THE 
DETERMINATION 
OF 
Sy 
D«. JEAN WQBEY. 
t « 
PRICE; <61.06 THE 
DETERMINATION OF SEX 
.BY. 
DR. JEAN WODEY, 
» • * 
Late of Paris, France. 
PUBLISHED 
BY THE 
WODEY PUBLISHING HOUSE, 
CHICAGO, ILLS. 
1899 eO/NTE/NTS. 
Page 
Preface 4 
Chapter 1—The Origin of Sex 7 
“ 2—Experiments oh Animal Life 16 
“ 3—From the Earliest Writers on the 
Origin and Determination of Sex 25 
“ 4—Thury’s Theory 35 
“ 5—Schenk’s Theory , 43 
u 6—The Author’s Theory and Practice. 61 THE DETERM1NATlON OF SEX 
PREFACE. 
In venturing upon a subject of such interest 
to the human family, I feel that I do not stand 
alone in my pretensions to be able to influence 
sex. 
This path has been trodden by men of great 
eminence. Their experience along these lines 
are matters of record, by them I have been 
assisted greatly in my investigations, and my 
experiments were based on such theories ad- 
vanced by them which seemed to me best suited 
to the subject then in hand. 
While I do not claim in all cases to have 
succeeded in controlling the processes of nature, 
yet I was usually enabled to exert an influence 
which seemed to change the course of natural 
tendencies and bring forth most happy results. 
Undoubtedly this subject is receiving more 
4 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
attention than it has for several decades pastr 
and I trust that these labors in the province of 
Embryology will result in attracting universal 
attention to the matter, and that it will also 
stimulate an interest in the breeding of human 
beings, at least equal to that shown by the 
ancient Greeks. 
Much attention has been paid of late years 
to the breeding of Cattle, the fine blooded stock 
exhibited at our stock shows is the result 
of careful study—experience in cross-breed- 
ing, etc. A glance at the slums of Paris, Lon- 
don and other large cities gives proof that the 
human family has been sadly neglected in this 
particular. 
I do not intend in this little book, to more 
'than merely call attention to this fact, for fact 
it is, that in too many cases, especially in large 
cities, lust has crowded out love, and no atten- 
tion whatever is paid to the probagation of 
physical and moral healthy children. 
5 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
It is impossible to thoroughly cover the 
subject matter in a small book, volumes upon 
volumes have been written, and no doubt will 
be written on the subject. 
I shall, however, try to give in a condensed 
form, and in language that is understood by the 
unprofessional, the result of my experience 
along these lines, with quotations from the 
works of other more eminent practitioners, so 
that the man of average intelligence may study 
himself and his consort and learn herein the 
course to be pursued to attain his desires. 
This is my object in writing this book, the 
field is vast, and no subject touching the human 
family is of more importance. 
6 BY DR. .JEAN WODEY. 
CHAPTER I. 
THE ORIGIN OF SEX. 
From the earliest times, extending back 
into the ages of myth and fable, this question 
of the origin of sex has puzzled the men of 
science, the subject has been discussed time and 
again only to result in wide differences of 
opinion. 
Theories have been advanced without num- 
ber, some that the sex is determined at the very 
inception, others, that sex is undetermined at 
inception, and is influenced by conditions, 
temperature, diet, etc. 
The different manuals which deal with the 
question seem to lean to the theories which have 
been propounded in early days, that sex has 
been regarded as already determined in the 
ovum, or else the origin of the sex, has been assigned to the earlier stages of development. 
THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
Some of the earliest writers maintain that 
the reproductive glands of the two sexes contain 
generative matter distributed to the right and 
left, that the right ovary of the female and the 
right testicle of the male contained generative 
secretions for the production of males, while the 
female left ovary and the male left testicle pro- 
duce only females. 
The example of many creatures, especially 
birds is cited; they lay two eggs in one month, 
of these one is female the other male, in this 
instance nature provides for an equal increase 
of males and females. This would lead to the 
supposition that in the case of the female of the 
human family, one month will develop a female 
ovule, and the next month a male ovule will 
reach perfect development, so that after the 
first birth it would be possible to form a cor- 
rect idea of the distribution of the ova, by 
noting the time of birth of the new born child 
8 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
counting back to the datum that it would be the 
turn of the ovum of the next month to develop 
the opposite sex, if this theory is correct, it 
would be easy to fix the given month in which 
either a male or female can be developed after 
the birth of the first child. 
“The Secret of Nature Completely Dis- 
covered, both in the Procreation of Man, and 
for the absolute choice of the Sex of Children” 
is the title of a publication by J. Ch. Hencke, 
at Brunswick in 1786. The author relies en- 
tirely upon the theories noted above, that the 
offspring being evolved out of a mixture of the 
generative secretions of the two sexes, by mani- 
pulation can be induced to develop either a 
male or female individual. 
The Author asserts very precisely that the 
generative matter of the right testicle serves to 
fructify ova from which males are developed 
and the right ovary of the female containing 
generative secretions for the production of the 
9 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
male sex, consequently it is only necessary for 
man to discover some device which will during 
the act of generation eject the semen from his 
right testicle to an ovule from the right ovary 
of the female to produce male offspring, or to 
the contrary, from the left testicle to an ovule 
from the left ovary of the female to produce a 
female. Hencke’s remedy was the ligation of 
one of the testicles but when this severe pro- 
ceeding proved impracticle, he substituted the 
elevation of the testicle by means of its sus- 
pending muscle, insisting that the semen was 
discharged by one testicle or seminal vesical 
alone, in the case when the other testicle was 
raised up. 
The Jesuit Monks in Fiance, must have be- 
1 lieved in these theories, for in the beginning of 
the eighteenth century, and up to the present 
time, they advise their female communicants 
“to lie on their right side during and immed- 
10 BY Bit. JEAN WOliBY. 
lately after sexual intercourse,” in order to 
bear male children. 
Statistics show that in warm climates the 
whole quantity of blood in the inhabitants is 
less than in temperate zones. The process of 
respiration in the inhabitants of warm climates 
is also not so free as in the case of those who 
inhabit temperate or cold zones; that the birth 
of males exceeds that of females in the artic 
zones, and that females largely exceed that of 
males in the torrid zones. The author Yilson 
gave this subject much attention, he adduces 
the following instances from the Soudan, the 
Wagandas, a war-like race, kill the men and 
old women of their conquered foes. The child- 
ren, girls and young women they lead into 
captivity. On one occasion 480 of the women 
gave birth to children on their march. Of the 
new-born 79 were boys, 403 were girls. 
Everywhere he found the anticipation of an 
excess of girls supported and confirmed, this 
11 THE JJETEBMIN AT ION OF SEX 
led him to formulate and advocate a law that 
the better nourished and superior parent tends 
to produce the opposite sex, as in these cases 
the women are in an inferior position, poor 
nourishment and almost exhausted condition. 
From this statement, that the sex of the 
worse-fed parent perpetuates itself, a theory has 
been deduced which is described as cross-heredi- 
ty of sex, this theory has found favor with some 
of the leading investigators of this subject, and 
simply resolves itself into this phenomenon, 
that if the father were the stronger and more 
ardent, the result of impregnation would be a 
female, and vice versa, if the wife is the 
stronger and moie ardent, male children will 
be the result. If the reader will glance with 
his mind’s eye among his acquaintances he will 
find that this is the general rule. 
