EMBRYOGENIC METHOD 45 



This spontaneous production of very simple 

 organisms, formed solely of a homogenous proto- 

 plasm, without either nucleus or cellular envelope, 

 such as the existing Monera, must have taken 

 place at the inception of evolution on the globe, 

 and as soon as the conditions of life were realized 

 on its surface ; but it must also have continued in 

 later periods, and may still occur before our eyes, 

 although up to now it has not been possible to 

 obtain a strict demonstration of it. 



At the base of his genealogical system Haeckel, 

 then, introduces the Monera, associated with a few 

 other low types of a slightly higher organization, 

 such as the Amcebas, the flagellated Infusoria, the 

 Diatoms, the myxomycetous fungi, and the Rhizo- 

 pods. In the mind of the author all these beings 

 are frankly neither animals nor vegetables, and 

 deserve to form a kingdom apart, under the name 

 of Protista. 



But it is to the Monera that is more particularly 

 given in Haeckel's system the leading part as 

 starting point in the genealogical tree of living 

 beings. This tree may have been either mono- 

 phyletic or polyphyletic, according to whether we 

 recognize the primordial existence of monera of 

 a single type or of monera of the three types 

 animal, vegetable, and neuter. These last are 

 taken as the starting point of the kingdom of 

 Protista. Haeckel leans, however, visibly towards 

 the monophyletic system. 



Confining ourselves here to the evolution of the 

 animal kingdom, we see that Haeckel establishes 

 by the method of comparative ontogeny the simple 



