wedding. Marriage is instituted for the protection of husband and wife and offspring. And it is only in marriage that reproduction or the act that may result in reproduction, is wise. Marriage is a notice to the world that the par- ties have entered into this relation and that each agrees to assume the cares and responsibilities of reproduction, as well as the pleasures that may be connected there- with. WHAT COMMON SENSE DEMANDS Entirely independent of morality and religion, the great laws of Nature and the demands of society, offer sufficient rewards and punishments to induce any sensi- ble and well informed girl to duly value her chastity. Common sense will lead her to choose the path of safety and her own best interests. And this path leads to chastity. If she does not take this path and avoid troub- le, her partner in the mistake, after it is too late for her to save herself, is very liable to do what seems to lim to be to his own best interests, and leave her to bear her troubles as she may. 186 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN A very large proportion of men and women seem to be so constituted that they are blind to everything that does not appear to them to be to their best interests. This characteristic is so very strong and influential that they will often devise some kind of an excuse to justify them in doing whatever they wish. They will often err and still justify or excuse themselves. And no matter how great might be the obligation of such a man to a woman, he would leave her to ruin if he thought it would further his own interests to do so. As it would be impossible for most women to detect this character- istic in a man, their only safety lies in continually keep- ing on the safe side. PRUDENCE Even though a woman may yield only upon the most earnest solicitation, and with no desire on her part, the results are still the same. And even though the one to whom she has yeilded, may be ever so kind and just and conscientious, and may fully intend to protect her and to make her his wife, still the chances of trouble are too great for the act to be prudent. No ordinarily prudent business man would assume any such risk in regard to a business transaction. DO NOT UNDERSTAND THEIR OWN CHARACTER There are many people that do not even understand SEXUAL EXCESSES 187 themselves. They often do entirely different from what they had intended to do or had even expected that they ever could do. There is something in the charac- ter of many men that leads them to prefer for a wife, a woman that has never submitted to coition until after the marriage ceremony = And even though she yields to such a man, and to him only, and in response to his most earnest and persistent solicitation, nevertheless, a woman is liable to be discarded for another when this man actually marries. No matter how kind and how sympathetic and utterly unselfish she may have been, and that her act was entirely for him and without any desire whatever on her part, nevertheless, such a man instinctively feels that she should not have consented. And while he may not understand it himself, he loses his former respect, regard and appreciation for her, and prefers another for his wife. One of the reasons for this, may be the fact that prudence is one of the important qualities of a good wife and mother, and it is very imprudent to take such a risk. At all events, such a man will often try and frequently succeed in finding an excuse that he thinks justifies him in discarding the woman who has risked her all for him, and sometimes, when it means the ab- solute ruin of her. Of course all men do not have such a character. But manv of them do, and thev are often totallv un- 188 PLAIN TALK YOUNG TO WOMEN aware of the fact until they are actually tested. Safety, therefore, lies only in abstaining until after the mar- riage. AN INJUSTICE TO MEN There is, however, one injustice done regarding the men. An injustice that can perhaps be better righted by being better understood. We refer to the injustice of practically accusing men of intentionally ruining women. When a man and woman have been indiscreet and pregnancy and childbirth result, it is quite com- mon to hear people speak of the fact, as the man hav- ing ruined the woman. And they often speak of it as though the man alone is to blame, and that the ruin of the woman was his real object in the wrong committed. This is by no means a fair explanation of the mat- ter. This is not the intention of the man. His object in the act is sexual gratification. The ruining of the woman most likely never entered his mind. He fre- quently forgets what the result might be. And if he does think of results, he hopes for the best. And when disaster follows, unless he is exceptionally selfish, cold and heartless, he greatly deplores the fact and would gladly undo the wrong. And unless he thinks that his own interests would be defeated, he would gladly do what he could to reinstate her. He sympa- thizes with her and he greatly regrets their indiscretion. SEXUAL EXCESSES 189 But unless he is familiar with gestation, childbirth and motherhood, he does not fully realize how very great was their indiscretion, nor how great the woman's suf- fering and the disaster to her. INJUSTICE TO WOMEN It is also an injustice to herself for a woman to take this view of the matter. It often leads her to excuse herself and to conclude that the man is the only one that is really to blame. That it was all his fault and that she is the only one that really suffers. A MORE SENSIBLE VIEW There is a much more just and sensible view of the matter. And that is, that they are usually both about equally to blame. And while the woman may be en- tirely ruined, nothing was farther from the real inten- tion of the man. Of course there are exceptions. But usually, their sinning is about equal, and both hope for the best, if results are considered at all. The whole influence of sexuality and sexual passion is to make the male brave, bold, courageous, aggres- sive, persistent and positive. Equal sexuality and sex- ual passion on the part of the female, renders her as decidedly receptive, yielding, responsive and negative. 