Old women with young husbands are also in- 
clined to bear male children, while from ille»i- 
7 O 
timate births more girls result then from wed- 
12 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
lock. This is no doubt due to the active ex- 
citement of the female at the time at which the 
inception took place, that is, shortly after men- 
struation, when the woman is most excitable. 
Many authors agree that the older of the 
two parents has a greater preponderance in 
favor of the propagation of his or her sex, and 
that the physical maturity of the male should 
enable him to propagate his own sex, either in 
connection with younger or older women, but 
more especially with the latter. 
The state of nutrition also has an influence 
upon the development of the embryo, hence it 
is shown that in years of famine more males are 
born than females, and in prosperous times, 
when people are well fed more females are 
born. 
In studying this subject all these conditions 
must be taken into minute account if we con- 
template to change or divert the laws of nature 
in the probagation of sex. 
13 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
In the earliest forms of the embryo up to a 
certain period it has so far been impossible to 
discover any distinction of sex, soon, however, 
elementary male and female forms of the 
organs of reproduction can be recognized de- 
veloping themselves in the embryo out of the 
substratum of formative elements, attaining 
usually to complete development within 90 days 
from impregnation. 
Hence some authors (Schenck) assert, that 
the ovule has a capacity to transfer during the 
process of segmentation to a corresponding cell, 
substance out of which the generative organs 
will be subsequently developed, the force con- 
tained in the ovule, so that the cell-substance 
may afterwards take up the office of providing 
for the preservation of the species. 
The cells of the ovum derive this power 
from the protoplasm of the ovum and retain it 
in a rudimentary form for one sex, whilst for 
the other they possess it in full measure. This 
14 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
energy is contained in the ovule itself in an un- 
known condition. In it lies the basis of the 
formation and development of the future sex. 
Consequently if male off-spring is desired 
where the physical nature of the parents, espe- 
cially the wife, is such that only female children 
can be expected, it is not sufficient to simply 
follow the treatment as laid down by Hencke 
(although in many cases that may prove to be 
sufficient). The wife should also follow a dietary 
treatment for three months before and after 
impregnation until the sex of the embryo is 
fully developed. THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
CHAPTER II. 
It is asserted that the generative laws gov- 
ering plants, animals and the human family 
are quite similar, experimental matter is how- 
ever more easily obtained among plants and the 
lower animals, consequently critical examina- 
tions have been more easily made with the latter. 
The experiments of Albini of Naples, the 
great poultry-breeder, showed that hens for 
eight days after being separated from the cock 
laid none but fertile eggs. 
On the ninth and tenth day the fertile and 
infertile eggs were of equal number. On the 
twelfth day all the fertile eggs were infertile. 
However fertile eggs frequently appeared on 
the eighteenth day, these must have been im- 
pregnated by spermatozoa which had remained 
EXPERIMENTS ON ANIMAL LIFE. 
16 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
in the folds of the mucous membrane of the 
uterus. 
Hens which had never been impregnated, 
and hens which had not been impregnated for a 
month, in three days after impregnation laid 
fertile eggs, which continued to increase. 
Albini’s experiments led him to the follow- 
ing conclusions: 
That the egg of the hen is perfectly free 
from micro organism when it is laid. That 
hens can leave the eggs which they are hatch- 
ing, the shell may be partly broken off and 
again replaced without the embryos necessarily 
perishing. Care must however be taken that 
no fungoid growth reaches the germ as this 
might be fatal to it. 
On the origin of sex, Albini aduces the fol- 
lowing as the results of his experiments. 
From three to six days after intercourse 
with the cock the hens lay eggs, from which on 
the average an equal number of males and 
17 THE DETERMINATION CF SEX 
females are developed. The number of males 
being somewhat greater than that of females in 
the warmer part of the year. 
Eggs which are laid from ten to fifteen days 
after complete separation from the cock, when 
hatched generally gave a greater number of 
females, a majority of which however died of 
anaemia, which he describes to be due to im- 
perfect fertilization. 
Albini inclines to the theory that the prin- 
cipal cause of the development of sex lies in 
the degree of ripeness of the ovum, that in the 
case of animals which bear many young, the 
last are mostly males, and explains this by the 
hypothesis that the ova passing through the 
Gallopian tube thrust the semen back, so that 
the ova which comes behind are therefore fer- 
tilized in a more advanced stage. 
Thury’s experiments with poultry breeding 
show, that the last eggs laid by singing birds 
usually develop males, and that in case of hens 
18 a large majority of the later eggs were males, 
his method by which breeding experiments can 
be conducted on a regular principle is as fol- 
lows: 
“For this experiment a number of hens are 
taken which may be anticipated to be ‘setters’ 
unless the use of incubators is preferred. The 
hens are to be separated, and the eggs which 
each one lays in her own particular nest are to 
be marked with numbers corresponding to the 
days on which they were laid. 
“The eggs of the different hens are now to 
be rearranged, so that the eggs which each par- 
ticular hen is given to hatch shall, as nearly as 
possible, have the same numbers. 
“For example, if the number of the hens 
be six, and the period of laying up to the time 
when the hens begin to set be thirty days, one 
hen will have eggs to hatch with the numbers 1 
to 5, the next 6 to 10, the third 11 to 15, the 
fourth 16 to 20, the fifth 21 to 25, the sixth 26 
to 30. 
BY DR. JEAN WODEY. THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
“In this way the doubt will be avoided,, 
which necessarily arises, if I give the eggs of 
one hen, although marked, to be hatched by 
her alone. 
“In the latter case, it can very seldom be 
known with a certainty from which egg-shell a 
cock or hen issued. 
“In this experiment, on the contrary, one 
can quietly wait until the cocks and hens in the 
growing broods of the different hens can be 
clearly distinguished and numbered, seeing that 
each brood.has numbers (of the days of laying) 
of very nearly the same value. 
“The experiment is easier and less subject 
to the possibility of error when the eggs belong 
to different varieties and are taken from known 
parents.” 
Pagenstecher is another writer who has made 
extensive experiments along these lines, after & 
critical exposition of Thury’s theory he addu- 
ces the following: 
20 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
1. Sex depends upon the ripeness of the 
ovum at the time of fertilization. 
2. The ovum which, at the moment of fer- 
tilization, has not yet reached a certain degree 
of ripeness, produces a female. If this degree 
of ripeness has been passed, the ovum, upon 
fertilization, produces a male. 
3. If at the time of rutting a single ovum 
is detached from the ovary, and descends slow- 
ly through the genital canal (animals which bear 
a single off-spring), fertilization taking place at 
the beginning of the rutting suffices to produce 
a female, and at the end of the rutting to pro- 
duce a male, provided that the change in the 
condition of the ovum takes place normally 
during its passage through the genital canal. 
This same writer claims that fertilization 
often alters the determination of sex of the 
germs which attain to development in the ova. 
The point of time in the life of an ovum, at 
which it has reached that degree of ripeness 
21 which gives it such a character that the semen 
can no longer affect the determination of the 
sex cannot be absolutely settled. 
A more powerful bull might beget female 
calves earlier in the late rutting time than an 
older one. 
