LATENT LIFE 181 



its state of colloidal solution, but, in spite of all, 

 the seeds showed a high percentage of germination! 

 Now, as Becquerel says, " life without water, 

 without air, without gaseous exchanges, without 

 colloid molecules in suspension in a liquid, appears 

 paradoxical." The vital current is frozen hard, 

 and if this be so we are forced to the conclusion 

 that life is not bound to be quite continuous until 

 death overtakes it. It can stop and begin again. 

 It is not to be supposed that the composition of 

 that chemical firm which we call protoplasm has 

 been altered, or that any of the component molecules 

 have suffered disintegration. That way death lies. 

 But there has been a physical check, like the freez- 

 ing of a stream, from which recovery is possible 

 within limits. One would like to see Becquerel's 

 experiments extended to the animal world, where 

 the phenomena may be different; but the evidence 

 from seeds points to the conclusion that life may 

 be interrupted without destroying its power of 

 resuscitation. 



As Becquerel points out, the capacity for lying 

 low is no mere curiosity, it has significance in the 

 struggle for existence. It enables organisms to bide 

 their time, to bend to the storm, to wait and see. 

 Many minute creatures get carried about in a state 

 of latent life; others rest in quietness, evading a 

 hopeless struggle, and if propitious conditions are 

 restored in time, they do not lose their reward. 

 " Latent life is a true Providence for the terrestrial 

 conservation of organisms." Becquerel suggests 



