The fact that the ovaries do not occupy normally a position similar to that of the testes is in accordance with the theory, for they are very much smaller than the testes; and yet they have undergone some change of position, for they are posterior to the kidneys. The facts agree with the hormone theory, for it is to be noted that although the development of the scrotum is confined to the males, the 'descent' or dislocation takes place in the foetus, and not at the period of puberty. This is in accordance with the fact that the mechanical conditions to which the change is attributed are not related to sexual habits, but to the general habits of life which begin soon after birth. The development, therefore, may be considered to be related to the presence of a hormone derived from the normal testis, but not to a special quantity or quality of hormone associated with maturity or the functional activity of the organ. In Rodents, however, there is a difference in the organs, not only at maturity, but in every rutting season, at any rate in Muridae such as rats and others. In the rutting season the testes become much larger and descend into the scrotal sacs, at other times of the year being apparently more or less abdominal. In rabbits and hares, which have a much more impulsive progression, the organs seem to be always in the scrotal sacs. It might be thought that in this case, although the hormone theory of heredity might be applied, there was no reason to suppose that a hormone derived from the testis in the individual development was necessary in order that the hereditary change should take place. If the individual was male and therefore had a testis, this organ would by heredity go through the process of dislocation. But there is the curious fact that when the descent is not normal and complete, in what is called cryptorchidism, the organs are always sterile. The retention of the testes within the abdomen may be regarded as a case of arrested development, like many other abnormalities, but this does not explain why the retained testes should always be sterile, without spermatogenesis. If the inherited or congenital process of dislocation requires the presence of hormones produced by a normal testis, then we can understand why a defective testis does not descend completely, because it does not produce the hormone which is necessary to stimulate the hereditary mechanism to complete dislocation. It is often stated that in cryptorchidic individuals the sexual instincts and somatic sexual characters are well developed, which would appear contradictory to the above explanation, but according to Ancel and Bouin such individuals in the case of the pig show considerable differences in the secondary signs of sex and in the external genital organs, presenting variations which lie between the normal and the castrated animal.