Fiquet, the French writer, recommends 
feeding the bull abundantly for several weeks 
before serving and curtailing the cow before and 
after sevice, in order to produce female calves. 
Pluger made some important experiments 
with frogs and tadpoles, among the latter many 
are found whose sex is not yet determined, they 
are in a hermaphrodite condition, out of which 
they develop into either males or females. 
He found that amongst the frogs in a state 
of nature 36.3 per cent, are males and 63.7 
per cent, are females. 
His experiments were on a line of using 
thinner or thicker semen to influence sex, re- 
ducing the number of males with thin semen 
THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
22 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
and increasing the number of females with thick 
semen. 
Girou de Buzareinques, the great French 
breeder, says that the male sex is more common 
in the cases of scantily nourished animals. 
He takes into consideration the character, 
the temperament, the food, etc. of the parents, 
his views are more fully set forth in another 
chapter. 
Miescher has paid attention to the Rhine 
salmon which go up that river from the sea 
each year in a well-nourished condition to spawn 
in the fresh water streams. They remain there 
several months and loose much of their muscu- 
lar substance, resulting however in a great de- 
velopment of the sexual organs and of sexual 
secretions. 
Temperature exerts an influence on sex in 
plants, hence Lenkhart writes, that in plants 
which produce separate male and female blos- 
soms, the male blossoms are more numerous 
23 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
when the temperature is higher, while more 
female blossoms are found in damp soil or 
shaded localities. 
Knight, was another noted writer, who 
found that mellons and cucumbers produce 
male blossoms under higher temperature and 
female blossoms under lower temperature and 
on low swampy ground. 
All of which demonstrates that, such ex- 
ternal factors as warmth, light, dryness, and 
diet have an influence on sex in both the animal 
and vegetable kingdoms. 
24 BY DR. JR AN WODEY. 
CHAPTER III. 
FROM THE EARLIEST WRITERS ON THE ORIGIN 
AND DETERMINATION OF SEX. 
In order to do the subject justice it will be 
necessary to note the experiments in the pro- 
vince of Embryology, made by the eminent 
practitioners and writers of the past, and to 
study the result of the statisticians, the litera- 
ture dealing with the subject is vast, this little 
book only contains brief quotations of interes- 
ting matter which may serve to elucidate the 
subject matter; volumes might be filled with 
the claims and disputes of writers on the sub- 
ject without giving us reliable data to work on, 
nothing of importance to the subject is however 
omitted. 
Among the statisticians Oesterlen gives the 
following statistics of births based on the popu- 
25 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
lation of about one-half of Europe, these are 
taken from the court calenders of births and 
are reliable. 
In a total of 59,350,000 births the males 
showed an excess over females, the proportion 
being 106.3 boys to every 100 girls, the aver- 
age of the total number of the various states 
correspond very nearly with the numbers in the 
several states, in some states the proportion of 
boys to 100 girls was 107.2 while in others 
only 105.2 no difference worthy of considera- 
tion. 
Statistics taken at other times, during and 
immediately after famine years, showed as 
high as 129.8 births of boys to 100 girls. 
These statistics go to strengthen the theory 
that the poorly nourished female will bear more 
male than female children. So far as I have 
been able to secure statistics in the United 
States more girls are born than boys, this is no 
doubt due to the fact that the middle and 
26 BY DB. JEAN WODEY. 
poorer classes (which represents the greater 
majority of the population of all countries) in 
the United States (living in the same zone as 
that from which Oesterlen collected his statist- 
ics) are better nourished and eat more food 
containing starch (sugar) than do the inhabi- 
tants of Europe, where the same classes live 
chiefly on vegetables and fruit, and indulge 
quite sparingly of meats. 
Darwin in his “Descent of Man” quotes 
some statistics. 
Of horned cattle 94.4 males are born to 100 
females, in grey-hounds 110 dogs are born to 
every 100 bitches; of pigs, rabbits and pigeons 
more males are born than females, while of 
poultry only 94.7 males are born for every 100 
females. 
Sadler in 1830 gathered statistics to show 
births resulting from marriages between per- 
sons of unequaled ages. I will only mention 
some of the results. 
27 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
If the man is older than the woman, more 
boys will be born, the ratio being 121.4 boys 
to every 100 girls. If both the parents are of 
the same age, more girls than boys will be 
born, the ratio being 94.8 boys to every 100 
girls. If the woman is older than the man the 
difference is still greater, the ratio being 86.5 
boys to every 100 girls. 
Wall, a noted writer, relies on Sadler’s 
statistics to the exclusion of others, and lays 
down the principle that in the intercourse of 
two quite young parents the male sex will pre- 
dominate. If, however, the age of the man is 
much greater than that of his wife, he insists 
on the excess of the females among the new- 
born. 
The writings of the great French breeder, 
Girou de Buzareingues are of great value on 
this subject; this writer asserts, that male sex 
is more common in the cases of scantily nour- 
ished animals, and is often the case with do- 
mesticated mammalia. 28 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
He supports the theory of the influence of 
difference of age in the parents upon sex of off- 
spring; he takes into consideration the char- 
acter, the food, temperament, etc., of the 
parents, also their size, physical condition and 
strength. He mentions a number of facts 
which he observed in the human subject. 
He outlines the expenditure of force, men- 
tal and physical, entailed on the parents by 
their occupation, and then sets forth ten very 
precise particulars from which, in any given 
case, the sex of the off-spring which will result 
from the wedlock in question may be known. 
I mention the following case: A vigorous man 
married a corpulant, melancholy elderly blonde; 
seven daughters were the result of the marriage, 
all of them resembling their father and grand- 
father. He mentions other similar cases which 
would be interesting to the reader, going to 
establish as important factors, the preponder- 
ance of temperament, or the physical disposi- 
29 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
tion of procreation of the species, to quote them 
all would lead us too far from our subject. 
Dusing first experimented on horses—he 
found that the state of nutrition of the parents 
influenced the development of the embryo; that 
the best fed and better conditioned produced 
females, the worst males. 
As a result of his experiments with the human 
family, he laid down the law, that if the mother 
was well nourished, old semen operating upon 
a young ovum would produce a majority of 
female off-springs. On the other hand, if the 
mother was insufficiently fed, young semen 
operating upon an old ovum would produce a 
majority of male children. 
Aristotle, claims that woman supplies the 
primary material for the development of the 
future individual. It is the function of man to 
give the impulse, in consequence of which the 
future individual comes into being. 
Richarz theory, is that the primary impulse 
30 upon which the whole process of generation 
depends lies in the organs of the female. Here 
lies also the substratum in which is, as it were, 
the center of gravity of the special generative 
process. The function of the male sex is te 
occasion a change in the germ. 
B Y DB. JEAN WOBDY. 
If the female’s generative capacity reaches 
the highest point the result is a boy, who in 
external appearance resembles his mother. 
If the forces which act in the female are in- 
ferior to those of the male, the result will be a 
female. She will resemble her father, and will 
also inherit her father’s temperament. While 
personal appearance and other characteristic® 
will correspond rather more with one of the 
parents, yet in every case the influence of the 
other parent will make itself felt, and will ex- 
ercise more or less influence over external ap- 
pearance and other characteristics. 
