adily during the first nine months in the year to its maximum in
September, and then sinks rapidly and abruptly during the next three to
its minimum in December.

The study of these curves suggests two interesting questions, to neither
of which, however, do the data afford us an answer.

In the first place, are the alterations, in my case, of the maximum of the
discharges from March and June in the earlier years to September in the
later, and the interpolation of a new secondary maximum in January,
correlated with the increase in age; or is the discrepancy due simply to a
temporary irregularity that would have been equally averaged out had I
recorded the discharges of 1881-89 instead of those from 1887 to 1897?

The second question is one of very great importance--socially, ethically,
and physically. How often, in this climate, should a man have sexual
connection with his wife in order to maintain himself in perfect
physiological equilibrium? My results enable us to state definitely the
minimum limits, and to reply that 37 embraces annually would be too few;
but, unfortunately, they give us no clue to the maximum limit. It is
obvious that the necessary frequency should be greater than 37 times
annually,--possibly very considerably in excess thereof,--seeing that the
spontaneous discharges, with which we are dealing, are due to
over-pressure, and occur only when the system, being denied natural
relief, can no longer retain its secretions; and, therefore, it seems very
reasonable to suggest that the frequency of natural relief should be some
multiple of 37. I do not perceive, however, that the data in hand afford
us any clue to this multiple, or enable us to suggest either 2, 3, 4, or 5
as the required multiple of 37. It is true that other observations upon
myself have afforded me what I believe to be a fairly satisfactory and
reliable answer so far as concerns myself; but these observations are of
such a nature that they cannot be discussed here, and I have no
inclination to offer as a counsel to others an opinion which I am unable
to justify by the citation of facts and statistics. Moreover, I am quite
unable to opine whether, given 37 as the annual frequency of spontaneous
discharges in a number of men, the multiple required for the frequency of
natural relief should be the same in every case. For aught I know to the
contrary, the physiological idiosyncrasies of men may be so varied that,
given two men with an annual