Evolution of Animals 375 



"could only be made by deliberately ignoring obvious genetic 

 relationships." 



While such is true in actual evolutionary continuity, it is 

 we believe exactly correct to say that from these common 

 beginnings plant and animal life evolved in diverging lines to 

 a high degree of organization, but the sedentary and auto- 

 trophic habits of plants have prevented, while the motile 

 and heterotrophic or epibiotic habits of animals have stimu- 

 lated to, the attainment of the highest possible phase of such 

 organization. But it should be constantly emphasized that 

 none of the fundamental moi-phological and physiological 

 inheritances slowly acquired and steadily absorbed into the 

 organismal constitution during the long-drawn later archsean 

 age has been cast overboard during the subsequent voyage 

 of life over the ocean of time. Added complexities of ener- 

 gizing and molecular nature have resulted on the way as an 

 outcome of the evolutionary unfolding of the world as a whole 

 in every relation. But the great morpho-physiological inheri- 

 tances have been carried forward as a progressive whole. 



So, though in part a recapitulation of facts already pre- 

 sented, we consider it well now to set out in detail the funda- 

 mental resemblances in plants and anhnals, and to follow 

 this mth the differences that they generally show. The resem- 

 blances are: 



(1) In both, the lowest or primitive forms are non- 

 nucleate and asexual, while they propagate by division 

 of cells. 



(2) In both, some of the sub-primitive forms show 

 evolving chromatin threads. 



(3) In both, the same fundamental protoplasm forms 

 the basis of life action, and shows the same phases of 

 synthesis of molecules, through activity of biotic energy 

 associated ^\'ith and helped by the inorganic energies. 



(4) In both, the same physiological functions of irri- 

 tability, nutrition, respiration, growth, and reproduction 

 occur. 



(5) In both, like hereditary, variational, environal, 

 proenvironal, and selective capacities are shown. 



