Among the American negroes Hrdlicka has found, also (_Proceedings
American Association for the Advancement of Science_, vol. xlvii,
p. 475), that the penis in black boys is larger than in white
boys.
The passages cited above suggest the question whether the penis
becomes larger by exercise of its generative functions. Most old
authors assert that frequent erection makes the penis large and
long (Schurig, _Spermatologia_, p. 107). Galen noted that in
singers and athletes, who were chaste in order to preserve their
strength, the sexual parts were small and rugrose, like those of
old men, and that exercise of the organs from youth develops
them; Roubaud, quoting this observation (_Traite de
l'Impuissance_, p. 373), agrees with the statement. It seems
probable that there is an element of truth in this ancient
belief. At the same time it must be remembered that the penis is
only to small extent a muscular organ, and that the increase of
size produced by frequent congestion of erectile tissues cannot
be either rapid or pronounced. Variations in the size of the
sexual organs are probably on the whole mainly inherited, though
it is impossible to speak decisively on this point until more
systematic observations become customary.
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