BioTic State of Energy 99 



and constitutes protoplasm when associated with correlated 

 ether particles. 



A peculiarity that deserves more than passing notice in 

 the Acaryota, and in the Caryota that are subaquatic or aquatic 

 in habit, is the tendency toward formation of gelatinous sheaths 

 or even extensive gelatinous coats as in Gloeocapsa and Aphano- 

 capsa, or in the mycoprotein masses of many bacteria. This 

 has often been regarded functionally as a protection against 

 protoplasmic death by dessication. But in many of the forms 

 that show it the chances for such are reduced to a minimum, 

 while it is a striking fact that when allied types to these, as 

 well as the higher plants, evolve as land dwellers the organism 

 becomes dry, firm, and non-mucilaginous. Yet it is not that 

 the gelatinous coat might be considered of special advantage. 

 If we bear in mind that energy of all kinds is more easily con- 

 veyed through a liquid medium like water than through a 

 gaseous medium like air, the function of the gelatinous coat 

 as an energy-insulator becomes more likely. Such therefore 

 we incline to regard it as. 



This would satisfactorily explain the practically negative 

 results obtained by Waller during study of various seaweeds 

 and some samples of frog spawn, in his electric blaze experi- 

 ments. For in both cases the thick mucilaginous coats may 

 have prevented direct contact of the terminals or have absorbed 

 the slight currents of electric energy passing out to them from 

 the contained protoplasts. 



If it be true even in the Acaryota that the cell energy which 

 stimulates to nutritive metabolism of the protoplasm, to growth, 

 and to division of the protoplasm be either chemical energy 

 alone, or electric energy, or both combined, we might expect 

 to find that, apart from organic tissues and by expenditure 

 of an equal amount of energy as is given off in the burning 

 of a definite organic mass, equally intricate bodies as the i)ro- 

 teids could be built up. As previously emphasized the linking 

 up from inorganic constituents even of the simplest organic 

 colloid starch has hitherto failed, even under ai)ph cation of 

 abundant and diverse charges of energy. Therefore, so far 



