In this inaugural address, Professor Jardine gives a short sketch of some of the beliefs and usages prevalent amongst uncivilised peoples with regard to parturition, dealing with the matter mainly from the standpoint of the practical obstetrician. He points out that many of the methods adopted by primitive races are superior to those in vogue in civilised communities. For instance, the squatting posture for delivery customary with a good many savage races is much more rational than the conventional attitudes assumed by cultured European women. Similarly, he would attribute the comparative rarity of uterine diseases in savage life, in part at least, to the precautionary customs which grow out of the idea of uncleanness during menstruation.