THE LIVING STRUCTURES 153 



in experimenting, learned from the silk worm how to 

 make artificial silk. 



It is impossible to classify the living structures into 

 classes or individuals in a great number of cases, as for 

 instance, in the case of some sea-weeds or animals that 

 grow fastened to the bottom of the sea. At first this crea- 

 ture will be only a single cell, swimming in the water, then 

 it will change and build itself into a fish-like form swim- 

 ing in the ocean ; finally this form will change into a sta- 

 tionary structure settled on the bottom of the sea like 

 sponges or sea-weed. 



Every structure, plant or animal, shows clearly that it 

 is made with a purpose of effecting certain ends and that 

 is to satisfy some desire. Take the case for instance of the 

 corn-plant. This plant in order to protect the cob from 

 field mice and other rodents never starts a cob down near 

 the ground. The starchy nutritious kernels embodying 

 the embryo corn must be protected from weather, insects 

 and birds, which is done by a very strong husk. This 

 strong husk prevents the male germs of the plant who are 

 located on top in the tassel from getting to the female 

 germ in the kernel. How did they solve that problem and 

 overcome that difficulty? By building a hollow tube 

 from the female germ in the kernel extending clear out- 

 side. When the male germ in the tassel falls down on 

 the silk, which is a hollow tube, leading to the female 

 germ he hunts up the end of the silk and crawls down 

 through this hollow tube which directs him to the place 

 of the female germ. Considered as a whole it is a won- 

 derful scheme and all the difficult problems have been 

 solved and taken care of in the best possible manner. 

 In-breeding must be prevented if possible so the male 

 cells are placed away as far as possible. There is a desire 

 to give the young corn plant a start in life so each cell is 



