Relation of Inorganic to Organic Bodies 59 



complex chemical activity or a complex cell pigment that 

 permits of food supplies and energy being absorbed and utilized 

 while the organism remains fixed or sluggish, in the higher 

 Schizomycetes more active modes of life and of securing food 

 have been evolved, by the formation of cilia, and so has resulted 

 the varied diet of living or decaying vegetable or animal sub- 

 stance now absorbed by and largely typical of them. 



But in addition to the Schizophycese and Scliizomycetes 

 a third group, that deserves well to be classed amongst the 

 Acaryota, includes species and even larger families that are 

 viewed as simple animals. Some of these are as yet so imper- 

 fectly known in their complete life history that they can only 

 tentatively be discussed. But there remain others which are 

 better known, and which present many points of agreement 

 with the above groups, specially the Schizomycetes. 



This somewhat heterogeneous assemblage in recent zoological 

 plans of classification is known as the Proteomyxa. This 

 includes genera which at some stage in their history show an 

 irregular amoeboid condition of the protoplasm, that is devoid 

 of any recognizable membrane. But, when the resting or 

 encystment stage is reached, a bounding membrane is formed. 

 In some genera no cell nucleus is discoverable, in others scat- 

 tered chromatin granules suggest an evolving nuclear body, 

 while in Vainpyrella and Plasmodiophora evident nuclei can 

 be traced at all stages in the life history. The capacity these 

 have of absorbing either liquid or solid substances, and of 

 digesting them, suggests that they are more highly evolved 

 derivatives from one of the two last groups. This view is 

 further favored by their methods of multiplication, and by the 

 possession in some of them of a definite nucleus. 



The Mastigophora is a group of unicellular animals that 

 seems always to have aggregated chromatin granules (Iler- 

 petomonas) or a nucleus commonly. Though the species are 

 now distinguished by their manifold adaptations to other and 

 higher animals as hosts, it seems by no means unlikely that 

 they may have been derived from some higher nucleate lines 

 of the Schizomvcetes. 



