that among plants, and among all the lower and simpler groups of animals, new individuals are produced by the various forms of asexual generation, as well as sexually. In certain animals, such as the tunicates, this form of generation is highly specialized, and the stolon from which new individuals are budded off is a highly complex structure, which contains cells or tissues derived from all the essential organs and systems of the parent, and from these the corresponding organs and systems. of the new individual are derived. As a rule, however, the process of budding is very simple: a mass of unspecialized cells at some definite point upon the body of the parent animal or plant becoming converted into a new individual, instead of contributing to the further growth of the old. Among the lower animals, such as the hydroids and sponges, the process is still more simple, and cells may become converted into a bud at almost any point upon the body of the parent. That the process of reproduction by budding is not in any way absolutely distinguished from the process of ordinary growth by cell-multiplication, is shown by the fact that an accident may determine which of these processes is to result from the activity of a given cell.

Comparison shows that there is, on the one hand, no essential distinction between ordinary growth and reproduction by budding, and, on the other hand, none except the necessity for impregnation to distinguish asexual from sexual reproduction. All these processes are fundamentally processes of cell-multiplication. As none of the animals with which we are thoroughly familiar reproduce asexually, we are unable to make any very exact comparison of the results of the two processes of reproduction in animals; but among plants such comparison can be made without difficulty, and will be found to show

that variation is much more marked and common in plants raised from fertilized seed than in those raised by budding. A marked bud-variation is a very rare occurrence, but in many cases the tendency of plants reared from seeds to differ from the parents is so great that choice varieties are propagated entirely by buds. It is almost hopeless to attempt to propagate a choice variety of grape or strawberry by seeds, as the individuals reared. in this way seldom have the valuable qualities of their parents, and, although they may have new qualities of equal or greater value, the chances are of course greatly against this, since the possibility of undesirable variation is much greater than the chance of a desirable sport. There is no difficulty, however, in perpetuating valuable varieties of these plants by asexual reproduction.

Putting together these various propositions—that the evolution of life has been brought about through the combined action of the law of heredity and the law of variation; that in all except the simplest organisms the process of sexual reproduction by ova which have been acted upon by the male element is met with; that the ovum is alive, and capable of development in itself, and that the essential function of the male element is something else than the vitalization of the ovum; that the process of sexual reproduction differs from the process of asexual reproduction only in the occurrence of impregnation, while the result of the former process differs from the result of the latter in its greater variability— we seem warranted in concluding that the ovum is the material medium through which the law of heredity manifests itself, while the male element is the vehicle by which new variations are added. The ovum is the conservative and the male element the progressive or variable factor in the process of evolution of the race as

ADULT MALE, YOUNG MALE AND ADULT FEMALE OF THE RED HEADED WOODPECKER.

[From photographs of stuffed specimens in the collection at Druid Hill Park, Baltimore.]

well as in the reproduction of the individual. The adequate statement of the evidence upon which this generalization rests, or even a full statement of the generalization itself, with its qualifications, would be out of place here, but the facts which have been given seem to be sufficient to warrant its use as one step in our argument in regard to the relations of the sexes. From this as our basis we will now trace the evolution of sex.

Among the lowest organisms, animal and vegetable, multiplication is usually by the various forms of asexual generation, budding or fission, or cell-multiplication— an organism which has by ordinary growth increased in size beyond the limit of exact harmony with its environment, dividing in this way into two, like each other as well as like their parent. In this way the preservation of the established characteristics of the species-heredity-is provided for, but in order that progress should take place, by the preservation of favorable varieties, variation must also be provided for. This is accomplished by the process which is known as conjugation: two protoplasmic organisms approach, come into contact, and transfusion or mixture of the semi-fluid contents of their bodies takes place. The result of this process is the production of new individuals which, deriving their protoplasm from two parents which are not exactly alike, are themselves different from either of them, and have individual peculiarities which are, it is true, the resultant of the peculiarities of the parents, but which are nevertheless new variations.

In the simplest forms of conjugation the functions of both parents appear to be identical, but in organisms. which are a little more specialized we find male and female reproductive bodies, and the offspring is the result of the union of the male element of one individual with