190 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN The male gives, the female receives. The male pursues, the female delights to be pursued. The female sometimes seeks the male, but it is only to give her an opportunity to enjoy his positive and aggressive manner toward her. Soon as they meet, she assumes a passive, receptive manner. PICNICS, SOCIALS AND PARTIES Girls delight to struggle and tussle with boys and men for the very purpose of experiencing and enjoy- ing the strength, aggressiveness, power and masterful- ness of the man. And men equally enjoy the exhibi- tion of their superior physical strength and masterful- ness. They delight to control and defeat the girls, but gallantly and considerately and with the pretense of a genuine struggle. Many of the games that are indulged in at picnics, socials and parties are for the very purpose of gratifying these natural desires of both the girls and. young men. SCHOOL GIRLS AND BOYS School girls often delight in teasing the boys, and they sometimes run off with their hats simply to get the boys to run after them, or to otherwise manifest a positive, aggressive attitude toward them. If the boys decline to run after them and to apparently struggle with them, the sport soon loses its charms for the girls SEXUAL EXCESSES 191 and they feel neglected, annoyed, and often, indignant. They really have a contempt for the goody, goody boys who are submissive and deficient in manly courage, positiveness and aggressiveness. PASSION In sexual passion these conditions are all greatly intensified. The male is more aggressive and the female, more yielding. But the male does not necessarily "take advantage" of the female. There is no advantage to be taken. He is as nearly helpless as she. The woman is often disposed to think and to say that the man "got the advantage " of her, and to offer this as a partial excuse for her own conduct. But it would often be just as near correct to speak of the woman taking advantage of the man. Her negative, receptive, sub- missive manner towards him, is an invitation just as hard for him to resist, as his aggressive solicitations are hard for her to resist. The safety of both is in avoiding the conditions that render resistance difficult. A physician's experience In our experience as a physician, we have been brought face to face with facts that absolutely disprove what unfortunate women have often claimed as an excuse for their conduct. Of course there are excep- tions. There are cases in which the man is the one 192 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN most at fault, and others in which the blame is nearly all his. And there are others in which the woman is the one most responsible. But in the majority of cases, there is but little difference. And women will be safer to recognize this fact and to act accordingly. SECRET THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS A man seldom solicits a woman to yield her virtue unless he thinks that she is disposed to encourage his advances. And women will be much more secure from the dangers and annoyance of such proposals, if they will make their own thoughts, conversation, manners and conduct, so far above suspicion that there can be no mistake in regard to their wishes. If they will first, in their most secret thoughts, really desire to be chaste, and will then give their desires expression in their every word, intonation, ges- ture, attitude and act, it is very seldom that any man will attempt to lead them astray. And if they really desire and/eeZ right, their expressions will be right. ONLY HALF IN EARNEST In a great many cases, trouble arises from the fact that they are only half in earnest. They may intellect- ually prefer to take the right path, but their feelings tend toward the opposite course, and they cannot avoid the expression of their feelings. Men instinctively SEXUAL EXCESSES 193 recognize the expression of these feelings, and many of them find it exceedingly difficult to resist the tempta- tion to respond to these secret desires, even though they respect the woman in every sense of the word, and intellectually, they greatly prefer to protect rather than to destroy her chastity. EACH ABOUT EQUALLY RESPONSIBLE These expressions of feeling, are an invitation to the man, that sometimes actually amount to a ban- ter. And it is not surprising that the man often fails to resist making advances in response to such invi- tations. As a rule, men instinctively appreciate the inherent chastity of a pure-minded woman, and intellectually, at least, they prefer to protect her. But when temptation is offered, they are no less human than she. And, as the man is the active one, and the woman the passive recipient of advances, it seems as though the man is the one most responsible, when, in reality, their respon- sibilities are about equal. And when the man is entirely responsible for the first advances, if he is met with genuine opposition, it is seldom that this opposition will not be respected except by actual criminals We fully realize that much of what has been state 194 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN in this chapter and in the two preceding, is unneces- sary for a large part of our readers. But there are others who do need it all, and we have written for their benefit. But our duty is not completed by simply pointing out these wrongs. To finish our work, we must more fully explain the remedies. This we shall attempt in the pages that follow. CHAPTER XVI COMMON SENSE TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS There are two principal causes that are responsible for most cases of sexual abuse or sexual indiscretion. First, sexual passions that are so strong or excitable that it is difficult to control them. Second, the bad influence of other people. The cure for sexual wrongs consists in subduing or modifying the sexual passions if they are too strong or too easily excited, in wisely controlling and directing the sexual activities, and in building desirable mental qualities together with bodily strength and vigor. The methods explained in the following pages will assist in the