plants and the lower forms of animal life. The snail, the oyster, the
earth-worm, and the common tape-worm, are examples of true
hermaphrodites. So-called human hermaphrodites are usually
individuals in whom the sexual organs are abnormally developed so that
they resemble those of the opposite sex, though they really have but
one sex, which can usually be determined with certainty. Only a very
few cases have been observed in which both male and female organs were
present.

There is now living in Germany an individual who bears the name of a
woman; but learned physicians have decided that the person is as much
man as woman, having the organs of both sexes. What is still more curious,
this person has the feelings of both sexes, having loved at first a
man, and afterward a woman. There have been observed, also, a very few
instances of individuals in whom the sexual organs of neither sex were
present. It thus appears that a person may be of both sexes or of no
sex at all.

Sex in Plants.--To one unacquainted with the mysteries of plant life
and growth, the idea of attaching sexuality to plants seems very
extraordinary; but the botanist recognizes the fact that the
distinctions of sex are as clearly maintained in the vegetable as in
the animal kingdom. The sexual organs of the higher orders of plants
are flowers. That part of the flower which produces seeds answers to
the female; another part, which is incapable of forming seeds, answers
to the male. The fertile and sterile flowers are sometimes produced
on separate plants. Very frequently, they are produced upon separate
parts of the same plant, as in the oak, walnut, and many other forest
trees, and Indian corn. In the latter plant, so familiar to every one,
the "tassel" contains the male flowers, and the part known as the
"silk," with the portion to which it is attached--which becomes the
ear--the female or fertile flowers. In a large number of species, the
male and female organs are combined in a single flower, making a true
hermaphrodite.

Sex in Animals.--As previously remarked, individuals of opposite sex
usually differ much more than in the character of their sexual organs
only. Among higher animals, the male is usually larger, stronger, and
of coarser structure than the female. The same contrast is observed
in their mental characters. With lower animals, especially insects,
the opposite is often observed. The female spider is many times larger
than the male. Th