The President's Address. 73 



longer living, and the pabulum consists of appropriate matter 

 derived from food, and capable of being acted upon by the 

 germinal matter and converted into its own substance. 



He says, in the pajDer to which I am referring, " calling 

 the germinal matter which was derived from pre-existing 

 germinal matter a, the pabulum b, and the formed material 

 resulting from changes in the germinal matter c, that b be- 

 comes a, and a becomes converted into c, but b can never 

 be converted into c, except by the agency, and, in fact, by 

 passing through the condition, of a." 



Dr. Beale considers that, in the present state of our know- 

 ledge it is impossible to explain the conversion of pabulum 

 into germinal matter by physics or chemistry, but he believes 

 that "vitality excites germinal matter to divide itself into 

 smaller portions under the influence of some ' centripetal 

 force.' " '^ This moving away of particles from a centre will 

 necessarily create a tendency of particles around to move 

 towards the centre," and then the nutrient pabulum may be 

 drawn in. 



It is not my purpose to discuss the very important ques- 

 tions upon which Dr. Beale is at issue with certain other 

 distinguished authorities ; but the value of that discussion 

 will be apparent if I bring before you another passage from 

 his paper, and contrast it with a citation from M. Berthelot, 

 in whose hands Synthetic Chemistry has made such remark- 

 able progress. 



Dr. Beale says, " The point in which every nutritive 

 operation differs essentially from every other known change 

 is this : the composition and properties of the nutrient matter 

 are completely altered, its elements are entirely rearranged, 

 so that compounds which may be detected in the nutrient 

 matter are no longer present when this has been taken up by 

 the matter to be nourished. The only matter capable of 

 effecting such changes as these is living matter. * * * * 

 Desirous as I am to yield all that can be yielded to those who 

 maintain that there are no vital powers distinct from ordinary 

 force, I might say that a particle of soft transparent matter, 

 called by some living, Avliich came from a pre-existing particle, 

 effected, silently, and in a moment, wdthout apparatus, with 

 little loss of material, at a temperature of 60° or lower, 

 changes in matter, some of which can be imitated in the 

 laboratory in the course of days or weeks by the aid of a 

 highly skilled chemist, furnished with complex apparatus 

 and the means of producing a very high temperature and in- 

 tense chemical action, with an enormous w\aste of material. 

 It is, therefore, quite obvious that an independent, scientific 



