A vast majority of such poor girls make their way to houses of ill fame and give themselves over to a life of prostitution. Hardly one of these women, if married by the man who brought her to this condition, would have failed to make a true and loving wife and mother. So society, while it casts these women out, has come to recognize that men are the real sinners in such cases.

It may be added here, that an occasional girl goes wrong through temperamental shortcomings within herself—perhaps she may even be a degenerate; but the proportion of women who would willingly and deliberately sacrifice their virtue is vanishingly small as compared with the proportion of young men who seem to be willing to sacrifice their virtue. This is probably in part due to their training. Mothers, as a rule, instruct their daughters carefully regarding their relations with boys and men. It is in part due to the instinctive and inherent purity of mind of the normal woman.

Nature has devised a retribution for illicit intercourse in the form of venereal disease. If the parties observe fidelity to the marriage vows venereal disease is experienced in wedlock only on very rare occasions, and then through some accidental infection, as from contact with some public utensils, as a public water closet, a public towel or drinking cup. So rare is this unfortunate accident, however, that we may say, that intercourse in undefiled wedlock results normally in pleasure and gratification to both parties, while intercourse out of wedlock, or illicit intercourse, is destined, as a rule, to be visited with retribution.

What form does this retribution that nature metes out to the vice of illicit intercourse take? Besides the various psychic punishments, the principal of which are remorse, and impure thoughts, there are physical punishments in the form of venereal diseases. So prevalent are these venereal diseases among lewd women, whether prostitutes or clandestines, that specialists in this field say that "all lewd women are diseased part of the time and some lewd women are diseased all the time."

These sexual diseases are contagious—that is, transmitted by contact. They are all germ diseases; one of them is practically local, one is capable of spreading the infection to contiguous organs and one is systemic.

a. Chancroid or Soft Chancre.—This is the least dangerous of the venereal diseases. It is a contagious disease of purely local type, usually acquired during the sexual act, the infection taking place through a break in the continuity of the mucous membrane.

Chancroid may be single, though most often is multiple. It makes its appearance in from one to five days after exposure, anywhere on the penis, but most frequently on the under side of the glans beside the fraenulum as a small red spot. This rapidly takes the form of a blister containing serum and pus, and in a few days may become the size of a ten-cent piece. When the roof is removed the ulcer has the appearance of having been punched out, the floor being covered with pus. It is surrounded by a zone of inflammation and is painful.

If uncomplicated the disease runs its course in from two to five weeks. The most common complication is swollen and suppurating glands of the groin on one or both sides. This condition is termed bubo or "blue ball" in common language.

Sometimes serious complications arise which may prove dangerous and require the individual to be confined to his bed for weeks.

b. Gonorrhea.—This is incomparably more serious than chancroid. This disease is very prevalent among the incontinent, and it is claimed by some specialists in this field that from sixty to seventy-five per cent. of men have had gonorrhea before the age of thirty.

It is a contagious disease, acquired usually during intercourse, though the individual may become infected innocently from water closets, bath tubs, etc.

To become infected it is not necessary that there be an abrasion of the mucous membrane.

The disease manifests itself in from three to seven days after exposure by swelling of the orifice of the urethra, peculiar sensations between tickling and itching, and smarting or burning during urination. The peculiar sensations fix the attention to the genitals, thus causing frequent passage of urine.

These symptoms increase for about a week, when the disease reaches its maximum degree of severity, which is maintained a variable time, the discharge from the urethra being thick, creamy and of a greenish yellow color.

In the majority of carefully treated cases, the discharge ceases in from three to six weeks with apparent recovery. Unfortunately, however, there is frequently a tendency for the disease to become chronic. The discharge becomes thin and more watery and persists for an indefinite period. This condition—chronic gonorrhea—is commonly known as "gleet."

c. Syphilis, popularly termed the "pox," is a constitutional affection of the type known as "blood diseases."

It is by far the most important and most greatly to be feared of the venereal diseases. No disease has been so wide-spread in its dissemination or more potent in its influence upon humanity.

It has been known for centuries, having been mentioned by Japanese historians and in Chinese writings two thousand years ago.

Syphilis is contagious and is transmitted by inoculation. The infectious material enters the broken surface of either the skin or mucous membrane, called "contact" or "acquired" syphilis. When it is transmitted by the mother to the embryo, it is called "hereditary" or "inherited" syphilis.

The disease manifests itself first in a "primary lesion" which is a local ulcer (hard chancre) at the point or points of inoculation at a period ranging from ten to thirty days after exposure. It may appear as an erosion or as a dry scaling and indurated papule, varying in size from a pin-head to a silver dollar. The base of the ulcer is indurated. It is oval in shape, perhaps somewhat irregular, with a raw surface and red colored base devoid of pus.

Immediately following the appearance of the chancre, the glands in direct connection with it become enlarged, hard and rarely painful, but they have no tendency to suppurate like the enlarged glands of chancroid.

The chancre disappears in a few weeks and then there is a period when the individual has no outward manifestations of the disease. In about six weeks after the chancre the so-called secondary symptoms make their appearance. They are heralded by headache, pains in the limbs and back, nausea, sleeplessness and nervous irritability and fever, followed by the appearance of a rash upon the face and body, falling out of the hair, sore throat and mouth. These symptoms disappear to be again followed by a period free from symptoms. After a longer or shorter time the so-called tertiary symptoms make their appearance, which are many and varied.

The disease presents a succession of morbid constitutional disturbances, appearing at variable intervals, and pursues a chronic course.

This disease remains in the body for years and affects the most vital organs, particularly the brain and spinal cord.

When one is infected with this disease he should seek the services of a reputable physician. The treatment of this extends over a long period, usually about three years, and must be strictly and conscientiously carried out. Marriage upon the part of an individual once infected should be only upon the approval of a physician.

After having detailed, as above, the terrible consequences of the venereal diseases, it is hardly necessary to add that the young man who deliberately seeks any of the usual chances for illicit intercourse, is more than taking his life in his hands. If infection with a venereal disease meant simply the death of the infected individual, it would really be very much less deleterious to society than is the present condition. When the young man "sows wild oats" and catches incidently gonorrhea, that twenty years ago was considered a sort of a "good joke," he will, in a large proportion of cases, lay the foundation for broken health and will run a serious risk of transmitting the disease to an innocent, pure wife.

When a woman catches this disease, particularly from her husband, she is very likely to interpret the discharge as a leucorrhea, may say nothing about it to her husband or her physician, but adopt simple home treatment with antiseptic and astringent douches. Such treatment will usually result in allaying the inflammation in the superficial organs, but will not eradicate it from the deeper organs. It spreads to the uterus, Fallopian tubes and ovaries and may even affect peritoneal tissues, first of the pelvis, then of the abdomen—may even finally affect the heart and joints. Of course, these are rather the extreme limit, but they are not at all rare cases. Once this terrible disease gets into a woman's organs, it is very likely to lead to a sojourn in a hospital where she loses some portion of her body as a sacrifice to this mogul of gonorrhea.

It is claimed by specialists in this field that at least sixty-five per cent. of the operations that women are subjected to in the hospitals for diseases of the pelvic organs are the results of gonorrheal infection. Besides the cases that require operation, a large proportion of cases of sterility is due to gonorrheal infection, either in the man or woman, or both.

If we consider the revolting sequences of syphilis with its train of operations, and progeny of scrofulous children, it would seem to make the natural retribution for illicit intercourse infinitely outweigh any brief pleasures derived from the enjoyment of the stolen fruits.

It hardly seems possible that any young man who knows the whole truth about these venereal diseases and their terrible after-effects could be tempted to indulge in illicit intercourse.

2. MASTURBATION.

The vice of masturbation or self-abuse is very likely to be learned in boyhood, perhaps even by boys of six or eight years of age through their associations with obscene playmates. It not infrequently happens, however, that the habit is learned independent of these evil associations. It has been explained above that secretions frequently accumulate under the prepuce and accumulating there serve as a local irritation, causing itching of the organ. This local irritation leads the boy to attempt to allay the irritation through rubbing. Such manipulation of the organ is very likely to excite it and to lead to the discovery on the part of the boy that such local manipulation may lead to pleasurable sensations of momentary duration. If he has not been instructed by his parents that these organs are sacred to the uses of manhood and that they will be injured if handled during childhood, he is very likely to repeat this act until it becomes a more or less fixed habit.

While it must be admitted that anything short of extreme excess in this habit among little boys will not be permanently injurious if the habit is stopped at puberty, it must be perfectly evident that if a boy enters puberty with this habit, the psychical and physical conditions of puberty are such as to make the habit very difficult to stop. If it is not stopped a serious injury may result. So the necessity hardly need be further urged for explaining to young boys that these organs should not be handled.