accomplishment of these objects. SEXUAL PASSION Perhaps we should more fully explain, before pro- ceeding further, that there is a great difference in the sexual passions of different people. Many girls do not have strong sexual passions. There are those who do not even know what sexual passion is. Some girls grow up and marry without 196 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN ever having experienced a sexual desire, and they do not even realize that there is such a thing. They never dreamed that there are men and women whose instinctive sexual desires are so very strong and ardent that they are practically uncontrollable. Other girls, even before they have fully attained the development that occurs at puberty, begin to exper- ience feelings and desires that almost drive them to self-abuse, and they would find it almost impossible to resist sexual intercourse if the opportunity should be presented. Others have considerable sexual passion but it is not so strong that they cannot readily control it. These are very much more fortunate than those who are so extremely passionate. And perhaps they are also more fortunate than those with no passion. At all events, they are safe when they are under proper influences. But if they are uninformed, and especially if they are placed under the influence of those whose tendencies are downward, many of these girls will fall. It is these, and those with very strong passions, that especially need proper information and good influences. RELATION BETWEEN SEXUAL PASSION AND INTELLECT Sexual passion is a product of the animal part of men and women. It is possessed by the lower animals TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS 197 just the same as by human beings. It is an instinct or feeling. It is not a part of the intellect. But the intellect may guide, control and direct it. And this is one of the attributes in which human beings are supe- rior to the lower animals. The higher grades of human beings have intellect- ual and moral powers sufficient to enable them to prop- erly guide and control their appetites and passions. But the lower animals do not have this control over their propensities. The instincts, appetites and pas- sions control the lower animals, and also the lower grades of human beings. But among the higher grades of human beings, the intellect and morals are stronger than the appetites and passions, and the stronger powers of the mind, control those that are weaker. THE ANIMAL PART OF MAN AND THE HIGHER FACULTIES The animal part of man is absolutely essential to his well being. But the animal part is not the whole man, and it is not even the highest part. Therefore it should not be permitted to overpower his higher facul- ties nor to retard their development. The wiser plan is to make the animal part of man serve the best interests of his higher faculties. 198 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN SHALL WE ENDEAVOR TO KILL ANIMAL PASSIONS OR TO WISELY DIRECT THEM? This is accomplished, not by killing animal appetites, passions and desires, as many have wished to do, but by properly modifying, controlling, guiding and directing them. They are thus made servants to the moral and intellectual faculties. So far as the majority of people are concerned, it would be impossible for them to entirely suppress sexual desires. And it is a question whether or not it would be wise to do so even if they could. But there is no question regarding the wisdom of properly con- trolling and guiding these desires. This can be done, and it is entirely practical and it will conduce to all of man's best interests. METHODS THAT DO NOT REQUIRE A PHYSICIAN We will now investigate some of the best methods of treatment for self-abuse, sexual excesses, ungovern- able sexual passions, and the ill health and impaired mentality resulting therefrom. We shall confine our discussions to those methods that do not require a physician. These are all that will be required in most cases. But if a case does not respond to these methods, the patient should then have the benefit of medical treatment. But she should not attempt to use medi- TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS 199 cines except under the direction of a competent physi- cian. As most doctors give but little attention to these cases, they are, consequently, but poorly qualified to treat them. And if the patient cannot secure the ser- vices of a good, competent and conscientious physician, it will be better for her to discard drugs entirely and to employ still further the measures that we shall now explain. TREATMENT BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL The mind and body being both affected in these cases of sexual weakness, the patients require both mental and physical treatment. There must first be a decided change in the attitude of the patient's mind. The thoughts, feelings and desires that first led to her wrong, and that induced its continuation, these must all be changed to a very different class of thoughts, desires, feelings and ambitions. She should fully and unequivocally decide that her past habits, thoughts and desires have been a sad mis- take, and that she will now build the kind of physical and mental powers that vail be of actual benefit to her. STARTING ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY If she is not fully convinced that this will be a great improvement upon her past life, there are numerous 200 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN good books upon these subjects, and she should read enough of them to fully convince her. They are all helpful in some way, and each will render her additional assistance. Our " Plain Talk to Young Men " is decid- edly different from this work, in its presentation of the subjects treated, and the patient may find therein just what she needs to make the entire subject clear to her. And whenever that object is fully accomplished, and her mental energies are consequently turned into more beneficial channels, that moment she has started on the road to recovery. THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS The thoughts and feelings that she has