Attempt to Subordinate Protista to Cell-Tlieortj 291 



organisms, witli their complex and peculiar structiins and 

 life-histories, are the beginnings of man than that man is 

 the Ijeginning of them." ^^ The far-reaching consetjuences 

 of Dobell's views, should they prevail, are indicatrd by his 

 remarks about evolution. "Why should it always be taken 

 for granted that by 'Evolution' is meant 'an ui)ward prog- 

 ress from Protozoa to Man'.^ This is only one hy{)()thesis 

 of organic evolution. That evolution of some sort has taken 

 place in living beings I regard as certain. lUit, that evolu- 

 tion of the Haeckelian 'Amoeba to Man' type has not oc- 

 curred I regard as equally certain. We can certainly be- 

 lieve in evolution without believing in this dogma." ^^ 



General Conclusions From Examination of Knowledge and 

 Views as to the Nature of Uni- and Multi-cellular 



Organisms 



We may now ask ourselves, what comes of this some- 

 what extensive examination of the structure and function 

 of the Protista, and of the history of discovery and opinion 

 concerning them.^ Whatever else comes, I do not see how 

 any open-minded person can escape seeing that the practice 

 of thinking about these small beings as conforming in es- 

 sence to the "simple cell" is unnatural, im])edimental of 

 progress in sound knowledge, and ought to be abandoned 

 forthwith. But how abandon a practice based on a general 

 theory which has served to unify so vast a nuiltitude of di- 

 verse and, at first sight, apparently quite isolated facts? 

 That the cell-doctrine applied to the Protozoa has served 

 such a purpose is beyond question. 



The point deserves concrete illustration. There has re- 

 cently occurred in the dinoflagellate collections of the San 

 Diego region an organism so different from any hitherto 

 described as to elicit the exclamation "a remarkable thing!" 

 That Doctor Swezy, to whom has fallen the task of describ- 