After the boy enters puberty, the habit of masturbation either acquired during puberty or carried into that stage from early boyhood, begins to have a distinctly deleterious effect.

Let us now consider just what is the character of this deleterious effect. From what we know of the physiology of the sexual apparatus, it must be evident that a sexual orgasm could be produced during waking hours only through strong stimulation of the activity of the testes, accompanied by liberation of spermatozoa and of the other elements of the vital fluid. Let us not forget in this connection, the statement made above: that the testis produces two forms of secretion, the internal secretion and the external secretion, the internal secretion being absorbed, produces those male characteristics which we group together under virility, while the external secretion is used for procreation. Spermatozoa do not make any part of the internal secretion. One reason for this must be evident, i.e., that being cellular elements, they could not pass through the vessel walls and be absorbed into the blood current, and if they could, by some special adaptation, get into the blood current, there is no conceivable action which they could perform in the body. We must then look upon the internal secretion as composed of the liquid elements of the testicular secretion.

So far as physiologists know at present, the external secretion differs from the internal secretion only in possessing spermatozoa. When we say that the testes form their external secretion under sexual excitement only, we simply mean that they liberate or release spermatozoa under sexual excitement. The spermatozoa must be looked upon as the fertilizing element of the semen, while the liquid portion of the semen probably contains that mysterious element which, absorbed into the body, produces virility and which, passed out with the spermatozoa, may have an important role to perform in the fertilizing function.

If the adolescent young man is leading a continent life, we may assume that from time to time he is subjected to conditions which serve as strong sexual stimuli, arousing in him a definite desire for sexual intercourse; but leading a continent life, he curbs his desire and fixes his thoughts upon other subjects. In this way, though the sexual excitement is brought quickly under abeyance, we can rest assured that a certain number of spermatozoa have been released from the testes; and that the other secretions have been increased in volume. The excitement may be sufficient even to cause an erection, and produce a few drops of the secretion of Cowper's glands. The spermatozoa, together with a small amount of the liquid secretion, will make their way gradually along the vasa deferentia and collect in the ampullae. The bulk of the liquid secretion, however, will, in the course of the following hours or days, be reabsorbed, thus making for virility. The small advance guard of spermatozoa that may have made their way to the ampullae will undergo a gradual decrease of their nascent activity, as the days go by. On the occasion of the next nocturnal emission the ampullae will empty along with the seminal vesicles and these spermatozoa pass out. If they be examined under the microscope as a part of a normal nocturnal emission, they will be found to be almost motionless or very greatly lacking in typical spermatozoon activity.

Now let us suppose that the young man, instead of curbing his sexual appetite, resorts, after a season of erotic imaginations, to the act of masturbation. We may picture the seminal ducts, vasa deferentia and ampullae as being gorged with the secretion of the testes, including, of course, myriads of just released and nascent spermatozoa, together with several cubic centimeters of the liquid portion of the testicular secretion. The act of masturbation causes an orgasm and leads to a complete emptying of all these ducts. Thus we note that in this case the virile fluid is wasted, not being used in the procreative act or reabsorbed to exert its influence on virility. Nature's ends have been defeated. The system suffers a certain degree of depletion from which it recovers only after hours or even days. It must be evident from this picture of the processes that go on in the male sexual apparatus incident to the act of masturbation that the act cannot be performed repeatedly, as it naturally is when it becomes a habit, without interfering with the virility of the adolescent male.

In the study of a large number of cases the author has found that the principal physical changes that occur in a young man as the result of this habit are, flabbiness of muscle and clamminess of hands. The really virile man possesses firm muscles and clear, direct eyes and a strong grip; usually also a warm grip.

It has been thought by some that pimples on the face are a sign of masturbation in the youth, but such is not the case. They are a sign of lack of elimination through the kidneys and bowels and are not to be interpreted as having any essential relation to masturbation. There may possibly be an incidental relation growing out of the fact that in some cases of masturbation that habit seems to affect the nutrition and that in turn may cause the appearance of pimples on the face of the adolescent. However, one must be very slow to pass judgment in these cases.

Not the least important among the results of masturbation is the attitude of the victim to society in general. This psychical change is noticed in immoderate cases of masturbation and takes the form of disinclination to enter into any physical contests, or games; and disinclination to cultivate the society of the opposite sex. Here again one must be conservative in his judgment, because there are individuals who possess a very retiring temperament naturally, and who may become so engrossed in study or productive work that they take little share in the society of either sex, so that individuals who may be wholly innocent of any abuse of their sexual apparatus would suffer a very grave injustice if they were classed among the masturbators. So allow the author at this place to emphasize the importance of never passing judgment on anybody in these matters on circumstantial evidence.

While the damage that one may do to his system through the practice of masturbation may not be very serious, in many cases that have come under the author's observation in which the habit has reached extreme limits, very serious, sometimes irretrievable damage has been done, yet the encouraging feature of this whole matter is, that if the adolescent youth, who is practicing this habit, is warned of its danger and stops at once absolutely, nature comes to his rescue, and gradually, step by step, but surely, rebuilds the whole fabric of his virility, bringing back gradually the flush of perfect health into his cheek, the light of perfect manhood into his eye and the tone of perfect virility into his muscles.

This change can be wrought in from one to three years of absolute continence. Nature, like a loving mother, heals the wounds of her child with a kiss.

3. CONTINENCE.

Such frequent reference has been made above to continence in antithesis to illicit intercourse and masturbation that little need be said in addition to that which has preceded. The young man who holds before his mental vision an ideal of the home he hopes some day to establish—in which a pure wife reigns as queen, sovereign of his life, and gently hovers over a brood of lusty boys and fair girls—cannot for a moment consider as a sane solution of his sexual problem, periodic visits to the house of ill fame or the periodic lapse into illicit intercourse with clandestines; nor can he expect to develop his powers, physically or intellectually to the highest possible degree if he permits himself to contract that habit [masturbation] which, step by step, undermines his development. There is open to the young man only one of the three alternatives mentioned above, i.e., TO LEAD THE "CONTINENT LIFE."

The continent life is a goal which every healthy young man should strive to reach. To arrive at a goal that is before us and above us requires sacrifice and brings compensation. The sacrifice takes the form of the exertion of the whole will power of the man and the painstaking observance of those rules of hygiene which make continent living more easily attainable. The compensations of continence are those that come from the assurance that the young man has of his virility, of his worthiness to take the hand of a pure wife in wedlock, of the consciousness of his ability to establish and maintain a home, and to protect this home against all dangers.



CHAPTER V.

HYGIENE.



HYGIENE.

It is proposed in this chapter to outline, very briefly, a few simple rules of hygiene, the observance of which will tend to bring the young man into the highest possible state of physical development. Assuming that he wishes to lead a continent life, the observance of these rules will make that much desired condition more easily attainable.

1. DIET.

a. Choice of Food.—The young man who is boarding at a restaurant or in a boarding club can modify his diet only within the range of the menu provided. Fortunately, the young man can observe the most important rule of diet, i.e., to eat abstemiously. Wherever one is boarding he can eat temperately; he can avoid highly spiced foods, tea and coffee. The observance of these simple rules will go a long way towards simplifying his sexual problem. It has been discovered by the study of the influence of diet upon sexual appetite, that the heavy eating of rich and highly spiced foods, indulgence in stimulants and narcotics, all tend to excite the sexual desires.

The author presents a menu that would be looked upon as a temperate one for a student:

Breakfast.

Fruit Well cooked cereal breakfast food with cream or a slice of bacon, an egg, with bread and butter Glass of milk, cocoa or cereal coffee

Dinner.

Soup Meat, potatoes and gravy One vegetable Dessert: (Custards, tapioca pudding, rice pudding, gelatin pudding or bread pudding) Water

Supper.

Creamed potatoes Salmon or sardines Bread and butter Canned or stewed fruit Cocoa or milk

If lunch is served at noon and dinner at night, the supper and dinner as given above would correspond with lunch and dinner when dinner is served at night.

If the young man is training heavily for foot ball or other heavy athletics in which a training table is provided, he may eat a much heavier diet than the one above outlined, having either eggs or meat three times a day instead of once or twice and larger portions of each food. However, even the man in athletic training needs less food than is customary for men in training to take. If the foot ball teams would eat somewhat less than they do and a smaller proportion of meat, they would be much less likely to "train stale."

b. Stimulants and Narcotics.—It will be noted that no provision is made for coffee or tea in the above menu. The general conditions of life in a student community serve as a sufficient stimulation. Tea and coffee are stimulants, and on general principles, it is not wise to use stimulants unless one needs them. The college student does not need any other stimulant than is afforded by the conditions in a college community.

