66 



THE MECHANISM OF LIFE 



sow iii it a number of drops of salt water coloured with Indian 

 ink, we may obtain artificial cells composed entirely of liquid, 



having the same characters as those 

 produced in a gelatinous solution. 



It is possible by liquid diffusion 

 to produce not only ordinary cells 

 but ciliated cells. If we spread a 

 liver of salt water on a horizontal 

 glass plate, and sow in it drops of 

 Indian ink, artificial cells are pro- 

 duced by diffusion. At the edge 

 of the preparation there is often to 

 he seen a sort of fringe, analogous 

 to the cilia of living cells (Fig. 

 11). 



These tissues of artificial cells 

 demonstrate the fact that inorcanic 



o 



matter is able to organize itself into 

 forms and structures analogous to 

 those of living organisms under the 

 action of the simple physical forces 

 of osmotic pressure and diffusion. The structures thus pro- 

 duced have functions which are also analogous to those of 

 living beings, a doujjje, current of diffusion, an evolutionary 

 existence, and a latent'vitality when desiccated or congealed. 



Fig. ii. — Liquid cells with a 

 fringe of cilia, obtained by 

 sowing coloured drops of con- 

 centrated salt solution in a 

 weaker salt solution. The 

 contents of the cells have un- 

 dergone segmentation. 