encouraged since first beginning her wrong habits, have directed too much of her life forces into the sexual organs. This has caused a congestion therein and it has robbed other parts of her body. Now, as her mind becomes more nearly normal in its action, her blood and nerve forces will be better distributed to other parts of the body, and she will build up those powers that will be of real value to her. Both her mind and body will slowly grow stronger. The improvement may be imperceptible for a long time, but it will slowly take place and will event- ually be plainly seen. The bad effects of her vice were slow but sure in making their appearance, and her cure can occur only by the same slow and imperceptible TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS 201 degrees. But it is equally sure if the patient will faith- fully perform her part. REMOVE THE CAUSE The bad habits that caused her weakness, must, of course, be discontinued. If the cause of her weakness is marital excesses, these sexual expenditures must be reduced to a point of moderation. If masturbation is the cause, this vice must be stopped entirely. If the case is not a very bad one, discontinuing the cause that produced the wrong, and establishing a normal action of the mind, are all that will be required to effect a cure. But cases of longer standing, and those in which the repetition of the vice has been frequent, these may require additional measures. When the habit of sexual abuse has continued for considerable time, and especially when the passions are decidedly strong, it is a very difficult matter to ever discontinue the vice, and the patient who thoroughly succeeds even in this, has already won a victory of no small importance. The control of the passions and the cure of the weakness and disorders caused by sexual abuse, will all "be further assissted by the measures that we shall now describe. 202 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN CLEANLINESS Cleanliness of the sexual organs is essential to their health and vigor. This cleanliness does not usually require injections. But within the lips of the vulva, and all other parts that may be cleansed by the exter- nal use of clean water, and soap when necessary, these parts should be bathed often enough to keep them clean. Besides other demands for cleanliness, there are natural secretions that soon decay and give rise to a peculiar odor. These decayed secretions cause an irri- tation. And to guard against this irritation, the secre- tions must be frequently removed. Bathing the parts two or three times a week, or even less frequently may be sufficient in some cases. But others will require bathing every day. The cleansing should always be done before any irritation or itching has commenced. If water is used as cool as comfort will permit, this bathing will also tend to relieve any congestion of the parts. Common salt or sea salt added to the water is sometimes beneficial. SITZ BATH If the patient will sit in a tub of water as cool as comfort will admit, this will tend to still further relieve the congestion of the sexual organs. The water should be sufficient to come well up to the top of her hips or TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS 203 even higher, and she should remain in the bath from five to twenty minutes or longer. The bath will often be improved by the addition of sea salt or common table salt. The heat of the body soon warms the water, and it will often be beneficial to add cold water as the bath proceeds. The nerves that supply the sexual organs are given off from the spinal cord at the " small of the back." If the water comes well up over these parts, and the back is vigorously rubbed while the patient is still in the bath, she will be still further benefitted. WHEN THE BATH IS MOST BENEFICIAL Whenever the passions are most liable to become excited, or whenever the temptation to sexual abuse is greatest, then is a good time for a bath. If this time is soon after retiring, a good time for the bath is just before getting into bed. And if the bath is followed by the vigorous use of dumb-bells, Indian clubs or any other vigorous exercise, the benefit will be still great- er. In cleansing the sexual organs, the patient should be careful not to excite the passions. Her mind should not be permitted to dwell upon any subject that would favor the excitation. Chafing the skin, after the bath, is beneficial to other parts of the body; but such ma- nipulations should not approach the sexual organs as 204 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN long as there is danger of exciting the sexual passions thereby. A FULL BATH A full bath should be taken often enough to keep the body thoroughly clean and the pores of the skin unobstructed. All bodily wastes should be freely car- ried off, and this cannot be done when the pores of the skin are obstructed. DIET Rich pastry of all descriptions, rich gravies, oys- ters and fish, all tend to stimulate the sexual passions. Tea, coffee, mustard, horse-radish, pepper sauce and spices are all stimulating and more or less injurious to everybody, and they are especially injurious to the vic- tims of any kind of sexual abuse. Wine and all forms of intoxicants are especially stimulating to the sexual passions. All the articles that we have named and all those that are similar, are especially injurious to everybody with strong passions, and such things are still more injurious to those who are already suffering from sex- ual wrongs. NOURISHMENT WITHOUT STIMULATION The diet of these patients should be plain and nour- ishing, cooling and easily digested, but not stimulating. TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS 205 Beef, mutton, pork, poultry and game, all tend, more or less, to stimulate passion, and they should be indulged in only moderately. But these are not so bad as the articles before mentioned, and these have the advantage of being decidedly nourishing. Among the best foods, are oatmeal, graham meal, wheaten grits, beans, peas, bread made from the whole wheat flour, and nearly all kinds of fruit and vege- tables. Pork is one of the most objectionable