maintenance
implies diminished reproductive energy; hence the necessity for greater
economy and safety in rearing the young. As certain larvae and insects
increase, the birds which feed upon them become more numerous. When this
means of support becomes inadequate, these same birds diminish in number
in proportion to the scarcity of their food. Many have remarked that
very prolific seasons are followed by unusual mortality, just as periods
of uncommon prosperity precede those of severe disaster.

The increased mental and moral cultivation of mankind imposes upon them
the necessity for greater physical culture. "Wiser and weaker," is a
trite saying, and means that the exercise of the higher nature discloses
the equivalent necessity of culturing the body, in order to support the
increasing expenditures of the former. Mental and moral discipline are
essential for a proper understanding how to provide for the body, for
physical training increases the capacity of the individual for
self-preservation. Constant vigilance is the price of health as well as
of liberty.

It is an interesting physiological fact that, while the growth and
development of the individual are rapidly progressing, the reproductive
powers remain almost inactive, and that the commencement of reproduction
not only indicates an arrest of growth, but, in a great measure,
contributes toward it. From infancy to puberty, the body and its
individual organs, structurally as well as functionally, are in a state
of gradual and progressive evolution. Men and women generally increase
in stature until the twenty-fifth year, and it is safe to assume that
perfection of function is not established until maturity of bodily
development is completed. Solidity and strength are represented in the
organization of the male, grace, and beauty in that of the female. His
broad shoulders represent physical power and the right of dominion,
while her bosom is the symbol of love and nutrition. The father
encounters hardships, struggles against difficulties, and braves dangers
to provide for his household; the mother tenderly supplies the infant's
wants, finding relief and pleasure in imparting nourishment, and
surrounds helpless infancy with an affection which is unwearied in its
countless ministering attentions. Her maternal functions are indicated
by greater breadth of the hips. Physical differences so influence their
mental natures, that, "before experience has opened their eyes, th