306 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Oct. 



and that fills the contemplative mind with wonder and 

 an aspiration to see a little farther into the living sub- 

 stance, and so perchance discover the hidden springs of 

 action. This fact may be called cellular altruism. In 

 human society the philanthropist and soldier are ready 

 at any time to sacrifice themselves for the race or the 

 nation. With the animals the guards of the flock or 

 herd are equally ready to die in its defence. 



So within each of the higher organisms the miscro- 

 scope has shown a guarding host, the leucocytes or white 

 corpuscles. The brilliant discoveries in the processes of 

 life with higher forms have shown that not only is there 

 a struggle for existence with nature and against forms 

 as large or larger than themselves, but each organism 

 is liable to be undermined by forms, animal and vege- 

 table, infinitely smaller than themselves, insignificant and 

 insiduous but deadly. Now to guard the body against 

 these living particles of dust that would tend to clog the 

 system there is a vast army of amoeba-like cells, the 

 leucocytes, that go wherever the body is attacked and do 

 battle. If the guards succeed the organism lives and 

 flourishes, otherwise it dies or becomes weakened and 

 hampered. This much was common scientific property 

 three years ago, when one of our members (Miss Edith 

 J. Claypole) came to my laboratory for advanced work. 

 I discussed with her what has just been given, and 

 told her that there still remained to be solved the prob- 

 lem what becomes of the clogging or deleterious material 

 which the leucocyte take up? These body guards are 

 after all a part of the organism, and for them simply to en- 

 gulf the material would not rid the body entirely of it, and 

 finally an inevitable clogging of the system would result. 



The problem is simple and definite: What becomes of 

 the deleterious substances, bacteria and dust particles, 

 that get into the body and become engulfed by the leu- 

 cocytes? Fortunately for the solution of this problem. 