Robin the well-known French histologist* 
finds that in warm climates the whole quantity 
31 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
of blood in the inhabitants is less than in the 
temperate zones. The process of respiration 
in the inhabitants of warm climates is also not 
so free as in tho case of those who inhabit 
temperate or cold zones. It is quite evident 
from this that some process connected with nu- 
trition, and with the passage of nourishment 
into the blood is responsible that the number 
of male births exceed those of females in the 
cold zones. Schenk draws the conclusion from 
the above, “that if the women were subjected 
to such a regime as would naturally effect their 
respiration and the quality of their blood, more 
boys than girls or the contrary, might be bred. 
If so, breathing an atmosphere containing more 
oxygen, with a corresponding diet, would be 
the right receipt for producing in the woman 
such a basis that in the course of development 
the next generative organs (which Robin con- 
siders the anatomically more perfectly develop- 
ed) might be evolved instead of the female.” BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
Robin lays down the law that women who 
only seldom indulge in sexual intercourse will 
bear females, and that fruitful and voluptuous 
women generally bear males, being the old-and 
well established theory of the cross-heredity of 
sex. 
Dr. Heinrich Janke who has carefully stud- 
ied the older literature on the subject fully 
agrees with this theory, in his publication 
(Stuttgart, 1896) he refers to many historical 
speculations and the various hypotheses on the 
.origin o-f sex, disseminated by the earlier writ- 
ers. 
Mayerhofer is a staunch champion of the 
theory of cross-heredity of sex. His experi- 
ments among animals is mentioned in another 
chapter. 
Mayerhofer stoutly maintains that the hu- 
man ovary does not contain male and female 
ova already possessed of sex, but that sex is 
developed after intercourse and is influenced by 
33 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
temperament conditions and diet. His own ex- 
periences and observations of others has led him 
to the following conclusions: 
.That in the lower animals and in plants food 
plays a principal part in the development of 
sex. That the sex is not generated, but de- 
pends upon external influence over the fruit 
which is in a state of development. 
The reason this fact has been better demon- 
strated with the lower animals and with plants, 
is that such subjects for critical examination are 
more easily obtained, but the generative laws 
are so uniformily similar that the same ma her 
applicable to the human family. 
34 BY BE. JEAN WODEY. 
CHAPTER IV. 
thury’s theory 
Mons. Thury, professor at Geneva, pub- 
lished at Leipzig, in the year 1863, a book on 
the law of breeding sexes, which attracted wide 
attention. 
As the result of many successful experi- 
ments, the author shows how the sex of plants, 
animals, and of the human family may be in- 
fluenced. 
I have already quoted from this author, in 
relation to his experiments in poultry breeding, 
which led up to his research among the higher 
forms of creation. The principal point in his 
doctrine of the origin of sex in animals, claimed 
by him, is the condition of the ovum at the time 
when it is fertilized. 
If the ovum has reached the advanced stage 
35 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
of ripeness, the result of fertilization will be a 
male, which will develop itself out of the ovum. 
If, however, the ovum has not reached the ad- 
vanced or perfect stage of ripeness, when im- 
pregnation takes place, a female will be the 
result. His theory being substantially that, 
the cause of sex lies in the ovum developing 
itself in the ovary, and that the only factor in 
the development in either sex is the condition 
of ripeness at the time of impregnation. Hence, 
according to Thury, a woman who is impreg- 
nated immediately after menstruation is almost 
certain to bring forth a female, while if impreg- 
nation takes place nine to ten days later, or 
when the ovum has reached the advanced stage 
of ripeness, the result will be a male. 
Funke in his Physiology published in 1866, 
makes the following remarks on Thury’s theory: 
“Although the origin and determination of 
sex is not indisputably proved to depend upon 
the degree of ripeness of the ovum, it appears 
36 BY BE. JEAN WODEY. 
to me that we have not reached the right time 
for determining the factor upon which it does 
depend. These experiments have been made 
to repose upon a fact, which fact certainly 
proves beyond the possibility of dispute, a re- 
lation between the fertilization of the ovum and 
the subsequent sex. The fact is that, in the 
case of certain creatures capable of partheno- 
genesis (unisexual procreation), we find that, 
from unfertilized ova one sex always results, 
and from fertilized ova the other. But any 
closer interpretation of this function of the 
semen is rendered nugatory in advance by this, 
that it is in some cases the male and in others 
the female that results from the unfertilized 
ova.” 
Schenk in his “Theory on the Determina- 
tion of Sex,” has the following remarks on 
Thury’s theory: 
“Thury’s theory can be very suitably 
brought into agreement with the theory of 
37 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
cross-heredity of sex, and explained by the as- 
sistance of that view. The cow at the beginning 
of her rutting, is not in a condition of great 
sexual vigor. If the ovum be effectually fer- 
tilized, it may be supposed that the bull in pro- 
creative activity the superior consort, will be 
fitted not to reproduce his own sex, but that of 
the weaker cow. At the end of the rutting 
period the cow, which is brought to the bull, 
has her ovum ripened to the highest possible 
degree, and in consequence, when compared, 
from a sexual point of view, with the bull, is 
distinctly the stronger and superior, and a male 
calf is in this case the result of conception. 
“According to the theory of cross heredity 
of sex, female creatures should in the former 
instance be produced, and in the latter males, 
which same result is reached in accordance with 
the theory of Thury. 
“Attempts have been also made to apply 
Thury’s theory to the human species. The 
38 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
menstruation of women has been compared to 
with the rutting of the lower animals, and has 
been considered a protracted, oft-repeated rutt 
ing. Now, as an ovum is specially developed 
every month, it follows that this ovum requires 
a certain part of a month to attain a more or 
less advanced degree of ripeness. According 
to this, the ova which are fertilized a short time 
after menstruation will develop only female in- 
dividuals, whilst those which have had a longer 
time in which to attain to ripeness would de- 
velop themselves into males. 
“The mucous membrane of the womb ought, 
about ten days before the beginning of men- 
struation, to thicken itself distinctly in conse- 
quence of a turgescence and dilatation of the 
vessels. In consequence it appears swollen and 
loosened, and it has reached the culminating 
point of swelling when the menstruation is at 
its highest. After menstruation the swelling 
does not immediately decrease, but lasts on for 
39 about nine days, until the mucous membrane 
returns to its normal condition (Hensen). 
THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
“Thus it seems that the swelling and hyper- 
aemia in the womb appear at the same time as 
the conditions which lead to the ripening of the 
ovum. The fertilization of the human ovum 
would be, therefore, most efficacious at the time 
when the mucous membrane of the womb is also 
most appropriately prepared, and it is propable 
that the same moment is the one when all the 
other coincident factors are of a sort best calcu- 
lated for the reception, the fixing, and the pro- 
tection of the ovum. It is similtaneously with 
these processes in the mucous membrane of the 
womb, and in the other parts of the generative 
organs of the woman, that the ripening of the 
ovum is effected. 
“Now it may appear not to be a matter of 
indifference (and may very likely even have 
some connection with the development of the 
sex) whether the ovum is fertilized at a period 
40 during which the mucous membrane is passing 
through its changes in order to reach its high- 
est point of swelling, or at the time, when, after 
menstruation, the mucous membrane is, during 
so considerable a period (nine days) passing 
through a retrograde metamorphosis in order 
to return to its normal condition. This pro- 
tracted process seems to correspond to the pro- 
tracted rutting in the form of menstruation. 
