It will thus be seen that it is at puberty that the sexual difference becomes marked.

In old women the

specific gravity rises." 15

"Men produce more carbonic acid than women. According to Andral and Gavarret, the amount of carbon burnt per hour is, from eight to fifteen years of age, in the boy 7 gr. 8, in the girl 6 gr. 4; from sixteen to thirty, in the man 11 gr. 2, in the woman 6 gr. 4; that is to say, the amount consumed in man rises at puberty to nearly double that consumed in woman." 16 As a result women seem to need less air than men.

There is reason to believe that women stand surgical operations better than men. The following table seems to indicate a difference of 9.27 per cent in favor of women:

"Statistics show that woman is more susceptible to many diseases, but in less danger than man when attacked, because of her anabolic surplus, and also that the greatest mortality in woman is during the period of reproduction, when the specific gravity of the blood is low and her anabolic surplus small." 18

When one considers the hosts of facts, of which those cited are but a few from different fields of evidence, it is no wonder that the idea is prevalent that woman is essentially anabolic, i.e., tends to store up strength and energy, while man is katabolic, i.e., tends to spend and dissipate his energy. The biologist would say that this is a pro

vision of nature to enable woman to meet the great strain which the bearing and nursing of children puts upon her. A further indication of this is given in the relative percentages of fat and muscle. Below are recorded the figures for a woman, a man, and a boy, all of whom died accidentally and in good physical condition: 19

It is no wonder that Ploss, after reviewing the evidence, concluded: "The bodily needs of women are much less than those of men; they eat and drink less; they breathe less and withstand suffocation better, it is believed. All troubles, at least those which slowly develop and persist, all deprivations, they bear much better than men; in part at least, much better than one would expect in consideration of their physical powers. They better withstand loss of blood and persistent pains. Even the greater sensitiveness of the nervous system, because of which many trifling disturbances cause lasting after effects, appears to favor the rapid and harmless dissipation of the upsetting experiences. Thus they reach old age, often, under unfavorable circumstances, though the cases of extreme old age reaching well into the second century are almost always men." 20

Girls as indicated reach physical maturity at a somewhat earlier period than boys. In the tropics the age at time of first menstruation ranges from 8 to 19, the maximum being reached at 12; while in cold countries it ranges from 10 to 22, reaching the maximum at 16. The oncoming of menstruation marks a tremendous change in the life of the female and introduces a function which has

19 THOMAS, W. I. o. c., p. 30. 20 PLOSS, H. Das Weib, p. 38.

no counterpart in the male. We have noted the rhythms of life in other connections. Menstruation is one of the most significant rhythms to be found among women. It is important not merely because of its assumed relation to reproduction but because of its pronounced influence on the physical and mental condition of the individual. "While a man may be said, at all events relatively, to live on a plane, a woman always lives on the upward or downward slope of a curve. . . It is at this time, in those women who are at all predisposed, that sudden caprices, fits of ill-temper, moods of depression, impulses of jealousy, outbursts of self-confession, are chiefly liable to occur. . . . On the mental side the irritability or depression may be so pronounced as to amount to insanity. Migraine is a common disorder at this period. Erotomania, dipsomania and kleptomania are also specially liable to be developed at this time, and of all forms of insanity melancholia is the most liable to occur. Whenever a woman commits a deed of criminal violence it is extremely probable that she is at her monthly period; it is unfortunately difficult to give precise figures as there is often neglect to ascertain this point. Lombroso, however, found that out of 80 women arrested for opposition to the police, or for assault, only 9 were not at the menstrual period. Krugelstein stated that in all cases (10) of suicide in women he had met with, the act was committed during this period. . Women in prison, again, are apt to exhibit periodic outbreaks of unmotived and apparently uncontrollable violence: these . . . are especially liable to occur at the menstrual epoch. Among the insane, finally, the fact is universally recognised that during the monthly period the insane impulse becomes more marked, if, indeed, it may not appear only

at that period. . . . In the investigation of any fact in a woman's life or organism, we ought to know its exact position in the woman's cycle life. . . . The existence of the monthly cyclic is, lastly, a factor which cannot be ignored in considering the fitness of women for any business position. . . One point at all events is clear: it is no longer possible to regard the physiological periodicity of women, and the recurring menstrual function, as the purely private,concern of the woman whom it affects.” 21

On this question the opinion of those competent to testify is practically unanimous. It has been attacked recently by a woman, Mrs. L. S. Hollingworth, in her volume entitled "Functional Periodicity." This is a monograph based on only 23 cases, but 6 of which were intensively studied. She was able to discover no marked change in mental or motor reactions during menstruation. She states her own attitude in positive fashion, more positive it would seem than is warranted by the facts.

66 From whatever source or sources the idea of woman's periodic irresponsibility may have risen, it is certainly very widespread. Yet the irresponsibility and inefficiency so widely proclaimed in theory are not considered and are not realized in practice. The psychologist writes that there are grave and profound changes in mind and body during menstruation; yet he makes no allowance for this in his experiments on women subjects. The physician declared fifty years ago that women were forever unfitted for higher education because of this function; yet the number of women graduated from colleges and universities in perfectly normal health increases yearly. It is positively asserted that women cannot successfully pursue professional and industrial life because they are 21 ELLIS, H. o. c., pp. 284-298.

incapacitated, and should rest for one-fifth of their time; yet it is not proposed that mothers, housekeepers, cooks, scrub-women and dancers should be relieved periodically from their labors and responsibilities.” 22

Through all the ages it has been believed that the phenomena of magic, hypnotism, mesmerism, or whatever they may be called, have appeared chiefly among women. Experts have claimed that two-thirds of the hysterical women could be hypnotized and only one-fifth of the hysterical men. Women are alleged to dream more than men. They are also more excitable under anesthetics. Such phenomena have led to the idea that women are more emotional than men; that is their feelings are less under the control of the higher brain centers. "Pitres and Régis found that it is at puberty, between 11 and 15 years of age, that obsessions most usually begin to take root in the mind, and that it is between 26 and 30 (also a somewhat critical age in women) that they most usually develop. It is the same suggestibility that causes women to be less subject to nostalgia, or home-sickness, than men, and more adaptable to changes of habit and new impressions." 23

Again it is hard to determine whether the differences seen are due to actual differences of constitution or to social and mental habits. The daily life of the two sexes, even in the emotional and intellectual sphere, is so different in our modern civilizations; the traditions of the proper sphere of activity for the two are so divergent, that we must expect different reactions. If, as now seems likely, women are to enter upon most if not all of the callings hitherto reserved for men, it is very probable that this

22 HOLLINGSWORTH, L. H. Functional Periodicity, p. 97. 23 ELLIS, H. o. c., p. 353.