THE PRESENT POSITION OF CELL-THEORY. 323 



nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, potassium and iron, in 

 varying proportions, and let him work out the possible 

 combinations. I think he will be satisfied with the com- 

 plexity. 



What then of heredity and of the capacity which I have 

 mentioned for acquiring historic qualities ? 



Believing as I do that the vital processes must in the 

 end be attributed to a particular mode of molecular motion, 

 I believe that it is the form of movement which is trans- 

 mitted. Returning to my illustration I would say that it is 

 the figure of the whole dance which makes up the species, 

 and that it is the figure — the mode of motion — which is 

 inherited, clearly not the individuals engaged in the dance, 

 except in a very small degree, for they are constantly 

 coming into the dance anew and as constantly being passed 

 out of it. Under certain circumstances there may be an 

 excess of one or more kinds of new individuals pressing into 

 one part of the dance which will affect the figure of the 

 company dance which they crowd into, and this will affect 

 regimental figures and ultimately, in decreasing degrees, 

 the whole army figure. In this way we may picture to 

 ourselves the action of external influences in bringring about 

 variation. But I have given rein enough to my imagina- 

 tion. The picture was introduced partly to show that 

 beneath my obscure phrases there was some distinctness of 

 ideas, partly to emphasise the immense complexity of 

 Nature and to show that even atoms and molecules may be 

 conceived to be so combined together that, in Goethe's 

 words, " sie bewirken so eine unendliche Production aut 

 alle Weise und nach alien Seiten ". 



Gilbert C. Bourne. 



