CHAPTER X 



REPAIRS AND REGENERATION 

 Experiments on Hydra and other forms. 



ONE of the most remarkable powers of living Repairs 

 matter is that which it possesses of making its 

 own repairs, of mending itself where it has 

 been damaged, and, in certain cases, of re- 

 constructing large portions of the body which 

 have been destroyed or separated from it. 



In some form or another this power belongs 

 to all living matter and when we watch a 

 wound heal in ourselves or in any animal we 

 see a minor example of the process of regenera- 

 tion. The experimental study of this subject 

 has been one of the most fruitful paths of 

 scientific research during the past quarter of 

 a century, and the more important results 

 which have been obtained have been embodied 

 in a very interesting work by Professor T. H. 

 .Morgan.* 



The power in question is one which is met 

 with ifl* plants and in animals and amongst 



* Regeneration, Macmillan Company, 1901. 

 163 



