animals, it becomes a
complete young individual, of the nature and kind of its parents.
The fertilization of the ovum in the female is called conception;
its growing state is called gestation, and its birth, on becoming a
separate being, is called parturition. In its growing condition, and
before its birth, the new young life form is known as the foetus.

Now it is the fertilization of the ovum in the female (and from now
on, it is only of the male and female in the human family that mention
will be made) by the male, in the woman, by the man, that is of
supreme interest and importance to both the parties concerned in
producing this result. How this is brought about is substantially as
follows:

As already stated, the infertile ovum, or egg, is produced by the
woman. Such production begins at what is known as the age of puberty,
or when the hair begins to grow upon the pubic parts of the female
body. The time of the appearance of this phenomenon in feminine life
varies from the age of nine or ten years to fifteen or sixteen. The
average, for most girls, is fourteen years of age. At this time
the formation of ova, or eggs, in the female body begins, and it
continues, in most women, at regular intervals of once in twenty-eight
days, except during pregnancy and lactation, for a period of about
thirty years. During all this time, under favorable conditions, it is
possible for the ovum produced by the woman to become fertilized, if
it can meet the sperm of the male.

In a general way, this meeting of the infertile ovum of the woman with
the sperm of the man can be brought about, as follows:

The ova are produced by the ovaries (the word ovaries means egg
producers) where they slowly develop from cells which originate
in these glands. When they have reached maturity, or are ready for
fertilization, they pass out of the ovaries and down into the womb, by
way of the fallopian tubes. As already stated, such passage of the ova
from the ovaries into the womb occurs every twenty-eight days, and
it is accomplished by a more or less copious flow of blood, a sort of
hemorrhage, which carries the ova down through the fallopian tubes,
and deposits them in the womb. This blood, after performing its
mission of carrying the ova down into the womb, escapes from the
body through the vaginal passage and is cared for by the wearing of
a bandage between the thighs. This flow of blood continues for about
five days, and is known as a menstr