266 VITAL PHENOMENA. 



and are manifested by living matter only. All living matter 

 grows, and moves, &&& forms, of its own accord, while non- 

 living matter cannot be made to do either of these things. 

 Hence it is fair to say that growth, spontaneous movement, 

 and formation, are vital phenomena. We cannot at present 

 conceive of life without a capacity for these phenomena. 

 The actions may remain dormant for a time, but when 

 circumstances are favourable, they manifest themselves very 

 distinctly. Although in many cases these vital phenomena 

 may be hidden and obscured by very evident physical and 

 chemical changes, we shall invariably find evidence of them. 

 By tracing the various actions in living beings to their 

 origin, we shall always find that vital actions underlie the 

 rest, and contribute in an essential manner to the results we 

 are able to observe, study, and investigate. And as neither 

 growth, spontaneous movement, nor formation, have been 

 imitated artificially, or are known to occur in non-living 

 matter, or can be proved to result from physical actions, I 

 attribute these phenomena to vitality, or vital power or fore?, 

 or to life, until a more satisfactory explanation shall have 

 been discovered. 



In the process of nutrition pabulum passes into living 

 bioplasm, and is then converted into this substance. Every 

 particle of the formed material or tissue which, in many 

 cases, constitutes the chief increase in weight and bulk in a 

 growing organism, has passed through the state of bioplasm. 

 The formation of bioplasm from the pabulum is therefore 

 an essentially vital act, and one which occurs in every form of 

 the nutritive process, but the changes which occur are most 

 difficult to investigate, if indeed they be not altogether 

 beyond the province of investigation. 



