96 The Bible of Nature 



attention than they have as yet received. The 

 dried seed may remain alive without detectable 

 signs of life for several decennia (though not since 

 the time of Pharaoh, as used to be said). Cer- 

 tain little threadworms (Anguillulidse) may be 

 kept dry without any discernible hint of life for 

 fourteen years, and yet become vigorous again 

 when put into water. At any time during the four- 

 teen years this revivification may occur, but not in 

 the fifteenth year! What is life that it can remain 

 so long without asserting itself and yet without dy- 

 ing ? It would be interesting to arrange on a long 

 inclined plane all the phenomena of anaesthesia, 

 narcotization, sleep, coma, suspended animation, 

 fainting, trance, catalepsy, and dying in man; all 

 the phenomena of death-feigning, animal hypnosis, 

 paralysis, hibernation, latent life, and dying in ani- 

 mals. The phenomena of local life are also re- 

 markable. The excised turtle's heart may go on 

 beating for many days after the animal has been 

 made into soup. We speak of shattering the ma- 

 chine, but a decapitated turtle has been known to 

 walk about. Living, we say, means a consensus 

 of all the living parts, and yet a part may be as 

 good as the whole. In the case of hundreds of 

 plants, a small fragment carefully nursed will re- 

 grow the perfect organism, and the same is true of 

 fairly complex animals, such as sponges and 

 polyps and worms. From one Turbellarian worm 