It may be fairly said that stimulants never benefit anybody who does not need them. On the other hand, they may easily injure a person who does not need them. Coffee for example, or tea, not only does not assist digestion but actually retards it. All stimulants produce a quickening of brain activity which is uniformly followed by a reaction in which the brain activity is either slowed or confused. The coffee drinker is almost certain to experience within an hour after a cup of strong coffee an exhilaration, with heightened brain activity. If one could experience this stimulation without any reaction, it might be advisable, especially for those who need just such stimulation at just such a time. However, when one considers that he cannot experience stimulation without experiencing a compensatory depression, he will see that it certainly does not pay to get the one at the expense of the other, except under unusual conditions.

Now the question may naturally arise: What occasion would justify the drinking of a strong cup of coffee? Suppose that one were due in an examination and that he had only one examination in a day; suppose it came at 8 o'clock. Let the student retire early the night before, rise early, take a walk before breakfast and eat a very light breakfast. He may take a cup of strong unsweetened black coffee with the breakfast. He will find that this coffee proves a strong stimulant, particularly if he has not been using it regularly, and that it produces the stimulation just when he wants it. He will find that he is better able to marshal his thoughts and to recall the various facts that he may need to use in formulating his answers to the examination questions. Under such conditions the author believes that it is justifiable for a student to use coffee. But we must not forget that the coffee is a drug; used for its drug action; used to produce a physiological effect at a definite time. Having produced that effect, one may expect the depression to follow after the examination.

Now the natural tendency, and a tendency which causes many people to pass step by step into an excessive use of this stimulation, is to relieve the depression which follows the first cup of coffee by taking another cup and so on, taking coffee at each meal and perhaps occasionally between meals. While some people of phlegmatic temperament can stand such a drug habit for years without being very seriously injured, it is certainly a habit to be strongly discouraged. A person who does not use coffee or tea regularly, but wishes on rare occasions to get a stimulation, can resort to it to produce that effect, but after having gotten the effect let him get over the depression as best he can, and not relieve it by taking a second cup.

If he has a week of examinations, it might be permissible to follow such a regime as suggested above throughout the week. On the whole, however, the use of these stimulants is to be discouraged.

Narcotics are those drugs which cause narcosis or a dulling of the senses and a decreased activity of both the muscular and nervous system.

One of the most common and typical narcotics is opium. Derived from opium is morphine. Cocaine belongs also to the narcotics as do the anaesthetics, such as chloroform, ether and common alcohol.

It is hardly necessary to say anything about the use of alcohol to intelligent college men. Very seldom do college and university students resort to alcoholic drinks, either for their drug effect or in a spirit of conviviality.

The intelligent people of the country realize the dangers that follow the use of alcoholic beverages. It is very rare that educated people use any alcohol and when used it is only in most moderate quantities, and usually, on special occasions.

It is only comparatively recently that the absolute truth of the Bible dictum that, "Wine is a mocker" has been realized.

Brandy and whiskey were taken for generations to make one warm on a cold day because it gave one temporarily a flush of warm blood to the skin, only to cool down the temperature of the body later, so that instead of raising the temperature of the body, alcohol actually lowers the temperature of the body.

Many people took alcohol when excessively hot to cool the body, but if the temperature of the outside air is higher than the temperature of the body, as is the case on excessively hot days in summer, the rush of blood to the surface would only have the effect desired in the first few minutes of the action of the alcohol. The skin would tend to become dry, the temperature of the blood to rise, subject to the influence of the hot air. This heated blood striking the vital organs accounts for the fact that on those excessively hot days, when there are many sunstrokes, most of them are among men who not only habitually take alcohol, but who are under the influence of alcohol at the time.

Many people have taken alcohol to improve digestion, but scientific observations on digestion under the influence of alcohol have shown that the digestion is actually retarded.

Many people have taken alcohol to make their muscles strong, and one does actually imagine that he is stronger after a moderate dose of alcohol, but many careful experiments on the part of numerous observers have shown that the muscles are really less strong and can do progressively less work the larger the dose of alcohol.

Many thought that alcohol would stimulate the action of the brain and have taken it for that purpose; but experiments have shown that while there is temporarily a greater activity of the brain, this activity is less under control of the higher brain centers. The after dinner champagne may loosen the tongue of the post-prandial speaker but he may say many things which the judgment would not commend.

So, in all those applications that men have made of alcohol through the ages, we find on careful examination, that in every case the alcohol actually has an effect opposite to that which has been attributed to it. How true then are the words of the Bible: "Wine is a mocker."

If an alcoholic beverage actually helped the muscles, the brain or the glands, one would find it seriously commended by athletic trainers and coaches for preparation in athletic contests; one would find it commended by the trainers of prize fighters to help them in their preparation and in the final encounter; one would find it recommended by mountain climbers and by Arctic explorers, to stimulate the muscles for the exhausting ordeal of mountain climbing or to protect the system from the penetrating cold of the northern latitudes; alcoholic beverages are, however, not only not advised by these men for these purposes, but on the other hand, all participants in these activities are positively forbidden to use any alcoholic beverages, even in the smallest quantities.

So the young man who would develop a clear thinking brain and a sound body must leave alcoholic beverages alone. Further, the young man who would have absolute control of his sexual desires, must leave alcohol alone, for the first thing that alcohol does is to throw down the lines of control. It is under the influence of alcohol that the young man is almost sure to make his first visit to the house of prostitution. If a girl lose her virtue, it takes place in a majority of cases when she is under the influence of alcohol; but for this influence lessening her control, she could not be seduced. Hence one of the requirements of continence is TOTAL ABSTINENCE.

Under the head of narcotics must be classed also tobacco, though tobacco has several other effects than the narcotic one. It exerts upon the mucous membranes an irritation and that is the reason why the mucous glands of the mouth secrete so freely when one chews or smokes, but the influence upon the nervous system is distinctly of a narcotic character, and while tobacco is a mild narcotic, and while it can be used by the adult moderately without serious results; this is certain, that no man has ever been benefited by the use of tobacco. And while many men have been injured, even by the moderate use, all men are injured by the excessive use. Furthermore, boys and young men who have not attained the full stature of their physical development are very seriously injured and retarded in their development through even the moderate use of tobacco. There is not an educator in America who will not testify to the fact that the use of tobacco in any form by young boys, retards both the physical and mental growth.

So tobacco certainly is another thing that is altogether proper to leave alone, and its use at the very best cannot be defended on any grounds other than that it is a sense gratification. And while it must be admitted that it may serve as a sense gratification in the case of the individual who participates in it, it must also be remembered that tobacco smoke or the smell of tobacco is, in a very high degree distasteful if not actually loathsome, to a large proportion of society, and the young man who gratifies sense at the expense of his neighbors, certainly is on the defensive.

In so far as tobacco is a narcotic, in just so far does it disarm and put to sleep those aesthetic and moral impulses which are so helpful in the maintenance of the continent life.

c. The Dietetic Control of the Bowels.—A most important hygienic rule is to maintain a strict regularity of the bowels. By regularity of the bowels we mean, a free, normal passage of the bowels at least once in twenty-four hours. Two or three passages in twenty-four hours are not too many.

A tendency towards constipation may be hereditary. The writer finds that at least one case in four of persistent chronic constipation among college men seems to be due to a hereditary tendency.

Those individuals who have from early infancy and throughout their whole life suffered from a tendency to constipation and perhaps from actual chronic constipation, find it exceedingly difficult to produce normal regular daily movements of the bowels. Whether constipation is chronic or occasional or whether it is hereditary or acquired, in any case, it should be corrected if possible through modification of the diet, and of daily habits.

First of all, one must remember in this connection that the lower bowel or rectum is subject to education, and not by any means the least important factor in overcoming a tendency to constipation, is the regular morning visit to the water closet.

The author would discourage the habit which some have of "straining at stool." This act of straining at stool together with the pressure which the hard fecal masses make on the blood vessels, increases the blood pressure in the veins of the rectum to such a high degree that it is likely to cause hemorrhoids or piles. But if the position favorable to the passage of the bowels be taken regularly, every morning, and a reasonable time spent in that position, and if the daily passage is brought about at that time, the muscles of the rectum will be educated to the point of contracting upon its contents at that time and under those conditions regularly, and this will be a strong factor towards regulating the movements of the bowels.

But the most important thing to consider in this condition is the dietetic regulation of the bowels. There are some foods that tend to constipate while others act as a laxative.

Such foods for example, as contain a considerable portion of tannin, are always constipating. Strong teas have a constipating effect, particularly such as the bitter English Breakfast teas, in which there is a very large proportion of tannin. This large percentage of tannin accounts for the prevalence of constipation among female tea drinkers.

