Vitality and Organization of Protoplasm. 9 



how does it happen that its 'sundry constituent elements have come to be 

 so diversely endowed as to be now fit respectively and conjointly to evolve 

 into the disparate tissues of the adult organism ? 



In explanation of this strange evolution of heterogeneous and progres- 

 sively higher offspring from an originally elementary organism, phyletic 

 influences ,are necessarily invoked' And their differentiating and de- 

 veloping effect on the ultimate vital units is then variously conceived 

 by biologists; either as liability to assume specific modes of equilibra- 

 tion, or as phases of unconscious memory, or again as sundry tropic 

 sensibilities, or as other still more occult ontogenetic efficiencies. These 

 divers ontogenetic potencies are generally believed to be wrought upon 

 elementary units during phyletic elaboration by diversifying nutritive 

 influences^ which are su23posed to bring about a progressive development 

 of their molecular constitution, and therew'ith development of their 

 respective potential endowments. Each elementary unit is then im- 

 agined to become thus separately transformed into a specific germ of a 

 specific tissue; and being so highly developed as now to be endowed 

 with ontogenetic efficiencies enabling it conjointly with others to recon- 

 stitute the specific form and structures of the adult organism. It is 

 clear, however, that under this mode of interpretation the visible germ- 

 cell can no longer be regarded as being itself an elementary autonomous 

 organism, as it was at first supposed to be; but has to be regarded as 

 being, on the contrary, at most, an ordered aggregate of diversely and 

 highly endowed constituent elements. And this being the case, self- 

 division of the germ-cell into genuine daughter-cells has therewith be- 

 come impossible. For a cx)mposite of disparate or definitely ordered 

 units, whether nuclear, somatip, or of any other kind, can not be con- 

 ceived as producing by mere division qualitatively equal parts, or genuine 

 lineal offspring. Consequently, under the supposition that the germ- 

 cell was originally, or has become phyleticalh', composed of diversified 

 or definitely ordered units, the cell-theor}^, the acknowledged basis of 

 ontogenetic interpretation, is thereby virtually abolished. For it is of ■ ^ 

 the essence of the cell-theory that by means of self-division equal 

 "daughter-cells" are being produced. Here, on the contrary, the divi- 

 sion of the differentiated aggregate can result only in the case of dis- 

 parate assortment of units, in the production of two heterogeneous parts 

 so far as their composition is concerned. And in the case of a specifi- , 

 cally ordered aggregate of equal units, division can produce only com- ' 

 pi omental halves or fragments of the ordered whole; but nowise genuine 

 autonomous offspring. 



In fact, under the assumption of ultimate vital units, the cells of com- 

 plex organisms can be merely differently constituted clusters of such 

 multiplied vital units, without individuality of their own, and therefore 

 without being themselves autonomous elementary organisms. The cell- 

 theory, by assuming t hat its_cells are cl usters of vital units, effects thereby ^ 

 iis_a\ai dissolution. ' - 



Furthermore, on close inspection it becomes evident that, by assuming 



