president's address — SECTION D. 113 



presupposed by believers in spontaneous j^eneration, is less con- 

 ceivable tban its primary integration. In the words of the author 

 of " Tlie Correlation of Physical Forces" — "■ Nothinj^ repeats itself, 

 because nothin'^ can be placed again in the sams condition. The 

 past is irrevocable." 



But it is obvious that the argument as to time does not apply to 

 space conditions. It is not only unnecessary to suppose that life 

 began in a single speck of plasmogen, and thus incur the necessity 

 of tabulating a common pedigree for all organisms, but it is 

 needful to admit tliat probability points in the opposite direction. 

 If life activity became set up as a consequence of a secular change 

 the opportunity for its being set up was probably cosmopolitan, 

 and the probability of its failing to be set up in moie places than 

 one very little. It is therefore admissible at least to regard it as 

 commencing at several points in the earth's surface simultaneously, 

 that is, within the limits (possibly of enormous duration) of the one 

 period of change which allowed its introduction. 



It has been suggested that the origin of terrestrial life may have 

 been due to a biogenetic agency previously excluded from opera- 

 tion on the earth. On the subject of extra-mundane life 

 speculation has long been active, and, as the wont of speculation 

 is, useful as a stimulus to continued inquiry. It may be well to 

 note, by the way, how the question stands at present. Are we 

 compelled to believe that this earth, a mote in the universe, is the 

 sole receptacle of life ? Clearly not, since that belief could only be 

 founded on the knowledge that life is impossible elsewhere. Are 

 we then, on the othtr hand, justified in concluding that life is not 

 restricted to our globe ? Clearly not, since all the reasons 

 advanced in favor of the opinion show nothing more than either 

 its probability on general grounds or the absence of non-prohibitory 

 conditions in particular cases. In combination they cannot lead to 

 anything higher than probability, but it is a probability, be it 

 observed, that is not countered by any weight at all in the opposite 

 scale. It would seem on the face of it hopeless to wait for some 

 unmistakable evidence of the actual existence of life outside our 

 planet, yet a seemingly near approach to the evidence required has 

 more than once been reported. For instance, on the 9th of June, 

 1889, there fell at Migheni, in Russia, a remarkable meteorite. On 

 a cursory inspection, it appeared to be of a carbonaceous nature ; 

 on being handled it proved to be very friable and apt to soil the 

 fingers. External aspect, friability, and soiling to the touch may 

 all have been due to an unusual proportion of carbide of iron. But 

 it is said that chemical analysis showed the substance to be of the 

 customary meteoric composition, with the addition of nearly 5 per 

 cent, of organic matter, and that this matter, extracted with alcohol, 

 yielded a bright yellow resin much resembling kabaite. Moreover, 

 we are told that a cold aqueous extract of the substance contained 

 an organic salt and nearly 2 per cent, of mineral matter possessing 



