THE BEGINNINGS OF LIFE. 323 



in 1860, I had become aware that corpuscles, which 

 coloured violet under the influence of iodine, frequently 

 replaced the tetrahedrons after putrefaction; but, at 

 this period, I had not seen the transition from the one 

 to the other. I was more fortunate this year. I have 

 seen the tetrahedrons themselves, containing amyla- 

 ceous matter, forming columns, tinted with the most 

 beautiful violet colour. I have seen the tetrahedrons 

 become elongated at one of their angles, and pass 

 gradually into these curious little plants, by producing a 

 cylindrical outgrowth. In this case, the rounded or still 

 angular tetrahedron represented the bulb, but the tetra- 

 hedron occasionally became completely obliterated, and 

 left in its place only a little fusiform or cylindrical 

 vegetal organism.' 



This is indeed an example which, in point of cer- 

 tainty and freedom from possible sources of error to 

 a skilled observer, seems almost unsurpassable. If a 

 crystalline mass of matter is seen slowly to alter its 

 form and become bodily converted into a vegetating 

 organism, one could not have evidence of a more con- 

 vincing nature. Only one explanation of such a fact 

 is possible hence M. Trecul is quite entitled to say l : 

 c De tous les faits qui precedent, il resulte que la 

 matiere organise contenue dans ce'rtaines cellules peut se 

 transformer ', pendant la putrefaction^ en corps vivants de 

 nature tres-differente de I espece generatrke' 



1 Loc. cit, p. 435. 

 Y 2 



