CHAPTER I 



THE MATRIX FOR THE GENERATION OF 

 THE PRIMARY ORGANISMS 



t. The Sedimentation of Globulin and Lipids in 

 Primeval Oceans 



As discussed in the previous Part, for the generation of the 

 secondary organisms the living substances already produced are indis- 

 pensable. It may be said, therefore, that the discussion on the 

 generation of the secondary organisms has nothing to do with the 

 problem as to the true origin of life, but as will be fully discussed 

 later it should be considered that the priniary organisms were gene- 

 rated principally in the same way as the secondary organisms. 



The writer has advanced so far the argument into the problem of 

 the possible manner in which organisms were newly generated in the 

 living protoplasm. In like manner the primary life might have been 

 created on the primeval, lifeless earth, if there were present any 

 matrix acting as the protoplasm. On the other hand, there are actually 

 good many reasons to consider that such a matrix was present on the 

 lifeless earth. 



As already stated in Part II, Chapter IV, protoplasm particles 

 isolated from leaves of certain plants formed protoplasm-like masses 

 when left in a weakly acid solution at the laboratory temperature. 

 Usually the mass appeared homogeneous and tended to take a shape 

 peculiar to the plant from which the particls were prepared. In most 

 cases these particles fused by hundreds into a mass of a bacterial 

 size, some forming a bacillar form and other a coccoid, and sometimes 

 the mass grew further until it became a protozoa-like body. 



The writer has succeeded by using protein particles isolated from 

 castor beans in preparing beautiful protozoa-like bodies in which 

 usually various granules were contained, some of which occasionally 

 appeared to be nucleus. Such a protozoa-like body would coagulate 

 or disintegrate into minute particles as does the ordinary protoplasm 

 when pressed mechanically under cover-glass or added with chemical 

 agents such as alkali. 



This fact suggests that protoplasm particles produced by the 

 coagulation of protoplasm can solve the coagulation when stand in 



