138 SPECIAL CREATION 



in the egg ; for the contents of the egg-shell are a homo- 

 geneous mass of protoplasm. There is no reason to 

 suppose that the warmth of the hen's body, nor that 

 the heat of the incubator, is, alone, adequate tc impart 

 life to the egg. Each part of the ^gsr is necessarily 

 kept at the same temperature as that of every other 

 part. For this reason we cannot believe that mere 

 heat differentiates one part of the white and yellow 

 into bones, another part into muscles, arteries, veins, 

 nerves, etc. 



In his Principles of Biology, (vol. 1, p. 116), 

 Spencer says : 



1 There is experimental proof that seeds may, un- 

 der conditions unfavorable to germination, retain for 

 ten, twenty, and some even thirty years, the 

 power to germinate when due moisture and warmth 

 are supplied.' 



Now if these seeds are alive, what becomes of the 

 life in them during these long periods of quiescence? 

 There are untold millions of grains of wheat and of 

 corn. None of these grains will germinate until they 

 are supplied with "moisture and warmth.' Can we 

 believe that heat and moisture alone have any creative 

 forces? If so, all the sands of the sea shore ought to 

 be living creatures. 



Let us consider the acorn. When mature, it 

 falls to the ground. If it be supplied with a proper 

 degree of heat and moisture, it will germinate in a 

 short time. But it will never germinate, so long as it 

 is kept in a cool, dry place. Suppose an acorn is de- 

 prived of heat and moisture for five years; that it 

 is then supplied with them and immediately germ- 