If so, the human uterus, as Thury’s theory 
would declare, would be prepared, to a certain 
extent, in different ways, for the reception of 
the ovum, according to the different sex-condi- 
tion of the future child. 
BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
“We have mentioned above that on the 
occasion of Thury’s experiment, the desired re- 
sult was effected in twenty-nine cases. Pagen- 
strecher, Siebold and Koll have dealt critically 
with Thury’s work. Coste was not in a posi- 
tion to confirm these experiments, nor to verify 
them. In order to test Thury’s results as ap- 
41 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
plied to the human subject, Schroder obtained 
the assistance of young women who were in a 
position to give him positive and accurate in- 
formation respecting the time at which they 
became impregnant. The women could name 
the day on which they had had sexual inter- 
course, and knew the data of the last menses. 
From careful calculation of the interval be- 
tween these dates, it was possible to ascertain 
approximately at what stage impregnation of 
the ova took place, the degree of ripeness of 
the impregnated ova could also be inferred from 
the space of time that had elapsed since the last 
menstruation, and the sex of the foetus was 
noted. Schroder found that on an average of 
twenty-six cases in which boys were born the 
conception had taken place 10.08 days after 
menstruation; on an average of twenty-nine 
cases in which girls were born, 9.76 days after. 
In consequence, he was not able to confirm 
Thury’s theory in the case of the human sub- 
ject.” BY DR. JR AN WORDY. 
CHAPTER V. 
8CHENKS THEORY-THE DETERMINATION OF SEX,, 
By Dr. Leopold Schenk, Professor at the Im- 
perial and Royal University, and Director of 
the Embryological Institute in Vienna—is the 
latest publication on the subject. A translation 
was published in the United States, by the 
Werner Company in 1898. 
Dr. Schenk, while quoting liberally from 
Hencke, Thury, and other recognized authors 
on the subject, proceeds to throw to the winds 
nearly all the old theories, claiming that by 
dieting, alone, he was enabled to exert such an 
influence, that where women, who by nature 
and environments were destined to bear only 
females, yielded to his treatment, the result 
was the birth of male children. He disclaims 
however, being able to exert a counter-influence 
43 THE BE TERMINATION OF SEX 
in favor of females, where by nature and 
environments the mother was destined to bear 
only male children. 
This work has created as much interest as 
did the writings of Henke, and Thury in their 
days, as the writer is able to adduce positive 
results in support of his theory, claiming to 
have been successful in all cases where he was 
allowed full control. This is a remarkable 
statement, as the theories of other writers, 
when put to the critical test, were found to 
have a large percentage of failures and disa- 
pointments. 
Schenk enters minutely into the matter of 
diet, process of combustion, and the chemical 
constituent of the evacuations, he falls back on 
the theory of cross-heredity of sex, and at- 
tempts to place it on a firmer foundation by the 
results of his own experiments. He calls atten- 
tion to the products of excretion which are eli- 
minated from the bodies, those which are eva- 
44 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
cuated being the final product of the oxidation 
effected in the body by the process of combust- 
ion. Some are evacuated from the body as so 
much inert matter which has not been affected 
by the digestive juice, nor altered in any other 
way. Others are given off from the body in 
various states of oxidation in the urine, or 
dung, or else in a gaseous form by the lungs. 
Many substances are secreted by the kid- 
neys and appear in the urine, in which fluid 
are found nitrogenous products of secretion, 
others free from nitrogen, and inorganic sub- 
stances. Among the latter he selected the car- 
bo-hydrate (sugar) found in the urine, consist- 
ing of grape-sugar, cane-sugar, and cellulose, 
claiming that, the excretion of a carbo-hydrate 
in the urine, is evidence that the process of 
combustion in the organism has not been com- 
plete, due to some impairment, by which all the 
cumbustible substances are not fully used up. 
Sugar in normal urine, may not alone result 
45 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
from carbo-hydrates found within the body, 
due to imperfect combustion, but may have 
been swallowed, a person, having eaten an ex- 
cessive quantity of sugar, will easily discover 
an increase in the quantity of sugar in the 
urine, should no sugar be found in the urine it 
is evidence that complete combustion has taken 
place. Experiments with Champagnes, various 
other wines and sweetmeats, which contain 
great quantities of sugar, gave as a regular re- 
sult perceptible sugar in the urine. Many in- 
dividuals are found in whose urine not even a 
trace of sugar is discoverable, hence it seems 
not improbable, that in a perfectly normal con- 
dition of the organism it is possible for such 
individuals to completely burn up the whole of 
the carbon-hydrates, either taken into the organ- 
ism or formed within it. 
Such persons, in consequence of their meta 
holism being normal, are able to carry out the 
process of combustion to the full, and their ex- 
46 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
cretions are of such a nature as should repre- 
sent the normal processes. 
He further calls attention to the fact, that 
most inquiries respecting the presence of sugar 
in normal urine had been made in the case of 
men alone, and that, so far as regarded the 
presence of sugar, the urine of the human fe- 
male had been little observed, and never quan- 
titatively and qualitatively compared with that 
of man. He then proceeds to quote from 
Nicolai Ivanoff, in his dissertation (Dorpat) on 
the question of glycosuria in the case of preg- 
nant women, lying-in women, and suckling 
women, as follows: 
“A physiological glycosuria in the case of 
the pregnant, or of those who are lying-in, has* 
so far as present investigations have gone* 
never been established, and certainly not to the 
extent which Blot asserts. Sugar occurs in 
human urine more frequently than has been 
hitherto supposed, but absolutely never in con~ 
47 stant and increased quantities in that of preg- 
nant and lying-in women.'’’ 
THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
Schenk proceeds to quote from Pettenkofer 
and Yoit, going to show that, the total meta- 
bolism is greater during labor than during rest. 
That the food requisite for a normal grown 
man whilst in a state of rest is reckoned at 30 
units of heat for each kilogramme of weight. 
That in the case of a full grown working man, 
whose weight was 70 kilogrammes, the neces- 
ary food represented about 2,000 units of heat. 
Voit cites a description of the average working- 
man, the requisite food supply consists of 118 
grammes of albumen, 56 grammes of fat, and 
500 grammes of carbo-hydrates, equivalent to 
3.053 units of heat gross, or 2,799 units of 
heat net. 
That the women being smaller and lighter 
of weight than the man, and her labor less, 
whem comparing men and women of the same 
age, it is evident that in her case a less provis- 
48 BY DB. JEAN WODEY. 
ion of force, and in consequence less food, 
under similar circumstances, is necessary than for 
the man. He assigns to a working woman a 
food supply of 94 grammes albumen, 45 
grammes fat, and 400 grammes carbo-hy- 
drates, which correspond to 2.444 units of 
heat gross, and 2.200 units of heat net, 
whilst the whole of the food taken by an aver- 
age workingman is fixed at 118 grammes albu- 
men, 56 grammes fat, 500 grammes carbo-hy- 
drates, equivalent to 3.035 units of weight 
gross, and 2.749 units of weight net. 
