THe MuicroscoricaL NeEws 
AND 
NORTHERN MICROSCOPIST. 
No. 309. MARCH. 1884. 
PiIVEREOOL MICKROSCOPICAL SOCIETY: 
ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, CHARLES BOTTERILL, ESQ. 
DELIVERED JAN. I8TH, 1884. 
MONG the many revelations of the microscope there is one 
which, to my mind, 1s of surpassing interest, and that is the 
existence of that curious substance+protoplasm. Not that this 
can compare for beauty with thousands of other objects which the 
microscope makes us acquainted with; for even an amceba can 
scarcely be said to have many personal attractions but because of 
its intimate connection with life, and the wonderful powers with 
which that connection endows it. Huxley has styled it the Physi- 
cal Basis of Life, and Allman has well said of it—‘‘ Wherever there 
is life, from its lowest to its highest manifestation, there is proto- 
plasm ; wherever there is protoplasm, there too is life,” which of 
course implies that protoplasm is the only substance possessed of 
life, and (as a corollary) that where there is no life there is no 
protoplasm. Being then so intimately connected with all living 
things it ought to be of the deepest interest to us, but I fear that 
amongst the many more attractive objects revealed by the micro- 
scope it is apt to be overlooked. I propose, therefore, to call your 
attention this evening to this singular substance, confining myself, 
however, to a few of its most striking powers, and the inference 
which may fairly be deduced from them; as even if I were com- 
petent to treat the question fully, the time I have allotted to myself 
would not suffice. 
In the first place, however, let us devote a few moments to 
the consideration of what protoplasm is. As it is generally 
described, and as we usually see and think of it, it is a semi- 
fluid substance—a tenacious, glairy fluid, not unlike the white 
of an unboiled egg, which in chemical composition it closely 
resembles—homogeneous, indifferentiated, and totally devoid of 
structure. This total absence of structure, as to which authorities 
VOL. IV. 
