164 THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE: 



absent at first. And we need not therefore be surprised 

 to find, as we do find, specks of protoplasm manifesting 

 life and yet showing no signs of organization 1 .' 



But if, then, mere c cellular ' form is so non-essential 

 for the display of vital manifestations, how, it may be 

 asked, is its frequent recurrence throughout the tissues 

 of plants and animals to be explained 2 ? We can only 

 make more or less probable surmises in reply to this 

 question. We must imagine, in the first place, that 

 the telluric conditions acting upon plastic organizable 

 matter are such as to be especially favourable for the 

 evolution of this particular organic form. The very 

 interesting experiments of Mr. Rainey, as well as 

 those of Dr. Montgomery, have indeed already shown 

 that non-living semi-fluid matter, under certain con- 

 ditions, is especially prone to assume such shapes. 

 Thus the action of environing conditions, combined 



1 Loc. cit. vol. ii. p. ii. ^' 



3 It must not be supposed that a cellular structure is more prevalent 

 than is really the case. Nothing of the kind exists, as we have seen, in 

 many Amoebae, and likewise in the Foraminifera. No true cells can be 

 said to be present in Diatoms or Desmids, and from what the Rev. 

 M. J. Berkeley tells us there are what may be considered non-cellular 

 Algae and Fungi. Speaking of these plants, he says (' Introduction to 

 Crypt. Botany,' p. 248) : The cellular tissue varies in almost every con- 

 ceivable way, both as regards form and composition. Cells occur per- 

 fectly globose, and almost extremely elongated and attenuated ; and in 

 some instances, as in Vaucberia (Fig. 22), not a single dissepiment is 

 formed (Fig. 23) from the first germination of the spore till impreg- 

 nation ; so that the whole plant is a single ramified cell whose apices 

 fall off and reproduce the species.' Many other Algae agree with Vau- 

 cberia in presenting no trace of a cellular structure. 