of the meats. Nourishment — force and building materials — without excitation, stimulation or difficulty of digestion, are the objects to be sought. SAFE GUARDS The constant exercise of either the mind or body, during all waking hours, will greatly assist in controll- ing the sexual passions and in curing all sexual wrongs. The food that is appropriated by the body, is being constantly transformed into vital force. This force must be expended in some way. Sexual abuse causes too much of this vital force to center in the sexual organs. And when a reform is attempted, it is very difficult to prevent the vital forces from still con- tinuing to center in the sexual system. This disposition of the vital force has become a fixed habit of the system. And all habits are hard to 206 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN break. As vital force accumulates, it will gather in the sexual system unless it is drawn to other parts of the body by physical and mental exercise. And the brain and body being weak in proportion to their deple- tion, it is in the same proportion difficult to exercise either mind or body. But by a persistent effort, the habits of the body may be changed and the vital forces may be normally distributed throughout the body. SECRET THOUGHTS There is another reason for the persistent exercise of mind and body. One of the causes of excessive sexual passion and of sexual abuses, is the lewd or lascivious thoughts that enter the mind. It is there- fore very important to keep such thoughts out of the mind. And the best way to keep these thoughts out, is to keep other thoughts in. Anything therefore that will interest the patient and occupy her mind in a harm- less way, will be beneficial. And she should earnestly endeavor to become interested in something, and to keep her mind busy in a way that will benefit her. Music, art, science, literature, history, mathematics, chemistry, botany, horticulture or any other useful thing that will keep her mind busy, will prove beneficial. PHYSICAL CULTURE And any kind of physical work or exercise will draw TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS 207 the vital forces to the exercising muscles and will consequently assist to build up these muscles. It will also be of service by drawing the vital forces away from the sexual organs, and will thus tend to relieve the congestion therein. Housework, raising flowers, using dumb-bells or Indian clubs, and all kinds of phys- ical culture, are beneficial. Physical games of all kinds — croquet, tennis, golf, basket ball, etc., are good exer- cise and beneficial. Horseback and bicycle riding or any other kind of physical exercise or physical work of any kind, may be made to assist her. RELATION OF PASSION TO PHYSICAL AND MENTAL EFFORT It is impossible for the passions to become greatly excited as long as a person is engaged in vigorous phys- ical exertions. If a person whose passions are greatly excited, will engage in vigorous exercise, the passions must subside. The passions cannot exist without the vital forces being centered in the sexual organs. And it is impossible for a person to exercise vigorously with- out centering the vital forces in the exercising muscles. As the vital forces cannot be centerd in both sys- tems at the same time, it follows, that a person could not possibly maintain sexual passion during protracted and vigorous physical exercise. The same laws apply to mental exercise. Sexual 208 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN passion cannot continue during hard study or any other kind of vigorous mental work THE WHOLE MATTER IN A NUT SHELL We may therefore sum up the whole matter in a few words. Excessive sexual passion will die out of starva- tion if it is simply let alone. If the patient declines to stimulate it by thought or any kind of physical stimu- lus, but will energetically exercise both mind and body, the abnormal sexual passions must gradually disappear. The patient may therefore engage in any kind of physical or mental work or play, and she will be bene- fitted thereby. And the more she builds up her mind and body, the less difficulty she will have with the sexual passions. Work, consequently, is her salvation. And it not only frees her from the tyranny of sexual passion, but it also builds the physical and mental powers that will be of inestimable value to her. She thus becomes master of herself and uses her body as a con- venient machine to do her bidding. During the period of her struggling, when her sexual passions are becoming the master, if the patient will arise and run, or swing dumb-bells or clubs, or the broom, or engage in any kind of vigorous work or play, she can soon conquer the passions. And after the physical and mental work have been practiced for weeks and months and years, the passions will have been TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS 209 placed under perfect control and the patient will have acquired physical and mental power that will be of inestimable value to her as long as she lives. Is it not worth the effort ? ASSOCIATES Through all these efforts the patient will be greatly benefitted by the society of those who will amuse, entertain and interest her, and thus help her to keep her mind away from forbidden subjects. Young ladies and gentlemen, and older ones, too, will all help her, provided they are themselves pure. Those who are hopeful, happy, cheerful, light-hearted, earnest and ambitious, but who have no tendency toward sexual wrongs, will greatly assist the patient, and she should associate with such persons as freely as circumstances will permit. But she should persistently shun all those of either sex, who in any way lead her most secret thoughts toward dangerous subjects. POSSIBILITIES OF A SINGLE THOUGHT A single unfortunate thought may suggest feelings that will augment and intensify until they are uncon- trollable, and will lead to an act that will be the cause of sorrows and miseries unspeakable, blighting and blasting all future prospects, no matter how bright they may have been. 210 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN When we consider the tremendous possibilities of a single thought, even the most secret, it is very evident that the kind of thoughts that enter the mind, is a matter of no small importance, and the patient should earnestly endeavor to keep her mind filled with thoughts that will prove beneficial to her, and then there will be no room for those that would be injuri- ous. As the thoughts that enter our minds are often those suggested by our surroundings, and especially by our associates, it is very evident that the environ- ments of these patients should be the best possible — especially their most constant and intimate associates.