Unripe fruits contain a high percentage of tannin which, in the ripening processes of the fruit, becomes changed into cellulose and sugar. Any fruit that quickly turns brown after a cut surface is exposed to the air and that stains a steel-bladed knife black quickly when the fruit is cut, possesses a high percentage of tannin, and is not in a wholesome condition to eat. Unripe peaches and apples possess this characteristic. These fruits should be eaten only when ripe.

If one's diet contains too small a percentage of cellulose or pulp material, a tendency to constipation will be noticed. It has been found from investigation of this subject that the cellulose or undigested material of the cereals, vegetables and fruits, is an absolute essential to good bowel action. The cellulose makes bulk in the bowels and the simple presence of this bulk of undigested material stimulates the muscular contractions.

If one were to choose for example, a diet of meat, eggs, nuts, corn starch, tapioca, sugar, fats and oils, i.e., diets which will be almost completely digested and absorbed, leaving a very small amount of undigested material in the intestines, the bulk of the material in the intestines would be so small that they would not be stimulated to contract. Therefore this small bulk of material, together with certain excretions from the liver and other organs, would be retained in the bowel and undergo fermentation there. Injurious substances which result from the fermentation would be absorbed, causing what is known as autointoxication, complicated with constipation. If one, however, mixes with the condensed foods named above a good proportion of cereals, fruits and vegetables, all of which possess a considerable percentage of undigestible material, the presence of this undigestible material in the intestines leads to strong peristaltic movements, causing the passage of this material along the intestinal tract to the rectum, which will be periodically evacuated. In such cereal foods as the coarser meals (like oatmeal, various wheat preparations and corn meal), the proportion of bran substance serves as a local stimulation to the intestinal activity. The little bran scales being sharp-cornered and rough, serve as a local irritant or mechanical stimulation.

What has just been said regarding the advisability of eating some coarser cereals must not be taken to mean that white bread is not wholesome. On the other hand, white bread made from the roller process flour is in a high degree nutritious and wholesome, and may well make an important part of any dietary.

It is not hygienic to eat white bread or biscuits hot out of the oven. These hot breads tend to form doughy masses which are almost completely impervious to the digestive juices, and while they are eventually digested, it takes a very much longer time to do so than would be the case with stale bread, which is so readily masticated into a creamy consistency. If one is subjected to conditions where he must either eat hot biscuits or perhaps embarrass a most hospitable hostess, there is only one thing for him to do, i.e., to eat the biscuits.

It is possible, though difficult, to masticate hot bread so perfectly that it is reduced to a smooth, creamy consistency, and no one should ever swallow any bread which has not been so masticated.

Among the fruits, figs, prunes and apples seem to have the most clearly marked laxative effect, though all ripe fruits generally, and especially those that are taken uncooked, have a moderate laxative effect. Belonging to this class of foods is rhubarb which, though not a fruit, is usually served as a fruit either stewed or in puddings or pies. There is no doubt that it exerts its laxative effect better if taken stewed rather than with pastry.

If one then who is annoyed by a tendency to constipation wishes to correct it, a rational change of diet would be, to eat freely of cereals and coarse breads and of various fruits, particularly apples, figs and prunes.

The most effective way to use these laxative fruits is to eat freely of them just before retiring. The apples and figs may be eaten just as they are received from the market. Prunes may be soaked in cold water for twenty-four hours, then taken directly from the cold water and eaten.

If this is not effective a supplementary regime may be adopted that is only in part dietetic, i.e., to rise ONE HOUR BEFORE BREAKFAST, drink two glasses of cold water and take a brisk walk of fifteen to thirty minutes. The cold water has a tonic effect upon the stomach, preparing it for a rapid digestion of the breakfast. It also washes out the accumulation of mucus in the stomach, which may easily equal a pint in volume. This pint of mucous plus the pint of water, making a quart of liquid altogether, pours through the pylorus, and during the rapid walk, works its way rapidly down through the alimentary tract, washing the whole tract and preparing it to receive and rapidly to digest the next meal. This slimy water, having washed out the stomach and small intestine, then passes into the large intestine, moistening and lubricating its contents and causing it to move gradually towards the rectum, where it stimulates a normal free passage of the bowels after breakfast.

Any usual case of constipation will yield to this treatment. Such a treatment is incomparably more rational than the taking of medicines.

d. The Dietetic Control of Sleep.—Most students study evenings. If their heavy meal is a dinner at 5:30 or 6 p.m. they are likely to feel very drowsy by 7:30 or 8 o'clock. This is a perfectly natural experience, all animals manifesting a drowsiness after a heavy meal. If one could lie down and sleep for an hour while his dinner is digesting, he could probably rise at 9 o'clock and put in two or three hours of good hard work. He would find himself at 11 or 12 o'clock so thoroughly awake, however, that he might have difficulty in getting to sleep if he retired at that hour. If, on the other hand, one has his dinner in the middle of the day and a light supper at night, he is able to begin studying within an hour after supper and keep it up until he is ready to retire. In this case also, he is likely to be so wide awake at the time of retiring that he may have difficulty in getting to sleep. In either of these cases, it is altogether proper and advisable to take a light lunch before retiring. A double purpose can be served by this lunch. In the first place, the taking of anything into the stomach that requires digestion tends to deplete the circulation from other organs (brain in this case) to the stomach. In the second place, the food may be so chosen as to exert a definite somnolent effect. Such foods are, celery, lettuce, onions, warm milk. It may not be convenient to get warm milk at midnight, but it would hardly be inconvenient to provide one's self with two or three graham crackers and a stalk of celery. These with a drink of water and a little brisk exercise before an open window ought so far to divert the circulation from the brain as to enable one to fall asleep quickly.

e. The Dietetic Control of the Kidneys and Skin.—The stimulation of excretion through the kidneys and skin may be an exceedingly important thing, particularly if one has just caught a cold and wishes to establish free excretion. The food which has a most clearly marked effect upon both kidneys and skin is the juice of the citrus fruits. These fruits, as they appear in our markets, are lemons, oranges and grape fruit. All of these fruits are in a high degree wholesome as an addition to the dietary. Lemon juice is far more wholesome than vinegar in salads. The juices of lemons and oranges make most refreshing and deliciously cooling drinks in summer, and on occasions where one wishes to get a strong stimulation of the kidneys and skin, he has only to drink large quantities of hot lemonade.

f. The Dietetic Method of Curing a Cold.—A whole quart of hot lemonade may be taken on retiring after one has caught cold. The effect in such a case would be to cause a free sweating and copious urination. Both the action of the kidneys and the skin would tend to carry away from the system the effete materials that have been retained as a result of the cold.

It is hardly necessary to add in this connection that care should be taken that during the sweating or immediately following it, the body should not be exposed to catch more cold. In this method of treating a cold, one should take a strong cathartic such as two or three teaspoonfuls of castor oil, and should remain in bed twenty-four hours. During this twenty-four hours no other food than a little light broth should be taken. This treatment usually completely breaks up a cold and one is able, in two or three days, to make good the loss of the twenty-four hours, during which time he was confined to his room.

This dietetic method of caring for an acute catarrhal cold is incomparably wiser and more economical than to drag around, hoping to "wear out the cold," only to be worn out by it.

2. BATHS.

a. The Bath for Cleanliness.—Little need be said regarding the bath for cleanliness except that it should be taken at least once in a week during the colder portion of the year and perhaps as frequently as once a day during that portion of the year when there is free perspiration.

Where one is bathing for cleanliness he may well use soap and warm water over the whole surface of the body. If he takes this bath just before retiring, it is not necessary to take a cold shower or sponge at the end of the bath. If, however, one takes a warm soap bath in the morning the relaxing effect of the bath upon the skin makes it necessary to take a cold shower or a cold sponge after the warm bath in order to secure the tonic effect upon the skin and fortify one against catching cold.

During the hot weather when one may bathe daily for cleanliness he should guard against an excessive use of soap, as a daily soap bath may have a tendency to remove the oils from the skin so completely as to make the skin rough. With the daily bath for cleanliness it is possible that warm water and soap need not be used more frequently than once or twice a week and that a laving of the whole surface with cold water followed by a vigorous rub down with a coarse towel may serve the double purpose of insuring absolute cleanliness, and at the same time serving as a skin tonic.

In this connection the author would emphasize the importance of insuring absolute cleanliness of the sexual apparatus. In primeval conditions less attention was necessary as these organs were more or less exposed, but the present method of dress is such as to permit the accumulation of the skin secretions. While these may in part be removed by the friction against the clothing, it is advisable to wash the external genitals and all neighboring surfaces as a regular part of the daily toilet.

b. The Tonic Bath.—In warm weather when one takes a daily bath to insure cleanliness, at least five of these baths each week may be in cold water, sufficiently cold to secure the tonic effect as described above. In cold weather, when one takes not more than one or two warm soap baths a week, the cold tonic bath can be made to serve a most important purpose in the hygiene.

