I must also thank those who have contributed towards the illustrations which enliven these pages. The delightful Frontispiece, and many of the plates scattered through this work, I owe to the generosity of Messrs. Rowland Ward, Limited. The excellent rendering of the Birds of Paradise adapted in part from the work of Mr. G. E. Lodge and the late J. G. Keulemans, and partly drawn from specimens in the British Museum, is the work of Mr. Roland Green. The very difficult, and less fascinating, technical figures I owe to the skill of Mr. Philip Whelpley. The wonderful photographs illustrating the “Display” of the Sun-bittern and the Kagu were taken by my friend Mr. D. Seth-Smith. Finally I have to thank Mr. Roger Ingpen for the immense amount of trouble which he has taken in seeing these pages through the press. W. P. Pycraft. October, 1913. CONTENTS CHAPTER INTRODUCTION The nature of Life and its power of reproduction—The stuff of which Life is made—The Emotions—The simplest living things—Where is neither Birth nor Death yet the Population increases—The First Marriage—The beginning of sex—The two dominating instincts—The conditions of survival—The Oyster’s narrow world—“Fiddling work”—Amorousness—The superior Male—Where Death begins—“Germ-plasm” and what it means—Sex and “Secondary sexual Characters”—Some theories—“Hormones” what are they? 1 CHAPTER II “MANKIND IN THE MAKING” The use of the term “Courtship”—Primitive Man and the Foundations of Society—“Amorousness” as a motive force—Polygamy—Our half human ancestors—Standards of Beauty—Disquieting signs 21 CHAPTER III MAN’S COUSINS THE APES The Man-like Apes and their mode of Life—Their “Courtships”—Musical Chimpanzees—How the Orang-utan improves his voice—His likeness to Caliban—The truculent visage of the Gorilla—“Ornament” in the lower Apes—The Concerts of the Howler Monkeys 40 CHAPTER IV AT DAGGERS DRAWN The Birth of Weapons—All Flesh is Grass—Utility and Ornament—The Fever of Love—The “Challenge” of the Deer—What it means-More about “Hormones”—“Hummel” Stags—The Age of Deer—The “Courtship” of the Moose—Types of Antlers—Antlered Females—Fighting Topi—The Lance of the Oryx in the Lion’s Flanks—Happiness and Hartebeestes—Odoriferous Suitors—The Bloody Sweat of the Hippopotamus—The Elephant in Love—Concerning Tusks—Polygamy 49 CHAPTER V THE LION AND HIS KIN A Surprising Relationship—The Lion’s Mane—The Sabre-toothed Tiger—Some Theories about Origins—Sea-lions in Love—Some Strange Ornaments—Whales and Weapons 77 CHAPTER VI COURTSHIP AMONG BIRDS