* PRECAUTIONS THAT HELP TO AVOID SEXUAL EXCITATION Those who are struggling against sexual vices or 1 sexual indiscretions, should not forget that the pas- sions may be excited by either a physical or a mental stimulus — by an itching or irritation of the organs themselves, or by handling or manipulating them, and also by the thoughts and feelings that enter the patient's mind. It is not always sufficient, therefore, to remove but part of these causes. All of them must be avoided. The instructions contained in this chapter, will assist the patient in accomplishing this object and also in building desirable qualities and powers. TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS 211 A NOBLE LIFE PURPOSE Her earnest effort should be to build physical and mental power and to let abnormal sexual passion starve and die. And anything and everything that will assist her to accomplish these purposes, should be pressed into service as they may be needed. Let her purpose be the accomplishment of these objects. And when they are accomplished, then let her accumulated mental and physical powers be used in accomplishing some noble life work, as a wife and mother, or in some line of physical or mental effort, as her circumstances, tastes and talents may lead her. As we write these pages, the following notice is posted in conspicuous places in our post-office and in the postal stations throughout the city: WANTED. For The United States Marine Corps. Able Bodied Men of Good Character, Between the Ages of 21 and 35 Years, not less than 5 feet 4 inches and not over 6 feet 1 inch in height, of Good Character, and Not addicted to the Use of Liquor. You will observe that it is only the superior men that the government wants. In other words, the 212 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN government wants only those men that can be of most service to it, and these are the able-bodied and moral. DEMAND FOR SUPERIOR WOMEN It is the same with all private enterprises. The best men and women are ever in demand. They are needed everywhere. Good women are especially needed to-day to assist in directing the thought of the Twentieth century. They are needed in the W. C. T. U., and in associations, clubs and societies of various kinds. They are needed in the homes, as sisters, wives and mothers. The incentive to be a superior woman is sufficient to justify every necessary effort to be one. The recompense in power, influence, happiness and the satisfaction of having benefitted humanity, is ample and generous. IMPORTANCE OF HYGIENIC MEASURES The importance of the rational measures that we have described herein, can hardly be over-estimated. Whether a patient is under the care of a physician or not, these measures are equally important. If she has enough will power, judgment and decision left, to enable her to faithfully follow these instructions, and if she will honestly do so, her cure is certain. And the best of physicians cannot cure bad cases if the patient does TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS 213 not assist him by observing common sense, hygienic measures. Even mild cases that are receiving medical treat- ment, will derive great benefits from these rational measures. And all cases will be cured much more quickly, by combining hygiene with the medicines. In fact, these measures are practically indispensible in the cure of almost every case of sexual weakness or perver- sion. And in most cases, they, alone, are amply suffi- cient, and neither medical treatment nor even a physi- cian's advice or counsel will be required.* CAUTION AGAINST A POSSIBLE MISTAKE Before closing this volume we desire to caution the young reader against a possible mistake. One of the objects of this book is to show the importance of sex- uality. But we do not wish to leave the impression that sexuality is any more important than many other attributes. *If further information or special advice is desired, address Virgil P English, M. D., Cleveland, Ohio. No charge will be made for a little counsel, information or advice, and we shall be glad to help those who will earn^ estly help themselves, and who really desire to make their lives the greatest possible success. We are usually very busy, however, and cannot devote any more time to this matter than is absolutely necessary, and sometimes, perhaps, we shall be unable to answer promptly. But whenever a stamp is enclosed for reply, and the writing is plain and the questions are clear and concise, we shall answer as soon as our other duties will permit. 214 PLAIN TALK YOUNG TO WOMEN The importance of the reproductive organs is really beyond our ability to measure. But other organs are also important. Every organ has a value that can not be estimated, and it requires them all to constitute a superior man or woman. Every organ in the body has an important function to perform, and perfect men and women are perfect in every department of mind and body. The reproduc- tive system is simply one of the very important parts of men and women. SEXUALITY, NOT SEXUAL PASSION Another point that we desire to emphasize, is the fact that sexuality is not sexual passion, and the one is not dependent upon the other. On the contrary, one of them may be very strong and the other very weak. For example, the sexual passions of a man or woman may be so strong, irritable or excitable, that they are practically uncontrollable, and yet this same person may be so poorly sexed or so depleted or exhausted sexually, that the parentage of superior children would be impossible