DEATH 403 



from Paramoecia in the spirit world, for the simple reason that there is 

 no chance for the soul of a Paramcecium, — assuming for the argument 

 that he has one, — to get there. 



In some of the flatworms (Planaria) vegetative or agamic re- 

 production takes place; the animal divides and each part con- 

 tinues its existence as a separate individual ad seternitatem. This 

 same power of regeneration is also found in many other of the less 

 specialized animals. 



In plants the simple Thallophytes behave exactly like Para- 

 mecium, i. e., they divide by simple fission after which each half 

 continues its existence quite independently of the other. In re- 

 production by means of cuttings, which in many of the horti- 

 cultural forms like oranges, figs, and dates has gone on for cen- 

 turies, the cells of the present plants are directly connected with 

 those of their ancestors of many generations ago. Likewise plants 

 which reproduce from rhizomes may grow indefinitely and for un- 

 told centuries. In such cases there has been no sexual reproduc- 

 tion, no separation into germ and soma plasma; and these organ- 

 isms may also be said to be immortal. 



Only in the Metazoa where there is a distinct division into germ 

 and body cells do we find mortality. As specialization has pro- 

 gressed, certain cells (the germ cells) have been set apart to con- 

 tinue the reproductive work of the species. They are immortal, 

 while the soma cells, connected with the vegetative work of main- 

 taining the life of the individual rather than of the race, are 

 mortal. Individuals and body cells are mortal; species and germ 

 cells are immortal. 



The soma cells, however, may be cultivated apart from the 

 body in a nutrient medium for many generations. Carrell (1912) 

 has a culture of the connective tissue from a chicken which he 

 has been growing in a nutrient jnedium away from the chicken 

 for several years. On January 17th, 1935, this connective tissue 

 culture will be twenty-three years old, which is a far greater age 

 than it would have reached if it had remained within the chicken, 

 all of which goes to show that even the soma cells are potentially 

 immortal. Lamprecht (1925), Borger (1926), PfeifTer (1931), and 

 White (1932) in a similar manner cultivated various plant cells for 



several weeks. 



5. Life is a continuum. From the beginning of the time when 

 life first appeared upon the earth it has gone on continuously. 