Some have followed the custom of immersing the body completely in a tub of cold water. This method of taking the cold bath is not to be recommended except for those who are in the most robust health, and in these cases, so vigorous a treatment is not necessary nor particularly beneficial. The author has seen many people who were injured by this method of taking the tonic bath.

There are two methods to be recommended: Those who have access to a cold shower may stand for a moment, and for a moment only, under the cold shower, then step at once upon a warm rug and rub the whole surface of the body vigorously with a dry crash towel until the whole surface of the body glows with the warmth of the reaction. If one does not have access to the cold shower, he may take a most effective tonic bath in his room, using cold water, the coldest obtainable, and a bath sponge, or even a wash cloth, dipping the sponge into the cold water, then pressing out enough of the water so that there will be no excess of water to run over the surface of the body from the sponge. Begin by sponging face, neck, shoulders, arms and chest, then wipe these parts dry, subject them to vigorous friction with the crash towel until the arms, shoulders and chest particularly glow with the warmth of the reaction. While the upper half of the body is receiving its bath the lower half may be kept covered, and conversely.

This tonic bath should be taken immediately upon arising in the morning, and as a part of the morning toilet.

If one takes such a tonic bath on arising, then dresses hurriedly and takes a brisk walk of fifteen or thirty minutes, the regime quickly brings his body into the most vigorous and robust state of health; unless there is something wrong with his digestion or his excretion, and even moderate derangements of these will be very likely to be corrected by the regime just suggested.

3. EXERCISE.

Incident to the above topic mention has been made of the brisk morning walk before breakfast. This has a most salutary tonic effect besides the influence that it exerts upon the bowel movements. Not the least important result of this morning exercise depends on the fact that the lungs are repeatedly and completely inflated with the pure out-of-door air. This naturally exerts a most valuable influence upon the development of the lungs in the youth or the maintenance of their vigor in middle age.

The increased heart action is also advantageous as it leads to hastened circulation through the muscles, glands and brain. This hurrying blood current not only carries nutriment to these organs, but carries away their accumulations of effete material to the excretory glands.

The student must be cautioned not to overdo this early morning exercise. The mile run, the mile row or any other strenuous exercise is strongly to be discouraged at this time of the day. If one overdoes morning exercise, he is likely to feel somewhat depleted and fatigued, throughout the remainder of the forenoon, and his ability to do a high grade of mental work is decreased rather than increased.

Besides the morning exercise, every person who wishes to live a vigorous physical life should have from one to two hours of heavier exercise during the latter part of the day or evening. This exercise may take any one of many forms. It may be golf, tennis, foot-ball, base-ball, cricket, rowing, lacrosse, basket-ball, cross country running, track or gymnasium work, etc., etc. The immediate results of this exercise should be largely to increase lung and heart action and to cause a sufficient fatigue of the muscular system so that rest is sought and may be followed by dreamless, recuperative sleep.

It might at first seem paradoxical that to build up strong muscles we must first fatigue them, but that seems to be Nature's plan. The only way to build up a strong physique is to use that physique and use it to its maximum capacity.

If one exercises thus freely and eats abstemiously he ought not to lay on fat. If he does lay on fat, he may know that he is eating more than he needs and he should make his diet more temperate. The youth of eighteen or nineteen who is tall and rather spare, and whose muscular system has not reached its full development would, of course, increase his weight incident to the growth of his muscular system. This increase in weight must not be confused with increase of weight through fat deposit. The latter should be avoided—the former should be encouraged.

Not by any means the least important thing accomplished by physical exercise is the association with his fellows incident to his exercise. The courage, nerve control, quick judgment, agility and strength required on the foot-ball field make no small part of the young man's equipment to fight the battles of life. The conditions of these games give frequent opportunities for the young man to cultivate the spirit of honesty and fair play—the spirit, without which, no man can reach his highest success in the real contests of life.

4. THE HYGIENIC REQUIREMENTS OF SLEEP.

The personal hygiene of sleep is by no means an unimportant topic, though it may be briefly treated.

The amount of sleep that each individual requires and should take can only be determined by the individual. Some seem to require ten hours, others eight, others six, while rarely individuals are found who seem to thrive on even so little as five hours of sleep out of twenty-four. The average requirement seems to be about eight hours. If one has by experience or experiment determined the amount of sleep which he requires, he should so plan his daily regime that he can secure that amount of sleep. While a brief departure from this regime may be without serious results, any prolonged departure from it will certainly bring its natural retribution. So, the young man having determined how much sleep he needs, should adopt a daily program that will provide for just that many hours in bed, and he should early establish the habit of going to sleep at once upon retiring, and of arising at once upon awakening. Dallying in bed has led many a young man to lapse into habits of thought and of action that are in a high degree deleterious, morally and physically.

So far as one may choose the equipment of his sleeping apartment, he should choose a hard bed and a cover as light as possible and yet be comfortable.

One should never retire with cold feet. A most effective way to warm the feet is to dip them for a moment in cold water and then rub them vigorously with a coarse towel until they glow with warmth. Furthermore, no more effective remedy for habitual cold feet could be devised than this nightly tonic bath.

One will add greatly to his comfort and decrease largely the danger of taking cold if he provides himself with a pair of warm bed room slippers, which should always be worn during one's excursions to the bath room, and during his tonic sponge bath.

As to posture in bed, the experience of men in general is, that the most comfortable posture and the most hygienic one is to lie upon the side. The right side is to be preferred to the left because in this position, the heart being on the upper side, is not embarrassed in its free movement by the superincumbent lung tissue. Furthermore, this position facilitates the passage of digesting foods from the stomach. To maintain comfortably this side position, requires that the knees be at least moderately drawn up. This posture when asleep is practically identical with that of nearly all higher animals, and is unquestionably the most hygienic one for man. No animal but man ever lies upon its back unless it is dead. Furthermore, the dorsal position puts tendons, nerves and muscles on a stretch, while the flexed lateral position puts these in a more or less relaxed position, which is most favorable to rest.

It goes without saying that sleeping rooms should always be thoroughly ventilated. The occupant should take care that he does not lie in a direct draught from a window or door, because it has been found by experience that one is less likely to catch cold if he sleeps out of doors than he is if he sleeps in a direct draught from a window or door. Just why this is has not been satisfactorily accounted for, but the fact remains. So if you must sleep in the house, secure perfect ventilation without direct draughts.

5. THE CONTROL OF THE THOUGHTS.

There is no more effective safeguard for the man who wishes to lead a continent life than the control of the thoughts. It goes without saying that the man who thinks about sexual matters, especially the one whose imagination runs wild upon all kinds of sexually stimulating images, is only inviting temptation to relax his continence. If he controls his thoughts during those times when he is less amenable to temptation, he is far more likely to be able to control his acts at those times when his physical condition makes him most amenable to temptation.

The most effective way to control the thoughts is so to plan one's work as to insure the complete occupation of the mind with affairs that are wholly independent of sexual experiences or considerations. One should set a mark for himself so high above his present position that he is compelled to put forth strenuous and unremitting efforts in order to accomplish his aim. The old saying that, "Satan finds work for idle hands to do" is all too true. Anyone may observe the influence of idleness or even the influence of a partially occupied program upon the habits of the youth and young man. Beard and Rockwell, in their valuable work on this subject say: "Go to work; develop your muscles and brain; resolve to become at least useful if not famous. The activity which will be necessary in carrying out these ambitions will divert the mind from imaginary evils, if they are imaginary, and will be one of the best means to cure the real ones."



CHAPTER VI.

DEVELOPMENT.



DEVELOPMENT.

The development of the child within the uterus of the mother represents a chapter in the life history of every individual so important in its relations to maternity and paternity that every young man should be acquainted with at least its general features.

As stated in the chapter on Reproduction, every living organism begins life as a single cell, or globule of protoplasm. In the case of the human subject, the cell from which each child begins its development is formed by the fusion of two cells or globules of protoplasm, one furnished by the mother, and called the ovum, or egg; the other furnished by the father, and called the spermatozoon. The egg is very much larger than the spermatozoon, and contains enough yolk material to afford nourishment for the embryo for a number of days.

When the ovum reaches the finished state, which is called "maturity," it leaves the ovary, and is carried along the fallopian tube (see accompanying figure) into the uterus, where it usually finds a lodgment in the upper part, as shown in Figure I. Once the minute ovum has been caught in the projections of the velvety inner surface of the uterus, this thick velvety lining of the uterus in the neighborhood of the ovum begins a rapid growth, gradually enveloping the rapidly expanding ovum, as shown in Figures I and II of the accompanying plate.