Shenk proceeds, by calling attention to the 
difference of metabolism in both sexes, and calls 
attention to one peculiarity only of the human 
female, which is, that the female organism, in 
consequent of the less abundant formation of 
tissue, is on a smaller scale than that of the 
male, and yet the amount of sugar given off in 
the urine is under normal conditions, about the 
same quantity as in the males, showing a greater 
49 loss of heat in the female than in the male. 
THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
The writer argues, that an indispensible 
condition of the ripening of the ovum in the 
female organism is that the metabolic process 
shall be normal. That when these changes are 
being effected as perfectly as possible, sugar is 
entirely absent from the urine. 
The following is quotation word to word: 
“In the first case we shall have not only a less 
ripe ovum, but very likely also a less well 
nourished ovum. An ovum of this sort has 
not so fully attained to all the characteristics 
and powers inherent in its protoplasm, and, in 
consequence, seems fitted to develop only a 
female individual. In such an ovum the several 
cell products of the ovum, which have to de- 
velop themselves into the future embryo, will 
be arranged for the growth of a female. Not 
only will female organs of generation be de- 
veloped from it, but also the elements of the 
future individual will be feminine. 
50 BY BB. JEAN WOBEY. 
“On the contrary, if in the mother-indi- 
vidual all the substances developed in, or taken 
into, the organism undergo combustion in such 
a manner that no sugar is found in the urine, 
not even in the smallest quantities, then an 
ovum can be developed such as is required to 
produce a male individual. Out of its proto- 
plasm in the course of evolution elements form 
themselves, whence male cells are developed, 
which correspond to the development of tissues 
and forms of the male individual. Some of the 
cells, viz: those which ultimately become the 
elements for the continuation of the species are 
planned for the female sex. 
“It follows from all this that the result de- 
pends to a great extent both upon the diet 
chosen, and upon whether it has been rightly 
chosen to suit the organism, whether it is possi- 
ble to exert such an influence as may so support 
the ovum in its maturation that in its develop- 
ment it may form itself into a male individual. 
51 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
It must be observed in advance that such arc 
influence as may be effective for the production 
of sex must not be applied to an already ferti- 
lized ovum, but must be applied to an ovum 
in development before its fertilization. 
“Indeed it is even of greater importance to 
know that the mother individual has been for a 
considerable period anterior to the fertilization 
of the ovum provided with the requisite food, 
care must also be taken that after conception 
a similar befitting diet is continued for the 
mother, which diet should resemble that pre- 
viously provided.” 
The writer further asserts, that investiga- 
tion of the urine according to recognized 
methods must accompany the system of diet 
adopted, so as to prove that all traces of sugar 
have disappeared from the urine, that when the 
diet has been so altered by omitting excessive 
quantities of starch and sugar, the excretion of 
sugar in the urine ceases, and only makes its 
reappearance after a long interval. BY BE. JEAN WODEY. 
Having discovered that the determination 
of the future sex was connected with the pres- 
ence of this sugar, the writer directed his entire 
attention to the subject of dieting, and claims 
to have been rewarded with remarkable results. 
Among his experiments, he mentions the case 
of a woman who had born five children, and, 
after violent and continuous mental excitement, 
was suddenly seized with diabetes mellitus. 
He frequently examined her urine, and always 
found an abnormal amount of sugar. She had 
given birth to two children whilst suffering 
from diabetes, both being females, but had born 
males only whilst she was strong and well. He 
claims that diabetes amongst women has a 
marked influence upon the functions of the sex- 
ual organs, that menses cease, occasioned by an 
abnormal condition of the womb and of the 
ovaries which become atrophied. When the 
cause of the complaint is removed from the 
female genitals the sugar also disappears from 
the urine. THE DETERMINATION OF SEX. 
Schenk calls attention, to a family of his 
acquaintance, where he knew the grandmother, 
a daughter and two grand-daughters. The 
grandmother had, including the third genera- 
tion, fifteen descendants, of whom twelve were 
girls and three were boys. Two of the boys 
were the sons of the grandmother, and the first 
two children she had born. She was under 
medical treatment, and the analysis of the urine 
showed a considerable quantity of sugar. She 
had six daughters. One of these daughters 
who survived the others, had five children, 
amongst them one boy, who soon died. Two 
of the grand-daughters of the family bore only 
females, he examined the urine of all the moth- 
ers of this family, and always found sugar in it 
He therefore contends, that the condition of 
a woman in a well-regulated marrriedstate, who 
bears five or six girls, one after another, must 
be considered to be of a kind that departs 
more or less from the normal, and in such cases, 
54 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
dieting to reduce the sugar, to the quantity 
easily consumed by combustion, leaving no trace 
whatever in the urine, is recommended. 
This treatment consists of giving the mother 
a highly nitrogenous diet with fat, and adding 
only so much carbo-hydrate as is absolutely 
neccessary to prevent its want being felt. It 
should be commenced about three months be- 
fore impregnation, and continued for three 
months after impregnation. Such treatment 
will so effect the ovule of a human female, that 
when it becomes fertilized, it has so far ripened 
by the process of nutrition conducted in the 
organism of the mother, that when it attains 
the stage of development, it resolves itself into 
cells which compose an organism containing 
male characteristics. 
Schenk relates the following examples of 
women who had born only daughters, who after 
subjecting themselves to his treatment bore 
males, and continued to bear boys only so long 
55 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX. 
as they continued to observe the prescribed 
dieting treatment. 
i st. Was a woman of a family in which 
principally female children had been born, who 
showed the greatest willingness to do anything, 
in order that she might have male off-spring. 
On examination of the urine each time, showed 
traces of sugar. With her ordinary diet sugar 
was found in the urine, which signified imper- 
fect combustion. 
The diet was altered so that nitrogenous 
substances predominated, fat was added to the 
food, and the carbo-hydrates were excluded as 
far as possible. The woman’s health was good, 
and after eight days treatment, the last trace of 
sugar in the urine had disappeared. 
The menses lasted five days, and after five 
more having elapsed, impregnation took place, 
the same diet continuing for about eight weeks, 
when the food was gradually altered. She 
was in due course confined of a boy. 
56 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
Within twelve years this woman was con- 
fined six times, bearing four boys and having 
two miscarriages, both being male foetus. Dur- 
ing all these years, the result of examinations 
of the urine, which were made from time to 
time, showed clearly that sugar was always 
normally present when not influenced by dieting. 
In all cases, similar process of dieting had 
preceded, so that it was sufficiently demon- 
strated, that it could be only the influence of 
the diet that brought about these remarkable 
results. 
2d. Case of a woman twenty-three years old 
who had been married five years, and had given 
births to two girls. Treatment: Sugar and 
other forms of carbo-hydrate to be avoided, and 
that more meat be added to the diet. Critical 
analysis of the urine made every eight days 
and the diet constantly altered in the direction 
of increasing the amount of albumen. 
This treatment was continued for twelve 
57 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
weeks, when impregnation took place, six days 
after menstruation occured, which lasted four 
days. The patient was kept under dietary 
treatment for three months longer, when she 
was allowed to follow whatever course she pre- 
ferred, and bore a fine boy at full term. 
