[Illustration: Ripe Ovum from the Ovary.]
1. SCIENTIFIC THEORIES.--Darwin, Huxley, Haeckel, Tyndall, Meyer, and other
renowned scientists, have tried to find the _missing link_ between man and
animal; they have also exhausted their genius in trying to fathom the
mysteries of the beginning of life, or find where the animal and mineral
kingdoms unite to form life; but they have added to the vast accumulation
of theories only, and the world is but little wiser on this mysterious
subject.
2. PHYSIOLOGY.--Physiology has demonstrated what physiological changes take
place in the germination and formation of life, and how nature expresses
the intentions of reproduction by giving animals distinctive organs with
certain secretions for this purpose, etc. All the different stages of
development can be easily determined, but how and why life takes place
under such special condition and under no other, is an unsolved mystery.
3. OVARIES.--The ovaries are the essential parts of the generative system
of the human female in which ova are matured. There are two ovaries, one on
each side of the uterus, and connected with it by the Fallopian tubes. They
are egg-shaped, about an inch in diameter, and furnish the {239} germs or
ovules. These germs or ovules are very small, measuring about 1/120 of an
inch in diameter.
4. DEVELOPMENT.--The ovaries develop with the growth of the female, so that
finally at the period of puberty they ripen and liberate an ovum or germ
vesicle, which is carried into the uterine cavity of the Fallopian tubes.
By the aid of the microscope we find that these ova are composed of
granular substance, in which is found a miniature yolk surrounded by a
transparent membrane called the zona pellucida. This yolk contains a
germinal vesicle in which can be discovered a nucleus, called the germinal
spot. The process of the growth of the ovaries is very gradual, and their
function of ripening and discharging one ovum monthly into the Fallopian
tubes and uterus, is not completed until between the twelfth and fifteenth
years.
5. WHAT SCIENCE KNOWS.--After the sexual embrace we know that the sperm is
lifted within the genital passages or portion of the vagina and mouth of
the uterus. The time between the deposit of the semen and fecundation
varies according to circumstances. If the sperm-cell travels to the ovarium
it generally takes from three to five days to make the journey. As Dr.
Pierce says: "The transportation is aided by the ciliary processes (little
hairs) of the mucous surface of the vaginal and uterine walls, as well as
by its own vibratile movements. The action of the cilia, under the stimulus
of the sperm, seems to be from without, inward. Even if a minute particle
of sperm, less than a drop, be left upon the margin of the external
genitals of the female, it is sufficient in amount to impregnate, and can
be carried, by help of these cilia, to the ovaries."
6. CONCEPTION.--After intercourse at the proper time the liability to
conception is very great. If the organs are in a healthy condition,
conception must necessarily follow, and no amount of prudence and the most
rigid precautions often fail to prevent pregnancy.
7. ONLY ONE ABSOLUTELY SAFE METHOD.--There is only one absolutely safe
method to prevent conception, entirely free from danger and injury to
health, and one that is in the reach of all; that is to refrain from union
altogether.
[Illustration]
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