Within the ovum there are taking place some of the most marvelous changes in the whole life history of the individual. The nucleus of the fertilized egg, and the protoplasm which surrounds it, divide into two cells, then into four, eight, sixteen, etc. These divisions follow each other in such rapid succession that there are many hundreds of cells by the end of the first twenty-four hours. These cells soon begin to arrange themselves into layers and groups, which, step by step, develop the different tissues and organs of the body.

By the end of thirty days the little embryo, about as large as one inch of the end of a lead pencil, would be recognized as the embryo of some mammalian animal, but it would be quite impossible to say whether it would develop into a human being or some other animal, if it were seen quite apart from its immediate surroundings. By the end of another thirty days, however, the little embryo has multiplied its size several times, and has reached a form instantly recognizable as the young of the human kind, as shown in Figure IV. It still, however, retains the vestige of a little tail, which within the next thirty days will have been completely absorbed.



Note that the little two months embryo has projecting from its abdomen a large structure which is labeled "cord." This cord is a part of what is called the umbilical cord, and it is this that joins the embryo to the mother. Note in Figure III the large stalk of this cord passing upward from the body of the embryo and merging into the structures in the top of the uterus. Note further that there are little branching structures passing from the base of this stalk up into the base of the uterus. These branching structures are loops of blood-vessels, and they form part of the placenta, or "afterbirth." Through this cord the embryo receives its nourishment from the mother. The blood of the mother bathes these loops of blood-vessels, and the embryo absorbs from the mother's blood the nourishment which builds its bones, muscles, brain, spinal-cord, and glands. From the same source the embryo receives the oxygen necessary for the maintenance of its life.

From the third month on to the end of the nine months, the amount of material which the mother must provide for the development of the child within her womb amounts to no small draft on her physical resources. It is not at all uncommon for a mother in the later months of pregnancy to become quite pale, her blood having been impoverished to provide material for the development of her child.

MATERNITY.

What has been said above regarding the contributions which the maternal organism must make toward the development of the offspring must have impressed on the mind of the reader that maternity means, first of all, sacrifice.

This sacrifice begins when the girl first enters upon womanhood.

With the expulsion of the ripened ovum comes, each month, a week of special physical drain, when work must be lightened and vigorous exercise curtailed, when exposure to cold or dampness may mean loss of health.

Under these circumstances a woman should at this time deny herself the pleasure of dancing; of skating or swimming; of sleigh-rides or cross-country walks and the young man should make it less difficult for her by acquiescing without question or demur in her request to be excused from such recreation.

It is a fact that more sacrifice is involved in maternity among the more highly cultivated nations of the human race than is true of aboriginal peoples, or among the lower animals. Conditions of modern life, and particularly urban life, leave the female organism less able to endure the drafts made upon the system by maternity, so that to bear a child may mean not only the sacrifice of comfort, but even the sacrifice of health.

The highly sensitive, delicately adjusted nervous system of the woman is perhaps more profoundly influenced than any other part of her being. This manifests itself particularly in a heightened degree of sensitiveness. It goes without saying that the pregnant woman deserves at the hands of all who come in contact with her, and particularly at the hands of her husband, most considerate and sympathetic treatment. Her little whims and vagaries, however unreasonable, must always be treated seriously, and with delicate and tactful consideration. The members of her family, particularly the husband, owe it to her and to her child to keep her in as happy a frame of mind as possible.

When we consider the real significance of maternity to the race, to society, and to the family, we must feel that, of all human relations, maternity is the most sacred, and that no condition should be allowed to mar it, and no consideration to take precedence of it.

PATERNITY.

After the husband had contributed the male sexual cells, or spermatozoa, in this wonderful process above outlined, it might seem that there is little he can do, except to wait, while nature carries on the process. The reader will remember, however, from the chapter on Reproduction, that the contribution of the spermatozoa only initiates the sacrifices that the paternal organism must make in this process. Are there any demands on paternity between the time of conception of the new life and its birth?

As already mentioned under the preceding topic, the pregnant mother needs gentle and loving care. She needs to have her little whims and foibles overlooked. She needs to be protected, so far as possible, from every influence that might depress or make her unhappy. She needs to be guarded against any unusual physical exertion, and above all, she needs at this time more than at any other time, the manifested affection and sympathy of her husband.

There is another sacrifice, if it may be so called, which the husband is called upon to make during the pregnancy of his wife, namely, to abstain absolutely from sexual intercourse during the period of pregnancy and for two or three months following. This means practically one year of continent living. All other animals observe this period of continence. Nature demands that man observe it in common with other animals. Man is the only animal that has transgressed this fundamental law of nature. The retribution which nature metes out to the transgression of this law is various. Sometimes, but rarely, the sexual excitement on the part of the woman may cause an abortion, or a miscarriage. The more usual result makes itself manifest in the drain on the nervous energy of the woman. When we consider that maternity in the human race involves greater sacrifice than in any other animal, it would seem that the addition of this last demand, namely, of satisfying the sexual desires of the husband during the period of pregnancy, might prove "the straw that breaks the camel's back," and result in the more or less complete nervous breakdown of the woman. The author submits this question to all fair-minded men: Is it not due to the wife that she be not asked to satisfy the recurring sexual desires of the husband during the period when her life and its energies are so sacred to the race, to society, and to the family?

The author submits this question because some men are known to transgress this law of nature. Fortunately the proportion of men who thus transgress is not large.

Let us stand for these things: (1) An equal standard of purity for men and women, (2) A strenuous, virile, continent manhood, (3) Sexual temperance in wedlock.



APPENDIX



APPENDIX.

Personal conferences and correspondence with young men regarding the solution of their problems have brought out several questions that are so frequently repeated as to make it evident that the answering of them would serve the purpose of clearing up certain questions or doubts, more or less important in the minds of many young men. It has been decided to group these answers in an appendix rather than to incorporate them in the body of the book, as many of them seem not quite relevant to the topics outlined under the several chapters.

1. How do we know that during the nocturnal emission the products of the testes are not present?

The spermatozoa found in the nocturnal emission, if present at all, are found to be very much less active than the spermatozoa of semen secreted during sexual excitement. The seminal vesicles are not receptacles for the testicular secretion. The ampullae seem to serve that purpose in a limited degree.

Considering all these facts, it seems to be a tenable conclusion that the few and sluggish spermatozoa seen in the product of the nocturnal emission are those that have, from time to time, collected in the ampullae, and that during the time immediately preceding the nocturnal emission the testes are not actively releasing nascent spermatozoa. This function of the testes seems to be reserved for periods of conscious sexual stimulation.

2. How may one control too frequent emissions?

If emissions are too frequent for the individual case, they are followed by depletion and malaise. Even if they occur as infrequently as once in two weeks and are followed by the above symptoms, they must be considered as too frequent, or abnormal in that case. On the other hand, they may occur as frequently as twice a week in plethoric robust individuals, and especially in men who have had frequent sexual intercourse, and who have for some reason discontinued it. And even though they occur as frequently as twice a week, if they are followed by a feeling of relief and wellbeing, they must not be considered as too frequent for that individual under the conditions.

So the frequency limit of nocturnal emissions is more or less independent of the time and quite dependent upon the reaction of the individual to the emission. If, following the criterion above outlined, one finds that his emissions are too frequent, because of accompanying depletion and malaise, this frequency may be modified either by changes of the diet or by changes of hygiene.

For a more extended discussion, see text above on nocturnal emissions.

3. Do the organs of reproduction actually develop after the age of seventeen or nineteen or even to the twenty-fifth year as is the case with the physical and mental powers?

The brain of an individual adds no nerve cells after a very early age. The brain increases only very slightly in size and weight after the age of puberty, and then only under special conditions and this increase in weight and size is not due to the addition of any new cells, but simply to a slight increase in the bulk of those cells already present. In a similar way the sexual apparatus undergoes, during the period of puberty (fifteen to seventeen) a very rapid growth, reaching by the end of the period of puberty (seventeenth or nineteenth year) their full size.

4. Are enlarged veins in the scrotum dangerous?

Enlarged veins of the scrotum represent dilatation of the veins of the epididymis. These are thin walled vessels that respond to any increased internal blood pressure, perhaps showing a special tendency in this direction during that period of rapid growth of the sexual apparatus in the early part of the adolescent period. If the enlargement is only moderate, it may disappear, or at least become spontaneously arrested in its growth, in which case it need cause no concern. If these veins, however, dilate until they form a considerable mass, known as VARICOCELE, they may affect the sexual apparatus deleteriously in two ways: (1) The increased weight in the scrotal sac may cause the sac to become elongated and to annoy the subject by its traction on the spermatic cord. This lengthened scrotum with its contents may also be exposed to mechanical pressure or even to injury from the clothing, etc., which would not occur if the scrotal sac were short, holding the testes close to the body. (2) Of far more importance is the danger of the varicocele gradually encroaching by pressure upon the testis, perhaps to cause a partial atrophy of that gland. This condition is a comparatively rare one, and inasmuch as it seldom occurs in both testes, the possibility of causing sterility on the part of a man is remote.

