Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1872-02-06
Vitality Of the Sexes.


1T would hardly be correct to call tn
reproductive principle in Nature til,
female principle and yet whel
Nature has advanced SO far in tn,
plant or the animal as to call for
division into sexes, it will hardly b.
denied that the female is in NOR,
intimate communion with this lead
ing object than the male. The female
must necessarily be the most favored
of Nature. At the commencement
OF the division the female will bs
fret provided for, and in the great
struggle for life, all other things
being equal, the chances will bt
largely ia her favor In plants the
division into sexes is not made APP
parent until the Towering perioc
arrives. Some are hermaphrodites
that is, they have stamens and pistili
in the same flowers. Others are
diecious, or have the male flowers
wholly on one plant, and the femaleE
on another. But it is seldom known
prior to towering, which is the male
plant or which is the female. Still
the peculiar sexual principle in some
cases, no doubt pervades the whole
plant, and exists long anterior TO
Towering; for male or female
plant once known will generally
always remain so. Cuttings taken
from either will be pretty sure to
reproduce the small sexual flowers
again, though not always; for the
female silVer-maple will not unfre-
qaently put forth branches with
male flowers. Still, as a general
thing, sex is not determined in plants
until near the lowering time aud is,
as has been said, never known until
the flowers have actually opened
In those plants which bear male and
female flowers separate on the same
| plant, it is then seen that the male
flowers only appear on the weakest
branches or branchlets. This is best
illustrated BY pine or spruce tree.
The female flower is that which
ultimately becomes the pine-cone
The male flowers gather in small
clusters, and are those which produce
the dust (pollen) in early spring =
The female flowers or cones only
appear at the ends of the healthie.t
branches. As the tree grows, of
course the branches now at the ends
in time become the interior, and are
then shaded by those which go
beyond them. Shade always tends
to lessen the vitality of a growing
branch and here we see that
branches once strong and bearing
female flowers, as soon as thus
partially weakened by shade bear
only male ones. An inspection of
any pine-tree in spring will show,
| that though nalA anHa~a 49,
times borne at the base of the shoots
bearing female flowers weak shoots
never bear any thing but male ones.
This will be found the case in all
plants of q mon9cious character
In the common ambrOSia, or ragweed,
the male flowers are on a sort of
weakened, half-dead-looking, raseme;
while the females are situated in the
best position tor receiving the highest
amount of nutrition the plant can
bostow. Those who have examined
this matter in plants, see the truth
of the position in the vegetable
world, that natures highest effort $
il the formation of tho sexes are
Invariably in the female line.
The same facts appear to us in the
animal world Ia the very first
struggle with life the maIcs get the
worst of it. The vast majority of
all the children who die under five
years of age are males. As the
sexes approach maturity, the terrible
strain on the female system begins,
and the Numbers of male and females
again nearly equalize. The amount
of nutrition over and above that
required TO sustain life passes in the
male to brain and muscle, to mere
physical strength and intellectual
capacity but in the female, to
immense nutritive power for the
support of another human being
Man is physically stronger than
woman; that is, 10 cases requiring
an immediate contraction of power,
he is superior. But in Uitalty if by
that we may understand the ability
to endure circumstances tending to
destroy life, he is below her. Not
only can he not endure as much
during the first FIVE years of his life,
but as an adult he sinks under pain
that woman would hardly faint
with. Any of US can look around and
sec women with perhaps half q dozen
young children which she must look
after, continual series of routine,
monotonous house work which she
must attend to, now roasting OF the
oven, steaming over the wash tub,
or freezing at the clothes-line, and
continually with tho worry Of crying
children ringing in her ears and all
this for years and years, with ailing
infants and sick older children, and
perhaps even a male specimen Of an
older cast to whom she Is expected
to be a "help-mate' besides all this
altogether for months and months
giving her but three or four hours
of sound sleep per night. Where Is
the man that could endure it? A
year of such life would kill the
strongest of us. We find the same
law of vital endurance outside Of
man. Cavalry officers in the late
war found out the wisdom Of select
ing mares for arduous services; and
we all know what a miserably dull
animal the unsexed OK becomes
This branch of our topic need not
be further pursued. 1t has beer
shown that naturally the reproduc-
tive principle should be endowed
with the highest attributes OF vital
ity, and the few instances cited will
show its bearing in the world 0
facts.
rn- The latest sentimental ballad
sweet thing-is "Bury your dorg ii
.La rrar1np n will ~, alya .Lo - :,