and perhaps none at all could ■ be pro- duced. Another person who is superbly sexed, may have the sexual passions under thorough and complete control. Controlling the sexual passions and wisely directing TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS 215 sexual energies, do not, therefore, detract from sexu- ality. On the contrary, the upbuilding and increasing of sexuality are favored thereby. And while the sexual passions should be wisely controlled and directed, there is no objection to the development of sexuality. In fact, it should be developed by many persons. HOW SEXUALITY MAY BE DEVELOPED A girl may develop her sexuality by thinking and feeling and acting as all well sexed and popular ladies do. The thoughts and feelings direct the building of the physique. Ladies who are well sexed, beautiful and attractive in physical appearance, are also well sexed, beautiful and attractive in mind. And these qualities existed in the mind before they were built into the physique. The girl who desires to become better sexed and more beautiful and attractive, can do so by acquiring the thoughts and feelings that are common to all well sexed, beautiful and attractive women. If you desire these qualities and powers, when you see superior women, especially if they are in com- pany with gentlemen, study their manners, attitudes, expressions, intonations, deportment, smiles, conver- sation, remarks and all their expressions of thought and feeling, and if you can acquire similar thoughts and feelings, you can build sexuality. Assistance in 216 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN this effort may be derived from our descriptions of well sexed women, as given in previous pages of this volume, especially in Chapters XI and XII. And when you are in the company of gentlemen, let your manners and your conduct toward them be those of a well sexed woman, and your sexuality, beauty and attractiveness will grow, and also many other desirable qualities. EXCESSIVE PASSION, DEPLETING AND EXHAUSTING The influence of sexuality is constructive. Sensu- ality and passion are exhausting. Sexuality tends to build all desirable qualities and powers as a prep- aration for the best success in reproduction. But expending the forces in sexual excesses, sexual passion and sexual abuses, are all exhausting and depleting. Sexuality, therefore, is constructive, but excessive sexual passion is destructive. And even though excessive passion does not lead to sexual excesses, indiscretions or abuses, still it is exhausting and depleting. It is a waste of the vital forces to generate the passion. And controlling it, expends forces that could be much more profitably used for other purposes, if there were no excessive passions to control. TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS 217 AVOID THE VERY BEGINNING OF DANGERS It is, therefore, very much better, and it is also much easier, to avoid the excitation of the passions, than it is to control them after they are aroused. It is much easier for a boy in coasting, to remain at the top of the hill, than it is for him to stop at any point in the descent. A man in rowing a boat upon a swift stream that flows over a dangerous cataract, is never so safe at any point in the stream, as he was before he left the shore. And the nearer he approaches the falls, the greater is his danger. It is the same with sexual passions. The greatest safety, is before they are excited at all. It is easier to avoid excitation than it is to control them after they are excited. And the patient who is wise, will avoid the very beginning of danger. She will avoid whatever is liable to lead to danger. If it is dancing, she will avoid this kind of pleasure. If it is the kiss- ing games that are common at parties in certain local- ities, she will avoid these games. And she will find it much better and easier to remain away from the parties, than to resist the dancing or the games after she arrives. If she finds danger in the conversation, allusions, jokes or manners of certain ladies, it will usually be easier to avoid the society of such ladies, than to resist their dangerous influence when in their presence. 218 PLAIN TALK YOUNG TO WOMEN THE REASON THAT SOME PATIENTS FAIL Some girls will fall because they are not fully in earnest. They are not fully convinced that chastity and discretion will really bring them more pleasure than any sexual wrongs possibly could. They may realize that there are dangers in sexual wrongs or indiscretions, but they think that there are also points of safety, and they attempt to approach the danger line as near as possible without injury. IMPOSSIBILITY OP DECEIVING NATURE These girls will be almost sure to fail. They may, for a time, deceive most people, and they may even succeed in deceiving themselves, but they cannot deceive Nature. Her laws are so adjusted that our most secret thoughts and feelings and desires will bear the very same kind of seed that we sow. The patient who will make a really valuable and complete success, is she who has a sincere ambition to be a superior woman. Not she who secretly desires to approach the point of dan- ger as near as possible without incurring punishment. There are many men and women that spend their money so freely upon trifles, that they can never accu- mulate enough at any one time to buy a home or any other object of much real value. It is the same with sexual energy. Many people waste these energies and TREATMENT FOR SEXUAL WRONGS 219 they never accumulate enough power to be superior. But the best men and women, preserve these energies. SUPERB WOMANHOOD The highest type of woman, is strong, vigorous and healthful in every department of mind and body. All of her sexual organs are well developed, strong and vigorous. She has an abundance of reproductive energy that is wisely preserved until the proper time to expend it in a normal and proper way, and then she expends it only moderately. This is what we mean by being well sexed. This is sexuality. ACCUMULATED POWER, ENERGY AND EFFICIENCY Such a woman has an abundance of accumulated power, energy and efficiency that may be expended at the proper time in superior motherhood. But she has no irritability or excessive excitability of the passions. She rules and guides the passions. She does not per- mit them to rule her. Her acts and all her conduct are directed by prudence, judgment and discretion. She is the embodiment of a high type of efficiency as a wife and mother. And even though she never becomes a mother, and does not even marry, still, she is a superior woman, and she will be beautiful and popular. 