The extension of the scrotum and the "bearing-down" sensation may be relieved through the wearing of a suspensory bandage. Such a bandage may be obtained at any drug store or surgical instrument house, and if properly fitted, will usually relieve any such discomfort as described above. If the varicocele is quite large, the subject will do well to consult a competent surgeon and to take his advice.

5. Is the emptying of the seminal vesicles thru nocturnal emission a universal phenomenon among continent men?

The nocturnal emission is not a universal method of emptying the seminal vesicles. Some continent men never have nocturnal emissions. The reason may be sought in one of two directions: (1) The usual cause of absence of nocturnal emissions is to be found in the fact that in the man in question the seminal vesicles are periodically drained by involuntary diurnal emissions, occurring usually when the individual is at stool. These emissions are likely to occur once in two to four weeks and take the place of the nocturnal emission. (2) Rarely we find virile, continent men whose vesicular secretion is so scanty that they are never conscious of its emission.

6. (a) Should a man who for three to six years of his boyhood practiced masturbation think of wedlock?

(b) If one has not lived a pure life but has reformed, may he ask a pure woman to be his wife?

Such questions as these are very frequently asked and with most serious motives. A vast majority of boys and young men who practice self-abuse, do so either wholly ignorant of the fact that it is wrong or cognizant only in a vague way of the evil of the practice.

To consign a man to the Hades of homelessness and the sorrow of childlessness because through ignorance he lapsed from purity during a few months or years of his life, would be meting out a retribution far in excess of the sin. If nature intended such a retribution to be meted out she would have led the way by causing an atrophy or some other form of disease in the subject who had abused his sexual organs. But nature does not do that. If the young man who, from his twelfth to his eighteenth year, has practiced masturbation, is shown the error of his way and breaks the habit absolutely, nature quickly comes to his rescue and rehabilitates his virility completely, unless he has been guilty of extreme excess in the habit. This rehabilitation of virility after self-abuse is usually experienced in from one to three years, according to the case and the extent of the practice.

The complete mastery of a habit after it has through years been forging its chains about the youth, is in itself no small victory and should go a long way towards extenuating his lapse. The young man who can conquer himself and learn to lead a pure life, free from his early habit and above reproach not only in his acts toward womankind but also in all his thoughts of woman deserves his well-earned reward. He deserves the respect of all pure women and should be able to win the love of one whom he may with clear conscience ask to be his wife, and with whom he may confidently expect to build a typical home.

7. Should a man have intercourse for any purpose other than for procreation?

In the normal course of events, if intercourse is indulged in for procreation only, it would come as often as once, perhaps twice in a month; that is, either just before the menstrual period of the woman or just after, the woman being most easily impregnated at these two periods.

A man who has led a continent life before marriage should have no difficulty in controlling his sexual appetite to that extent. If the sexual intercourse occurs as infrequently as once or twice in a month, the man, by living thus continently, will find it much more easy to maintain his continence during the twelve-month period after his wife becomes pregnant before he can properly have intercourse with her again, than would be the case if he had had sexual relations much more frequently.

That the man desires intercourse much more frequently than as above outlined and that the woman, in the vast majority of cases, does not desire intercourse except for procreation and about as frequently as above indicated is, without any reasonable doubt, due to hereditary tendencies. Under primeval conditions, and in fact, until comparatively recent times, the vast majority of mankind were polygamous, the strong men of the race—those who procreated their kind—having as many wives as they could support and protect, the weak men of the race being crowded aside, sometimes castrated, to become the burden bearers for the strong.

Under conditions of polygamy the woman is rarely subjected to sexual intercourse for other than procreative purposes, and even granting that the man has intercourse for procreation only, if he had twelve wives, he would be having it twelve times as frequently as any one of them. That these experiences on the part of a long line of maternal ancestors should lead the women of today to desire sexual intercourse for procreation only, is easy to understand; that the impulses transmitted along the paternal line of ancestors should lead the men of today to desire intercourse far more frequently than this can, under monogamous conditions be indulged, is also easy to understand.

8. How frequently may sexual intercourse be indulged, in the marriage state?

If one is to overstep the bounds mentioned above, i.e., to indulge in sexual intercourse once or twice in a month for procreation only and not at all during the period of pregnancy and childbed period, the limit is then set, not by strictly normal and anthropological considerations, but by the health of the individuals. The author has seen young married couples who had carried their sexual intercourse to such extremes as seriously to deplete the physical vigor and menace the health of both parties. Just how frequent indulgence will have this effect in any particular case is impossible to say. In some cases twice a week may have this effect; in other cases once in twenty-four hours might be borne for a considerable time. In any case the condition is an unnatural one and is certain to bring a natural retribution in some form—either broken health, or sterility of the wife, and depleted powers of the husband, or weak and sickly children, separated by long intervals.

9. How long is it possible for a young man to waste his vital fluid and yet be able to raise healthy children?

This question cannot be answered in other than most general terms. The author has known one case of a young man who, for several years, practiced masturbation several times a day, so far depleting his powers that he could not walk erect, his muscles were flabby, his testes were very soft and small, his eyes shifty, his hands clammy and his mind incoherent in its working. He seemed to be a candidate for the asylum and would probably have gone there if radical means had not been adopted to break him of the habit. He was broken, however, absolutely, and never performed the act after his nineteenth birthday. Within three years he had completely recovered his virility. He had nearly doubled in weight and in lung capacity and a large part of his increased weight was in great bulk of muscle of high tonicity—muscle which he had gained by heavy physical work upon a ranch. His sexual organs had completely regained their tonicity and without doubt, their virility. He had so far recovered mentally that he finished a course of professional study and entered with great success upon the practice of his chosen profession.

On the other hand, a middle-aged man consulted the author regarding the sterility of his wife. After examination, it was found that the husband had practiced masturbation about twice a week from the age of puberty to his twenty-fourth year, when he was married. He assured the author that at the time of his marriage his testicles were, as far as he had known, similar to the testicles of other young men, and that during his married life he had never had intercourse with his wife more frequently than once in a month, but that during that time he had noticed a gradual atrophy of the testes. At the time of the examination only small atrophied remains of these testes could be discovered. The sterility of the wife was due, without any question, to the absolute impotence of the husband, and so far as the history of the case would suggest, there was no other assignable cause of this impotence than the eight years of masturbation.

From these two cases, it must be evident that no rules can be laid down. In one case the subject recovered fully from a case of extreme masturbation; in the other-case, a habit that would not be called extreme resulted in impotence. It must be evident that the practice is a dangerous one after puberty, as no individual can tell to which of the above cases his may be similar.

10. Granting that masturbation is harmful through loss of semen, is there any compensation for this loss of semen in case of intercourse with a woman?

There is no doubt that an emission of semen following sexual excitement is a draught upon the virile powers of the male animal. If this sexual excitement is the artificial one cultivated by the masturbator, the depletion seems to be more marked than is the case with the normal, natural stimulation incident to sexual intercourse. Some have suggested that the reciprocal influence of the woman can in some way compensate for the vital fluid contributed by the male. It is hardly likely that such a reciprocal influence is other than psychical, but that is certainly sufficient to account for any difference in these two forms of sexual gratification.

Nature calls upon the male animal to make a contribution for procreation, which contribution is, always has been, and, in the very nature of the case, always must be a certain tax upon the powers of the male animal. When the intercourse is indulged for procreation only, the male animal can well afford to make the contribution. Even with that, the contribution which the male makes to procreation is incomparably less depleting for him than are the contributions which the female makes for her.

11. Will vital fluid flow with every sexual intercourse?

If vital fluid is present, and if the sexual intercourse is carried to the point of causing an orgasm, there would, in all normal conditions, be an emission of semen or "vital fluid."

12. Is there any way to regulate intercourse so as to control the sex of the offspring?

While there are many theories upon this subject no one of them is generally accepted by medical men.

13. Will an intense and continuous desire on the part of a young man for sexual intercourse cause a loss of seminal fluid?

An intense and continuous desire for sexual intercourse will, without question, cause an active secretion on the part of the testes, an increased secretion on the part of the seminal vesicles and an active secretion on the part of the prostate gland and of Cowper's glands. The secretion from Cowper's glands will make its way along the urethra and appear at the opening of that duct, probably soiling the linen of the subject. The accumulated semen from the other glands will tend rather to aggravate than allay the sexual desires. Such a condition of the sexual apparatus is likely to cause a nocturnal emission, relieving this tension and emptying the gorged gland ducts. If the nocturnal emission does not occur, the sexual desires are certain to return to occupy the waking hours more or less completely. If the nocturnal emission does occur, it will carry away not alone the vesicular secretion, but also more or less of the nascent spermatozoa and other constituents of the vital fluid. Seasons of intense and prolonged sexual excitement are in a high degree inimical to continence, and even though the subject does not fully submit to his inclination, his nocturnal emissions, which are likely to come frequently, carry away the product of the testicular secretion, thereby depleting to a certain extent, his virility. It is hardly necessary to urge the importance of resisting these onslaughts of sexual passion in their very incipiency.

