ly to be sure to
keep bearing down till the end of the pain, because the most important
time, and the few seconds during which each pain does most of its work
during the second stage of labor, is at the very end of each pain. When a
woman understands that these instructions are for her good, and that they
are given with the one purpose of saving her pain, and shortening the
length of labor, she will try to obey. Each pain is intended by nature to
do a certain amount of work, and each pain will accomplish that work if the
woman does not prevent it; and if she does prevent it, she is only fooling
herself, because the next pain will have to do what she would not allow the
former to do, and so on according to how she acts.

THE CARRIERS OF HERITAGE

[Illustration: Here is the actual bridge from this generation to the next.

Into these two little bodies--the larger not over one-twenty-fifth of an
inch in diameter--is condensed the multitude of characteristics transmitted
from one generation to another.

The vital part of the _Ovum_ is the _Nucleus_, which contains the actual
bodies that carry heritage--the little grains that are the mother's
characteristics--_Chromosomes_. This nucleus is nourished by oils, salts
and other inclusions, known as _Cytoplasm_. Floating in the cytoplasm may
be found a tiny body known as the _Centrosome_, which acts as a magnet in
certain phases of cell development. Around this whole mass is a _Cell
Wall_, more or less resisting and protective.

The _Spermatozoan_ is structurally much different from the ovum, but it
also has its nucleus and chromosomes, which carry to the child the
transmittable characteristics of the father.

The ovum is usually comparatively large and stationary, and whatever motion
is therefore necessary to bring it into contact with the male cell devolves
upon the latter, which possesses what is known as a _locomotor tail_. In
addition there are usually many sperms to one ovum, so that the chances are
that at least one male cell will reach the egg and effect fertilization,
and the beginning of a new life.

The diagrams on the opposite page show the actual steps by which the
spermatozoan unites with the ovum. It is the very first stage of the
process of cell multiplication that results in the offspring.]

THE FORMATION OF A NEW LIFE

[Illustration: _Reproduced by permission from "Genetics," Walters, The
Macmillan Co._]

HOW A WILLFUL WOMAN CAN PROLONG LABOR.--For a c