LEAVES III 



Before goiii<^ any further I must try and explain 

 a little about the uoiulerful substance called pro- 

 toplasm. ^ 



If we have ever watched a potter at work, we 

 know he takes a lump (jf clay and moulds it 

 accordint^ to his purpose, into a rough pot, or a 

 lovely vase ; now protoplasm seems to be just 

 such a foundation material from which the Divine 

 Creator causes animal and vegetable forms to pro- 

 ceed. J'irsl material seems to me tcj be a term 

 that actual 1\' e.xpres.ses the meaning of the word 

 protoplasm. 



It lines the cell walls of leaves, it is capable of 

 forming fresh cells, it can absorb moisture and 

 other matters, it contracts and expands, it has 

 power of movement, as one ma\- readily see when 

 a portion of a leaf is jjlaced in a microscope, so as 

 to show the grains of bright green chloroph\ll 

 circulating in the lining of each little cell. 



Learned \olumes would be needed to explain 

 the nature of protoplasm, so I must be content 

 with these simple facts about its nature, and pro- 

 ceed to the chemical action going on in leaves. 



' Cireek : prolo, " tirst ' ; plasma, " anything moulded." 