220 PLAIN TALK TO YOUNG WOMEN It is not being a wife and mother that is essential to beauty and popularity, but it is being amply quali- fied for those duties. And even though such a woman should not marry, she will, nevertheless, be attractive, beautiful and popular. And her talents, efficiency and influence can be used in other channels that will bring ample rewards in satisfaction, comfort, pleasure, happi- ness and popularity. And if a desirable opportunity for marriage and motherhood should be presented, she is then prepared to perform every function of this new life, and in a way that promises the greatest possible success and happiness. THE END DR. ENGLISH'S PRACTICE IS LIMITED TO Chronic Diseases OF BOTH SEXES His Specialities are Diseases of the BRAIN AND SPINE AND ALL OTHER NERVOUS DISORDERS and the DISEASES OF WOMEN Most cases can be treated by mail -with entire success. For further information, CONSULTATION OR A D V I C E , describe the case briefly, but clearly, enclose stamp for reply, and address Dr. VIRGIL P. ENGLISH, 13 Plymouth St., CLEVELAND, 0. THE DOCTOR'S By V. P. English, M.D., is the most PLAIN TALK popular book of the kind ever pub- Tn lished. Numerous editions have been ' ^ sold in rapid succession and still the YOUNG MEN demand continues. It tells exactly what most people want to know, especially young men, and in language that all can understand. It contains 200 pages the size of these, is fully illustrated, printed on he aw laid paper and bound in cloth. Price, $1.00. OHIO STATE PUB. CO., CLEVELAND, 0. THE MIND By V. P. English, M. D., teaches the AND foundation principles of CHARAC- ITS MACHINERY T ?* Reading, it describes the mind as the man and the body as a machine that the mind constructs and operates for the purpose of executing its desires. It explains how the build, contours, development and qualities of the body, show the character of the mind that uses it. This book contains the best description of The Tem- peraments that has ever been published. It gives a very plain and clear description of the construction and operation of the human body and it shows the mutual inter-relations between the body and the mind that uses it. Read in con- nection with Dr. English's other books, it renders them all still more plain, interesting, instructive and valuable. The "Mind and its Machinery" contains 200 pages the same size as these, printed on finely finished book paper, with bold, clear type. It is thoroughly illustrated by diagrams and half-tone portraits of well known people, and is bound in cloth. Price, $1.00. Descriptive circulars, Free. Address OHIO STATE PUB. CO., 13 Plymouth St., CLEVELAND, 0.,U. S. A. DR. ENGLISH'S HOME TREATMENT FOR LADIES A POSITIVE CURE FOR Uterine and Ovarian Diseases AND THE WEAKNESS, IRREGULARITIES AND PAINS PECULIAR TO WOMEN ADAPTED ALIKE TO AND WIVES, MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS IT ALSO CURES SPINAL IRRITATION AND OTHER NERVOUS DISORDERS OF BOTH SEXES Convenient, Inexpensive, Certain No doctor bills. No loss of time and car fare in visits to his office. No publicity. No tedious wait. No embarrassing examination. You TREAT YOURSELF— CURE yourself in the retirement of your own borne. This is the most thorough, complete and effective treatment ever offered outside of the best sanitariums, and it costs hardly one-tenth as much as sanitarium treatment. It is designed for the very worst cases— cases in which the best physi- cians and all other methods fail. It has frequently saved patients from the terrors of the surgeon's knife, by curing them after the surgeons had said that they could never get well without an operation For further information, address Dr. VIRGIL P. ENGLISH, 13 Plymouth St., Cleveland, 0., U. S. A. DR. ENGLISH'S SPECIAL TREATMENT for SPINAL IRRITATION and other NERVOUS DISORDERS Cures the very worst cases even when the best physicians fail. Can be taken in the patient's own home without a doctor. Prompt and positive in the most severe cases of SPINAL IRRITATION no matter whether the disease results from an injury, weakness or some unknown cause. For MEN, WOMEN and CHILDREN SPINAL IRRITATION CAUSES THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS HEADACHE or pains in the head, especially in the back part or at BASE OF BRAIN; sensations that seem like a pulling or stretching of CORDS IN THE NECK; trouble with the EYES, connected with pains or aching in the back part of the head or neck or upper part of the shoulders; a frequent desire to SIGH or yawn or take a deep, full breath, and in some cases, an inability to do so; pains or very peculiar and disagreeable feelings in the region of the HEART, LUNGS, STOMACH, KIDNEYS, or other parts of the body that doctors often call Dyspepsia, Neuralgia, Rheumatism, Female Weakness, etc., but fail to cure; pains or a sensa- tion of oppression like a BELT AROUND THE BODY or part way around; a PARTIAL PARALYSIS of the arms, shoulders, hands. lower limbs or feet, causing pains in these parts or sensations of numbness, coldness, heaviness, or a tingling, or a feeling resembling the prickin? of pins or as if the parts were asleep; SORE, TENDER or BURNING POINTS ALONG the SPINE. If this disease is neglected, the suffering that it causes often becomes most intensely excruciating and agonizing and frequently leads to paral- ysis and insanity, and death sometimes results from sheer exhaustion caused by the intense suffering. The foregoing list is only a part of the symptoms caused by this disease, but it is seldom that even that many appear in one patient. For further particulars, enclose stamp for reply and address Dr. VIRGIL P. ENGLISH, .13 Plymouth St., CLEVELAND, OHIO, U.S.A. 3\W ^