Origin of Sexuality 297 



two groups aniid their primitive en\4ronment, the commencing 

 causes might be secured that started sexuaHty. 



The resulting advantage of this we claim is, that thereby 

 through constant crossing of what from the long drawn hered- 

 itary standpoint were primitively somatic cells, more recently 

 asexual spore cells, and still later bisexual cells, a constant 

 blending and so hereditary averaging and fixing of environally 

 derived or acquired characters was ensured. Therefore a steady 

 and solid advancing adaptation in organisms to their average en- 

 vironment ivould be effected, as steadily advancing modification in 

 cosmic environal factors took place. 



. Fifth and finally we would note that, during the past quar- 

 ter century or more, much has been written and spoken — 

 mainly from the zoological side — as to "somatoplasm and germ- 

 plasm," "immortality of the germplasm," and kindred topics. 

 As the writer has endeavored to demonstrate, the protoplasm 

 (or protojilasmatin if one desires similar terminations) is the 

 most ancient and probably simplest constituent of each living 

 cell. In other words primitive unicellular acaryotic cells, 

 resembling types still existing, exhibited all the fundamental 

 life functions of irritability, nutrition, respiration, growth, 

 and reproduction by division. So to express such in Weis- 

 mannian language, protoplasm is the most ancient and highly 

 immortal living substance known. 



For, from its first evolution as a complex and labile chemical 

 body, whicli made up the entire living unit and that probably 

 evolved during early mid-archa?an age, on to its existence at 

 the present day in the most complex nerve cells of the human 

 brain, we are forced by the observational and ex])erimental 

 evidence to conclude that it has had unbroken biotic contin- 

 uity. Otherwise we must accept it that in higher or caryotic 

 plants and animals a sudden new formation of protoplasm 

 took place, or that the chromatin of a cell nucleus developed 

 and existed alone for a time, and from its substance reformed 

 a new mass of surrounding protoplasm. Few, we judge, will 

 venture to accept either position. 



The next more complex substance chi'omatin seems gradually 

 to have evolved from the j^rotoplasm, conjointly with and 



10* 



