564 THE PLANT’S PLACE IN NATURE 
What is the utmost that may be inferred from such experiments? 
Have lifeless things really been made to act as if they were alive? 
It is plain that all we have here are simply imitations of isolated 
vital processes, and not such a coordination of activities as character- 
izes a living being. Living protoplasm does not merely feed, or grow, 
or reproduce, or respond to stimuli: it does all these things at once, 
and more; and its activities are so coordinated as to accomplish 
definite ends. Nothing which can do all that protoplasm does 
has ever been manufactured. Supposing it were possible, however, 
to effect a combination of elements which would imitate all the 
physical and chemical activities of protoplasm, and all at once; 
what would that mean? We could be sure that such artificial 
protoplasts would always do the same thing under the same condi- 
tions, and that corresponding parts would always act exactly alike. 
Acetyl chloride Zinc ethyl Methylethylketone Zine chloride 
a 
CH, 
CH; (ie el 
COCI CH; CH3 
Zn < = a. Zn Cls 
via CHs CHs 
CH; CH; 6 
~e 
CH; ; 
Methylethylketone Oxygen Acetic acid 
CH; CH: 
CHz COOH 
| + Sone 
ere ve 
CH3 COOH 
CH; ne 
cH, COOH 
| + ao ee 
CO CH3 
cH, COOH 
Thus for every two molecules of acetic acid four are finally produced. 
