100 VITALISM AND SCHOLASTICISM 



the two are really identical or even similar pro- 

 cesses ? Similar, but not identical, is Professor 

 Hartog's reply to this question. " Though," 

 he says, u the forces at work in the dividing 

 cell are similar in their effects to such physical 

 forces as magnetism, static electricity, and 

 even capillarity, and models utilising such 

 physical forces have been devised to represent 

 the strain figures of the cell, the cell forces 



are^distinct from any known physical force." 

 In other words the indications point to the 

 fact that the remarkable happenings which 

 have been described as taking place in the cell 

 prior to and during division are vital mani- 

 festations, since they cannot be explained by 

 any of the known forces of physical science. 



In a later publication, in which the whole 

 of this subject is thoroughly handled,* the 

 opinions previously put forward, and as his 

 views are of the first importance, these expres- 

 sions may well be quoted here. " The cell-field 

 shows the greatest analogy in its formation and 

 behaviour to the electrostatic field between 

 oppositely charged conductors; but (that) the 

 force is no more electrostatic force than it is 

 any of the known dual forces." He thinks 

 that we are in face of a " new force " so far 

 " unknown in the physical world of non-living 



* Problems of Life and Reproduction, Murray, 1913. 