The following closing paragraph of Schenk’s 
conclusions are given word by word: 
“According to statistics more boys than 
girls are born in the years with a poor harvest. 
Bad harvest years are those which favor a flesh 
diet, as the food-stuffs from the vegetable king- 
dom do not suffice for the cattle nor for the 
people either; in consequence of which the cattle 
are killed and more flesh enters into the diet of 
the woman who are fructified. If people in 
general had the normal aptness for procreation 
in such famine years, the flesh diet might turn 
the scale in favor of the male sex, it being pre- 
supposed that the other conditions were ful- 
filled. 
58 “If Thury’s law be considered, Thury also 
held the ripeness of the ovum to be of impor- 
tance for male or female ova. The ova was re- 
garded by this author as being more or less 
ripe, or as male and female, according to the 
time, whether it happened to be at the begin- 
ning or at the end of the rutting. To me, how- 
ever, the ripeness seems to depend upon the 
process of physiological combustion in the or- 
ganism of the mother. According to Thury no 
attention need be paid by us to the ripeness for 
fructification, as this ripeness is attained inde- 
pendently of our interference. But, on the 
other hand, our influence has the effect of pro- 
ducing a male ovum out of the ovule ready to 
be fructified. 
BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
“If the dieting of a woman in the way we 
recommend is practicable and of indefinate effect 
upon the development of the future sex, we 
arrive at a conclusion which may be summed 
up as follows: If a woman be dieted according 
59 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
to our method, she can reach a stage in which 
she becomes sexually superior to the man, and 
her off springs will then be male, in accordance 
with the law of the cross-heredity of sex.” 
60 BY Dli. JEAN WODEY. 
CHAPTER VI. 
THE AUTHOR’S THEORY, EXPERIMENTS AND 
PRACTICE. 
No nation on this globe is more patriotic 
than is that of my countrymen the people of 
France. Whatever else may be said of us, we 
are at least, intensly patriotic. The dream of 
the average husband and wife, is to have their 
off spring figure in the military annals of their 
beloved country. Hence from my earliest 
practice come recollections of the desire ex- 
pressed by young people in wedlock, to have 
male off-spring, boys to grow up and become 
military heroes, for the proud satisfaction of 
their parents and for the glory of France. 
Hence it was, that early in my practice, I 
began to give some attention to the question of 
the determination of sex. 
61 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
From observation, I found that, where the 
wife was an ardent and voluptuous woman, 
sexually superior to the husband, the result of 
such wedlock would almost invariably be male 
off spring. As an example, I note the case of 
a small attenuated tailor, weight about 110 
pounds, whose consort was a large well de- 
veloped and voluptuous woman of some 200 
pounds weight. The result of this wedlock was, 
eight births, all being males, of which seven, 
ranging in age from five to sixteen years, were 
alive when I became acquainted with the family. 
I also found, that where the woman was 
considerably older than the husband, even if she 
was not his superior sexually, the great major- 
ity of children resulting from such wedlock were 
males. I recall the case of a strong young man 
who came to Paris from Colmar, then in the 
Department De Haut Rhine, France, now known 
as a portion of Alsace and Loraine, which was 
ceded to Germany as a result of the war of 
62 BY DR. JEAN WORDY. 
1872. This man, at the age of twenty-three 
years, married a woman who was fifteen years 
older than himself, both man and wife were 
well proportioned, the woman’s weight was 
about 140 pounds, that of the husband aver- 
aged 165 pounds. The result of this marriage 
was five children, all boys. 
I found further, that where the wife was in 
prime condition, of fair animal life, but where 
the husband, although physically much stronger 
than his wife, was of a phlegmatic temperament, 
the result of such wedlock would be a majority 
of males. 
I mention the case of a strapping young 
soldier, age twenty-seven when discharged from 
the army, married a sprightly young woman 
twenty years of age, the wife was apparently the 
sexual inferior of her husband, but was of a 
bright and lively disposition, whilst the man 
was of a phlegmatic temperament, slow of 
movement, and not overly bright. The result 
63 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
of this wedlock was nine children, the first be- 
ing a girl, the other eight were all boys. 
I also found, that, where an ordinary woman, 
neither voluptuous or phlegmatic, was mated to 
a very ardent man, the result of such wedlock 
was more girls than boys. 
I recall an instance of another soldier, who 
had served his term, received his discharge, 
and at the age of twenty-nine years married a 
buxom lass of twenty-three. He was strong, 
full of animal life, and very ardent, the result 
of this wedlock was seven births, the first six 
being girls the last one a boy. 
Another instance, where a strong ardent man, 
at the age of twenty-fire married a girl eighteen 
years of age, during the first five years of wed- 
lock three girls were born, the husband then 
became dissipated, deviding his attention be- 
tween his wife and a mistress. After that time, 
the wife bore four more children, three being 
boys and one girl. BY DB. JEAN WODEY. 
I also came to the conclusion, that, where a 
phlegmatic woman is mated with an ordinarily 
average man, they will beget more girls than 
boys. 
I recall an instance, where a well developed 
strong young woman, married a man every way 
her inferior, so far as one could judge from 
appearances, the wife was however phlegmatic, 
slow of movement, she bore nine children all 
being girls. 
I found also, as a result of my observations, 
that a young woman who marries an old man, 
will bear more girls than boys. 
Instances to substantiate this conclusion are 
abundant. I note the case of a young woman 
of twenty-four, who married a robust man of 
fifty-three, they continued in the married state 
for sixteen years, when the husband died, leav- 
ing his widow and seven children, all daughters. 
In the cases noted above, no efforts what- 
ever were made to influence the determination 
65 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
of sex, a close observer, will have no trouble to 
find similar cases among his acquaintances, 
these cases prove almost conclusively the law, 
as laid down by many writers on this subject, 
of the cross-heredity of sex. 
Early in my practice, I became interested 
in the subject of being able to divert the laws 
of nature in the determination of sex, by fre- 
quently hearing from patients of their success 
in bearing male children, by following the ad- 
vice of the clergy, which was, for the wife to 
lie on her right side when conception takes 
place, and remaining in that position for some 
little time. Upon investigation I could not find 
enough cases, where the conditions, tempera- 
ments, and other influences of the parents were 
predisposed for the development of female off- 
spring, who succeeded in bringing forth males, 
to warrant me in attaching much faith in that 
practice. Although I was forced to admit that, 
there wTas something to it, that where there was BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
little sexual difference between husband and 
wife, the chances between male and female off- 
spring being about equal, such practice would 
favor the production of male generative germs 
in the ova of the wife, and the result would 
naturally be, the birth of a boy. 
This led me to further investigation, and I 
began to look up all the literature on the sub- 
ject. I found that the practice alluded to, 
originated in, and was a part of the theory of 
J. Ch. Henke, who published his book entitled 
“The Secret of Nature Completely Discovered 
both in the Procreation of Man and the abso- 
lute choice of the Sex of Children,” at Bruns- 
wick in 1786. 
Henke, however, went further, and in ad- 
dition to the claim, that the right ovary of the 
female contains generative secretions for the 
production of the male sex, asserted, that the 
generative matter of the right testicle of the 
male serves to fructify ova from which males THE DE TERMINA TION OF SEX 
are developed, and that, as the off-spring be- 
ing evolved out of a mixture of the generative 
secretions of the two sexes, by manipulation, 
viz: mixing the semen from the right testicle 
of the male, with the ova of the right ovary of 
the female, male off-spring will result, and on 
the contrary, a female will be the result of the 
mixture of the semen from the left testicle of 
the male with the ova from the left ovary of 
the female. 
