OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS 233 



The theories which emphasise the part played by 

 modifications of chemical origin and attribute to spe- 

 cies a chemical basis, are supported by many facts of 

 observation and by all the experiments made recently 

 with toxins and serums. From his observations on 

 the colouration of wines and on the various hydro- 

 carbonated essences, A. Gautier draws the conclusion 

 that the elements of the living plasm differ from a 

 chemical point of view in every species or even in 

 every race, and that chemical variations are the origin 

 of morphological variations. Albumina belonging to 

 the same chemical group are different in every animal 

 species; the haemoglobin of every species is different 

 as shown by the morphology of hasmin crystals; 

 finally the action of the various serums in the process 

 of immunisation reveals capital differences between 

 them. 13 



The chemical definition of species upon which Le 

 Dantec's entire system is based, leads him to admit, as 

 we do, that while the ovum possesses neither muscle 

 nor nerve, it possesses to a more or less marked degree 

 certain peculiarities which, developing along different 

 lines, impart to every differentiated tissue its proper 

 characters. 14 



is Armand Gautier. Les rntcanismes molecularies de la variation des 

 races et des especes. (Revue de viticulture, 1901.) 

 i* El&ments de philosophie biologique, p. 121. 



NOTE OF THE TRANSLATOR. 



Le Daxtec holds that life is a chemical phenomenon and that specific 