14. How may the habit of masturbation best be brought under control?

The first thing to accomplish is the purification of the thoughts. The most effective way to purify the thoughts is to divert them to a pure and strictly non-sexual subject—e.g., pure mathematics. The young man who is trying to break this habit will do well to follow very closely the rather strenuous regime outlined under hygiene in the body of the book. If his condition is complicated because of the presence of a very long loose foreskin, he will be wise to have this removed by the simple operation of circumcision. If he should awake in the night and feel the temptation to resort to his old habit, he should resist the temptation in its first stage and instantly put his mind on some subject quite foreign to his sexual apparatus. If he does not succeed by force of will in diverting his mind from himself, the best thing to do is to arise, dress and walk. If walking will not do it let him run, and keep moving in the open air, under God's blue sky until he is so tired he can hardly put one foot before the other. Then if he will retire to his room, he will probably have no further difficulty at that time.

15. What influence has dancing upon the young man's solution of his sexual problems?

It hardly seems possible that a virile, husky young man, in his early twenties, could be subjected for several hours to the conditions of the modern dance hall, where he is brought into very close physical contact with young women, dressed to expose their secondary sexual features, perfumed to excite in a man his hereditary sexual instincts; held so close to his partner in the round dance that he is conscious of every movement of her limbs, and all of these under the influence of artificial light and music—I say, it is hardly possible for a virile young man to be subjected to all these conditions without experiencing an extreme sexual excitement. That such an experience often repeated not only does not simplify the young man's problem, but seriously complicates it is not a matter of doubt on the part of anyone who has studied these problems. All specialists in this field, without a single exception, concur in the belief that the dance is a device of the devil so far as the young man is concerned. That the young women are, for the most part, quite innocent of the effect of all these conditions upon their young men friends is also believed by those who have studied the problem. If they were conscious of it, a large majority of them would not longer consent to be the party to such unfortunate conditions. The Square Dance, the Virginia Reel and similar dances of the times of our grandparents are not remotely to be compared in this matter with the modern Round Dance.

16. May lost Virility be regained by use of "Remedies" or medicines of any kind?

No. Positively and absolutely, No. Many such nostrums are advertised in the public prints. Many are sold by charlatans and quacks. No reputable physician would hold out to his patient the hope that any drug could bring back lost manhood.

Lost manhood or lost virility may be regained by right living only. The prescription for right living is as follows: Live a continent life and follow a strenuous and sane regime of personal hygiene, such as outlined in chapter V above.

17. Is the production of semen modified by nutrition?

The production of semen is greatly modified by the state of nutrition. Remember in this connection that semen is partly from the testes (Spermatozoa) and partly from the vesicles and prostate. The formation and release of spermatozoa is only slightly modified by the condition of nutrition; while the rate of secretion from the vesicles is greatly modified in quantity. This accounts for the fact that well nourished men who eat heavily are very likely to experience frequent nocturnal emissions, when living continently.



LECTURES by the Author of Reproduction and Sexual Hygiene.

THE YOUNG MAN'S PROBLEM.

Heard by 20,000 men last year.

WHAT IS SAID ABOUT IT.

The Young Men's Christian Association of Philadelphia. Walter M. Wood, General Secretary

October 17, 1908. To Whom it May Concern:

It is with great pleasure that I pay a tribute of appreciation to the excellent service of Dr. Winfield S. Hall, in his presentation to audiences of young men of the vital problems of sexual hygiene.

With the intelligence of a trained and experienced physician, with the thoroughness and frankness of an expert teacher and with the delicacy and motive of a Christian gentleman, he presents the "Young Man's Problem" in such a way as to make him, in my judgment, one of the most helpful counselors of young men on the American platform today.

Sincerely, W.M. WOOD.

University of Notre Dame.

Winfield Scott Hall, M.D., Northwestern University Medical School.

My Dear Dr. Hall:

In your lecture on "The Young Man's Problem" and in your book on "Sexual Hygiene" you are doing a great service for the rising generation. I am convinced that one great source of vice is ignorance about the matters touched upon in your lecture and book. Priests are constantly giving instruction on these same points, but it is a distinct advantage to have their teaching reinforced by a distinguished physician, expressing himself with the plainness of the laity and speaking always in a most reverential spirit. For students seventeen years of age or more your presentation of this difficult subject will be a God-send, for it abates curiosity, dissipates ignorance, warns of perils and arouses a manly desire for a clean life.

Very sincerely yours, JOHN CAVANAUGH, C.S.C., President.

Central Department, Young Men's Christian Association, Chicago.

October 21, 1908.

Dr. Winfield S. Hall, Northwestern University Medical School. My Dear Dr. Hall:

Our committee wants to know if we cannot arrange a date with you this year to deliver your lecture on "The Young Man's Problem." I also want some more of your books on Reproduction and Sexual Hygiene.

I cannot forbear to express my very hearty appreciation of the splendid service you have done and are doing to the young manhood of our country in this lecture and this book. I have never heard a presentation of the subject which takes hold so deeply upon thoughtful men, and your book is by all odds the best thing in print on this subject. Your scientific, yet popular method and the absence of vague moralizing are convincing and inspiring in their effects. I trust we may hear you this year.

Very truly yours, HERBERT W. GATES, Secy., Religious Work.

THE SECRET OF MANHOOD

Given to many audiences of boys in High-School, Academy, Y.M.C.A. and Summer Camp.

The Institute and Training School of Young Men's Christian Associations, Chicago and Lake Geneva.

October 7, 1908.

Dr. Winfield S. Hall, Northwestern Medical School, Chicago, Ill.

My Dear Dr. Hall:

I want to express my appreciation of your talk to boys on Sexual Hygiene. I listened with the greatest of interest to your presentation before the Boys' Conference at Lake Geneva the past summer and it seemed to me that both in substance and in form of presentation you hit the nail on the head in a way I had never before seen it done. I believe that your contribution to boys in this direction is to be even greater than that which you have been making to young men.

Sincerely yours, FRANK H. BURT, President.

State Agricultural College of Colorado.

Dr. Winfield S. Hall, Fort Collins, Colo., October 27, 1908. Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago.

Dear Doctor:

I wish to testify to the value of your lecture to boys from 12 to 16 years of age. You have touched a vital subject in a most original way that impresses every boy that hears you. You lead up to your "Secret of Manhood" in a manner that holds the attention, impresses the truth you want to teach, so that it is sure to be of lasting good.

This lecture I regard as the very best of its kind, which I have ever heard.

Sincerely yours, W.H. OLIN. Vice Dean, State Agricultural College of Colorado.

Princeton Township High School.

Princeton, Ill., October 6, 1908.

Dr. Winfield S. Hall of the Northwestern University Medical School recently gave a talk to our high school boys along physiological lines, setting forth very scientifically but plainly many delicate and important truths which every boy should know. Dr. Hall is a master of his subject and his manner is so dignified and yet sympathetic that he commands respect and holds the closest attention. I feel sure that such a talk given to boys and young men does a great amount of good.

Sincerely, H.S. MAGILL, JR., Principal.

International Committee, Young Men's Christian Association.

W.S. Hall, M.D., Chicago, Ill. Chicago, Ill., October 4, 1908.

My dear Doctor:

I am more than glad to speak a word in commendation of your lecture to boys on the "Secret of Manhood." To me it is the most sane, safe and logical presentation of a much avoided subject that I have ever heard. The boys at the Lake Geneva Conference were strongly impressed without the undue excitement and morbid curiosity that so often accompany the presentation of the subject of "Personal Purity." And not only were the boys benefited, but all the fifty boy workers present, representing the entire Central West, had nothing but words of highest praise for the way you handled the subject before two hundred older boys.

I am glad that you are getting out material for a booklet on the "Secret of Manhood," and shall be pleased to see the manuscript. We are much in need of such a thing and believe the International Committee can aid you in getting it out if necessary. Yours cordially,

F.A. CROSBY, Boys' Work Secy., International Committee. Y.M.C.A.



* * * * *



- Typographical errors corrected in text: Page 6: Spermatazoon replaced with Spermatozoon Page 44: spermatazoon replaced with spermatozoon Page 87: spermatozoan replaced with spermatozoon Page 132: trangress replaced with transgress -

THE END