CHAPTER III. 



THE CHEMICAL UNITY OF LIVING BEINGS. 



The varieties and essential unity of the protoplasm — Its 

 affinity for oxygen — The chemical composition of proto- 

 plasm — Its characteristic substances. — § i. The different 

 categories of albuminoid substances — Nucleo-proteids — 

 Albumins and histones — Nucleins. — § 2. Constitution of 

 nucleins. — .^ 3. Constitution of histones and albumins — 

 Sthultzenberger's analysis of albumin — Kossol's analysis — 

 The hexonic nucleus. 



The chemical unity of living beings corresponds to 

 their morphological unity. 



Uie Varieties and Essential Unity of tJie Proto- 

 plasm.— Ox\g esrenti-al feature of the living being is 

 that it is composed of matter peculiar to it, which is 

 called living matter, or protoplasm. But this is a 

 somewhat incorrect way of expressing the facts. 

 There is no unique living matter, no single proto- 

 plasm ; their number is infinite, there are as many as 

 there are distinct individuals. However like one 

 man may be to another, we are compelled to admit 

 that they differ according to the substance of which 

 they are constituted. That of the first offers a certain 

 characteristic personal to the first, and found in all 

 his anatomical elements ; similarly for the second. 

 With Le Dantec we shall say that the chemical 

 substance of Primus is not only of the substance of 

 man, but in all parts of his body and in all his con- 



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