For several years I experimented with 
Henke’s theory, advising the raising of the tes- 
ticle up toward the inquinal canal, which is an 
easy process, and found quite an improvement 
in the percentage of male births over females, 
in cases, where the natural conditions of the 
parents would favor the propagation of fe- 
males. 
One case in particular gave gratifying re- 
sults; the wife was an ordinary well developed 
woman, the husband was a large strong man, 
68 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
his sensual lips betraying his temperament. 
The woman had given birth to three daughters, 
and both husband and wife were craving for 
male children. I advised the treatment as laid 
down by Henke, with the caution to the hus- 
band, to restrain himself, and abstain, until 
the tenth day after menses. The result was 
gratifying in the highest degree, while the 
couple were favored with only two more child- 
ren, yet both proved to be boys. 
I was greatly interested and beneficiently 
instructed by the work of Mons. Thury, pub- 
lished at Leipzig in the year 1863. 
Thury argues, that the condition of the 
ovum at the time when it is fertilized, deter- 
mines the sex, that an ovum, in order that it 
may develop a male germ, must have reached 
complete ripeness. That when it has reached 
the advanced stage of ripeness, and is then fer- 
tilized, the result will be a male. If, however, 
the ovum has not reached that advanced or per- 
69 TEE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
feet stage of ripeness, when impregnation takes 
place, a female will be result. 
Thury’s theory being substantially that, the 
origin of sex lies in the ovum developing itself 
in the females ovary, and that the only factor 
in the development of either sex is the condi- 
tion of its ripeness at the time of impregnation. 
According to this doctrine, a woman who is 
impregnated immediately after menstruation is 
certain to give birth to a girl, while if impregna- 
tion takes place a week or ten days later, the 
result will be the birth of a boy. 
My own observation, led me to advise the fer- 
tilization of the ovum, from eight to ten days 
after menstruation had taken place, where male 
off-spring was desired, as I found that the 
larger percentage of male births resulted from 
conception taking place at such times, while in 
cases of the impatient ones, fertilizing the ovum 
in its unripe stages would usually bring forth 
female off-spring. 
70 BY DU. JEAN WODEY. 
I also discovered that diet exerted consider- 
able influence in the determination of sex, that 
by curtailment of food containing saccharine 
matter (sugar), and adding more meat and fat 
to the diet, a larger percentage of male children 
was the result. This is no doubt due to the 
fact, that, the more perfect the combustion in 
the human body is, the more perfectly ripe be- 
comes the ovary, which being fertilized at this 
stage, develops a male germ. 
At that time we did not have the discoveries 
of Schenk, who claims that by dieting alone he 
is able to influence the procreation of male off- 
spring. It should be born in mind that Henke 
in his time (1786), and Thury, later in 1863, 
were just as positive, that they had discovered 
the only true method, and substantiated their 
theory by well authenticated examples, as was 
Schenk in 1898. 
In medical treatment as in all other matters, 
there are exceptions to all rules. We find a treat 
71 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
ment prescribed for one patient to give prompt 
relief, while the same treatment on another 
patient, suffering from a similar ailment, givcg 
no relief, and a different treatment is resorted 
to. The same applies with much greater force 
to treatment for determination of sex. Henke’s 
method, is no doubt successful in many cases, 
equally so is Thury’s, last and not least of all 
comes Schenk’s treatment, more critically scien- 
tific than his predecessors. Time alone will 
demonstrate, whether it is the infalable method 
claimed by its author. 
My experience is, that it required the use 
of all three methods, that of Henke, Thury and 
so much of Schenk’s method, that of dieting, 
with which I was then acquainted, to bring 
about the greatest percentage of successful 
cases. 
Undoubtedly, diet exerts as great an in- 
fluence on the productive organs of the female 
body, as it does on the general health of the 
72 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
body. It is a well-known fact, that, plagues 
and epidemics follow in the wake of famines; 
that infectious diseases first attack the weak 
and debilitated, and those whose condition is 
out of order. My advice to persons who were 
exposed to some infectuous disease, or in times 
of epidemic, was, to eat moderately good whole- 
some and nourishing food, avoiding stimulants, 
unless accustomed to their use, purify the 
blood, keep the bowels open, the feet warm, 
loose no sleep and keep up your courage, a per- 
son following this advice is rarely attacked, no 
matter how much he is exposed to the conta- 
gion. 
Schenk’s dieting treatment is more scienti- 
fically precise than anything heretofore sug- 
gested, and consists in a critical examination of 
the urine, to detect the presence of sugar, and 
changing the diet, until all the traces of sugar 
in the urine are eliminated. His theory being 
that, perfect combustion in the body has been THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
reached only, when no sugar is wasted in the 
urine. 
In order to test urine for sugar, uTrom- 
mer's Test” is used most in practice, and is as 
follows: 
Mix five cubic centimetres of urine with an 
equal volume of ten per cent, solution of potash 
or soda, and add to the mixture, drop by drop, 
a ten per cent, solution of sulphate of copper, 
so long as the resulting hydrated oxide of cop- 
per is dissolved by the sugar. 
This produces, according to the quantity of 
sugar contained a more or less ultramarine-blue 
fluid. Warm this, and the result, in conse- 
quence of the reducing action, is a reddish - 
yellow precipitate of hydrated suboxide of 
copper which, after a short time, adheres to 
the sides of the test tube, somewhat in the fash- 
ion of a mirror. This is a simple test and it 
gives good results in presence of more than 0.5 
per cent, of sugar. Other tests have been used 
74 BY DR. JEAN WODEY. 
with even better results, such as graduated fer- 
mentation-tubes, which is sensative enough to 
detect 0.05 per cent, of sugar. 
Fischer’s phenylhydrazin test can be used 
as a valuable reagent for the sugar in urine, as 
this preparation has the characteristic peculiar- 
ity of forming crystaline compounds with alde- 
hydes and ketones, it is claimed that even 
the faintest tracer of sugar in the urine, may 
be detected by this test. 
As a result of many years of experimenting 
with the theories of Henke, Thury and other 
noted experimentors and writers, I came to the 
following conclusions, and used the treatments 
with great success. 
Where female offspring was desired, in 
cases where the parents by nature were pre- 
disposed to propagate males only, I advised 
Henke's method of fertilizing the left ovary 
with semen from the left testicle, conception 
to take place so soon after menstruation as is 
75 THE DETERMINATION OF SEX 
practical; no connection to take place after 
three days following menses. The diet to be 
changed, omitting fat meats, adding food 
containing saccharine matter. 
Where male offspring was desired, in cases 
where the parents by nature were predis- 
posed to propagate females, I advised 
Thury's method of bringing the female ovary 
to a complete stage of ripeness, both by 
omitting saccharine matter from the food 
and adding more meat and fat; restraining 
connection until ten days after menstruation 
and practicing Henke's method of fertilizing 
the right ovary of the female with semen 
from the right testicle of the male. 
76