The Organism and its Chemistry 77 



given."), or at least as the most real of all things in nature, 

 seems to carry with it an element of liostility to evolution, 

 to the conception of origination by transformation and 

 growtli. But tliis is no place to deal with the vast problems 

 thus intimated; sufficient to have mentioned the matter for 

 the sake of a background for the discussion now before us. 

 Our standpoint in this chapter on the organism and its 

 chemical substances is to be that of the evolutionary natu- 

 ralist. We are to j)ush our studies of the structure and 

 function (the morphology and ])hysiology) of organisms 

 into chemical foundations, and are then to inquire concern- 

 ing the mode and place of origin of the foundational sub- 

 stances, and also concerning the adaptation of these to the 

 needs of the organism. In other words, we are to look upon 

 the chemical elements and compounds entering into the make 

 up of organisms in the same way that w'e look upon the cells, 

 tissues, and organs which enter into their composition. In 

 fidelity to the best traditions and practices of natural his- 

 tory for the last century at least, the evolutional and adap- 

 tational aspects of our inquiry will presuppose much careful 

 description, definition, comparison and classification of these 

 substances. 



Touching the descriptions presupposed, the following 

 qualifying considerations should always be kept in mind : 

 The naturalist is entirely unable to "go behind the returns" 

 of the chemist in estimating the accuracy and fulness of the 

 descriptions. He must accept what is furnished him from 

 the chemical laboratories, exercising no critical judgment 

 beyond that always requisite in tlie choice of authorities 

 where one is obliged to go into fields not his own for facts. 

 From this consideration very little actual description of 

 organic chemical substances will be given in our discussion. 

 We shall in general restrict ourselves to substances the 

 existence and main attributes of which seem to be no longer 

 in question among chemists themselves. 



