THE MUSEUM. 



103 



it must be surface, when compared 

 with its bulk; and when surrounded 

 by, in fact floating in, a pabulum ready 

 prepared, absorption through its exter- 

 ior surface is ample. If its nervous 

 matter is uniformly diffused through its 

 whole body, and is susceptible to the 

 influence of light, what does it need 

 for ej'es; — it is virtually all eyes! And 

 so our poor," pitiable, bit of jelly-like 

 amorba, is not so bad off after all. 



If the substance is of a jelly-like or 

 semi-fluid nature, as it almost univer- 

 sally is in the low forms of life, it will 

 likely approach the globular form; for 

 the particles, being free to move, will 

 each press by the most direct route 

 to the center, and the result must be 

 a drop a round cell — such as hangs from 

 the blade of grass in early morn, and 

 for the same reason. 



It may be safely asterted that in 

 such low forms of life, physical force 

 and law overcomes, in some degree, 

 vital force, and comes off so far victor- 

 ious, as to dictate shape to the body. 

 The border line between animal 

 and plant life is very indistinct, yet it 

 is not the less complete. No single 

 criterion can be seized upon that will 

 hold universally, in drawing the distinc- 

 tion between animal and plant, sensa- 

 tion fails, for some, plants seem to be 

 sensitive; motility fails, for some 

 plants are motile, and some animals 

 are permanently attached. Digestion 

 fails, for while some plants live on ani- 

 mal food which they trap, or at least 

 make use of it as a part of their sup- 

 port, the whole class of carnivorous 

 animals do the same. Respiration 

 fails, for while plants take in carbonic 

 acid by their leaves, which correspond 

 to the lungs of animals, and give back 



the oxygen during the day light, the 

 reverse of this is the case in the dark; 

 and there is an exception, at best, in 

 the whole class of the fungi, which are 

 true animals in respiration. But there 

 is one fact so broad and general in its 

 application it may be taken as the 

 guiding star, on which to turn the eye 

 in this line of investigation. 



Plants take material from the inor- 

 ganic world — dead mineral matter — 

 air, water, gas, and salts, fabricate 

 these into the structure of their tis- 

 sues, and thus stored up, turn it over 

 to the animal as food, in seed, or fruit, 

 or leaf, or root, as the case may be; 

 while the animal has no power to make 

 use of anything as food, except what is 

 thus prepared by the plant. 



The wrought products of the animal 

 or vegetable are often so closely like 

 the results of crysallization in the min- 

 eral, as to be very imposing, yet one 

 is wholly the result of a molecular 

 force, guiding each particle to its ap- 

 propriate place in the crystal, while 

 the other is made under the influence 

 of vitality. 



Here are some microscopic quartz 

 crystals scattered in a silicious earth, 

 and there are some microscopic vase 

 and urn-like vessels, sculptured all over 

 in beautiful patterns of wonderful de- 

 sign. They, too, are quartz; — the 

 crystals stand for the inorganic world 

 and the power of crystallization. If 

 broken to pieces a thousand times and 

 melted in the furnace, the same forms 

 may be reproduced. The little urn- 

 like Polycystine shells, stand for the 

 organic kingdom and the work of life. 

 If broken or melted, no inorganic pow- 

 er on earth can mend or reproduce 

 them. Geo. M. Crofts, 



Keokuk, Iowa. 



