On Growth and Form

by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson

Just as the human curve of growth has its slight but well-marked interruptions, or variations in rate, coinciding with such epochs as birth and puberty, so is it with other animals, and this phenomenon is particularly striking in the case of animals which undergo a regular metamorphosis.

In the accompanying curve of growth in weight of the mouse (Fig. [12]), based on W. Ostwald’s observations[111], we see a distinct slackening of the rate when the mouse is about a fortnight old, at which period it opens its eyes and very soon afterwards is weaned. At about six weeks old there is another well-marked retardation of growth, following on a very rapid period, and coinciding with the epoch of puberty. {83}

Fig. [13] shews the curve of growth of the silkworm[112], during its whole larval life, up to the time of its entering the chrysalis stage.

The silkworm moults four times, at intervals of about a week, the first moult being on the sixth or seventh day after hatching. A distinct retardation of growth is exhibited on our curve in the case of the third and fourth moults; while a similar retardation accompanies the first and second moults also, but the scale of our diagram does not render it visible. When the worm is about seven weeks old, a remarkable process of “purgation” takes place, as a preliminary to entering on the pupal, or chrysalis, stage; and the great and sudden loss of weight which accompanies this process is the most marked feature of our curve.

Fig. 12. Growth in weight of Mouse. (After W. Ostwald.)

The rate of growth in the tadpole[113] (Fig. [14]) is likewise marked by epochs of retardation, and finally by a sudden and drastic change. There is a slight diminution in weight immediately after {84} the little larva frees itself from the egg; there is a retardation of growth about ten days later, when the external gills disappear; and finally, the complete metamorphosis, with the loss of the tail, the growth of the legs and the cessation of branchial respiration, is accompanied by a loss of weight amounting to wellnigh half the weight of the full-grown larva. {85}

Fig. 13. Growth in weight of Silkworm. (From Ostwald, after Luciani and Lo Monaco.)

While as a general rule, the better the animals be fed the quicker they grow and the sooner they metamorphose, Barfürth has pointed out the curious fact that a short spell of starvation, just before metamorphosis is due, appears to hasten the change.