KNO\VLi:i)GE. 



September, 1912. 



duration was about tlncc and a half hours. Tlic 

 flaKt'lla then suddenly commence to lash again, at 

 first very feebly, but finally rapidly, and the organism 

 swims off. During the quiescent period, the body 

 of the monad has become swollen and verv pale, 

 and the nucleus dense and glistening. These 

 organisms now swim about with great rapiditv. If 

 one is now carefully followed, it will be found, after 

 a varying lapse of time, to seize on one of the 

 normal forms, to which it adheres, violent lash- 

 ings of the flagella taking place. It is soon 

 evident, how ever, that the larger organism is absorb- 

 ing the smaller. Finally, this is accomplished, and 

 very soon after this the monad, or more properly 

 speaking the product of the fusion of the two 

 organisms, comes to a standstill, rapidly gets globular, 

 the nuclei disappearing and the flagella melting into 

 the sarcode. A motionless globular sac is now left, 

 of a slightly yellowish colour. The time the sac 

 remains in this condition apparently varies a good 

 deal, perhaps owing to temperature, but thirteen to 

 fifteen hours seems about an average. It then 

 suddenly and without the slightest warning bursts, 

 and a glairy fluid, containing excessively minute 

 granules, is poured out. These granules at first 

 show only Brownian movement, but later (about 

 three hours) they grow somewhat larger, and then 

 exhibit amoeboid movements. From this time they 

 rapidly grow larger, minute flagella are developed, 

 and the}' swim away, small but perfect counterparts 

 of their parents. It will be seen that this organism, 

 both in its microscopic appearance and development, 

 bears a striking resemblance to the Moiias sarcoplia^a. 

 It is easily distinguished, however, by its much 

 smaller size, and the difference in the flagella. The 

 average size of these organisms is very uniform, 

 whilst the Manas siircopluii^ci shows considerable 



variations. Although I have specially and care- 

 fully looked for it, I have never found this 

 monad to ingest other monads either of the same or 

 different species. This, I think, is to be accounted 

 for by two reasons. Firstlv, the small size of the 

 organism, and secondly, the flagella being smaller, do 

 not appear to set up sufficient current to draw bodies 

 of much greater size than bacteria towards the 

 monad. A large number of these organisms furnish 

 the Moiias sarcophaf^a with food, and on several 

 occasions I have had many hours' work spoilt by the 

 monad under investigation finding a grave within 

 the body of the former organism. Both these 

 monads are, I believe, found exclusively in putrefying 

 vegetable infusions and ponds in which much 

 vegetable matter is in process of decomposition. 

 The MoiiLis vibruns multiplies far more freely and 

 rapidly than the Moiias sarcophaga. Both organisms 

 may be cultivated in infusions of grass, but both 

 rapidh- die out as soon as the larger infusoria appear. 

 The Monas vibrans almost invariabh' disappears from 

 an infusion before the Monas sarcophaga. and from 

 a large number of experiments I have come to the 

 conclusion that both these organisms produce 

 substances in the culture medium, which act 

 deleteriously on them, and ultimately inhibit 

 growth. I have recently found that if a quantity 

 of an old culture, in which the organisms are 

 dying out, be exposed to a temperature of 60" C. 

 and then filtered, the filtrate possesses markedlv 

 toxic properties towards these monads, a minute 

 quantity added to a hanging drop preparation 

 soon causing death. I am inclined to think that 

 the toxic substances are of the nature of ferments, 

 though at the present stage of my researches 

 I cannot bring forward any direct evidence to 

 support the view. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



THE FOURTH DIMENSION. 



To the Editors of " Knowledge." 



Sirs, — In a reply to Mr. Annison's article on the I'ouith 

 Dimension appearing in your issue for July, 1912, I notice a 

 reference to a letter of mine on the subject which appeared in 

 " Knowledge " for August, 1911. This letter merely called 

 attention to an argument I had projiounded in favour of the 

 real existence of the fourth and higher dimensions in an 

 earlier issue of " Knowledge," and had more fully stated in 

 Chapter VI of a work of mine entitled " Matter, Spirit and 

 the Cosmos" (Rider, 1910). I gather from his remarks, 

 however, that Mr. John Johnston, the writer of the reply to 

 Mr. Annison's paper in question, has merely read my letter 

 appearing in "Knowledge" for August, 1911, and has not 

 consulted the statements of my argument therein referred to. 

 It seems to me very unwise, to say the least, to venture a 

 criticism of an argument with which one is not acquainted. 

 It is, of course, obvious, to use Mr. Johnston's illustration, 

 that a third apple on a boy's table does not imply the existence 

 of a fourth ; but then, the existence of one apple on a boy's 

 table does not imply the existence of a second, nor does 

 the existence of a second imply that of a third. The case, 



however, is altogether different with regard to the dimensions 

 of space ; for it can be argued, as I have shown in the places 

 referred to, that the existence of one dimension of space does 

 imply that of a second, and that the existence of a second 

 dimension does imply that of a third. By the principle of the 

 continuity of law, or the uniformity of nature, or whatever one 

 likes to call it. then, the existence of a third dimension implies 

 that of a fourth, and so on mi iiifinituiit. This principle. I 

 would remind Mr, Johnston, is a most valuable one and has 

 led to many valuable discoveries. It consists merely in the 

 assumption (which the whole of our growing experience 

 warrants) that a law holding good in the case of phenomena 

 entering into our experience, holds good also in the case of 

 phenomena which do not as yet, and perhaps never will, enter 

 into our experience. It is the principle, for example, which 

 enables us to predict the rising of the sun to-morrow, and. 

 in fact, lies at the root of all natural science. 



Thanking you in anticipation for affording this letter the 

 hospitality of your columns. 



H. STANLEY REDGROVE. 



The Polytechnic, 



Regent Street, \V. 



