It is plain, then, that this membrane is of no direct service in the sexual process. It may even give rise to more or less serious misfortune. Thus, when it is unusually rigid, the adjacent peritoneum may be torn and the results may be disastrous. Occasionally the rupture of an abnormally vascular membrane may give rise to bleeding of a prolonged and even fatal character.[96] Moreover the membrane is a frequent seat of ulcers, specific or otherwise.[97] I have already mentioned that among some races a rigorous toilet involves the destruction of the hymen. It is plain that the existence of the membrane interferes with strict hygiene of the vagina, especially at the periods. Probably some blood is retained by the membrane and furnishes a soil for microbes that may be dangerous to health. It is quite possible that certain forms of anæmia, as for instance the chloranæmia of virgins, may be produced by microbial growth. This would easily explain why marriage is the readiest cure for such anæmia, as marriage involves destruction of the membrane, and so makes possible the complete discharge of fluid from the vagina.[98] What then can be the meaning of this organ, useless as it is for the sexual functions, sometimes dangerous to health, an organ that is no ancestral heritage and that must be destroyed by the act of sexual union? Formerly, when it was accepted that characters acquired in individual life could be transmitted to offspring, the question was asked as to why this membrane had not disappeared. The instance was one of those which helped to overthrow the dogma of the inheritance of acquired characters. Although it is useless to existing man, this organ may yet come to be explained by science. As yet we have to fall back on suppositions. The hypothesis which seems most probable is that in the earlier period of the existence of the human race, sexual relations were begun at a very early age, before the male organs were mature. Under such circumstances the hymen would not only not have been a barrier, but would have made congress more satisfactory. Gradually the hymen would have become dilated without being torn, until it was capable of admitting the adult organ. This hypothesis implies that in early times the membrane was not brutally torn, but that it was gradually dilated and that violent rupture is a modern necessity. In support of the hypothesis it may be mentioned that amongst certain living races sexual union begins at a very early age. In Ceylon, marriage takes place when the boys are from seven to ten years old and when the girls are from four to six years, according to Roer, or about eight years according to Beierlein. After the actual wedding ceremony the bride returns to the house of her parents, and it is only a few years later, when she is adult, that she goes to her husband. Roer states that he has seen cases where a father and son were attending school together.