38 THE UNIVERSE 



and adapted organism." I hold that the infinitesi- 

 mal point in the egg and the acorn is its electric 

 center of life-force, or magnetic core, which, under 

 the law of organic affinity, develops by nutrition 

 and respiration, which are electric processess, into 

 the chick and the oak. He says: "So, of all the 

 processes of nature, man's vision sees only the sur- 

 face. We do not see causes but only effects. We 

 plant a seed, and all that we see is that under 

 certain conditions it springs up and produces the 

 blade, then the ear, and last the full corn in the 

 ear. No one knows how it conies about that two 

 seeds which look alike under the same conditions 

 produce different colored flowers and different quali- 

 ties of fruit. The beginning of everything is a mys- 

 tery. If one affirms that things have no beginning 

 he but increases the mystery. The difficulty with 

 all theories of evolution is to get a starting point. 

 "The time was when philosophers could speak of the 

 universe as eternal. The geologists fifty years ago 

 could do so, but the demonstration of the conser- 

 vation of energy has put an end to any such easy- 

 going speculation." 



All this is well stated and very true, except that 

 by treating all things as electro-magnets, drawing 

 positive and negative atoms or ions from air, food 

 and water, we see how by nutrition and accretion 

 animal and vegetable organism may be evolved 

 by the law of magnetic attraction and organic 

 affinity. This is the only rational solution and is 

 in accord with all the processes of nature and with 

 the conservation of energy. Elsewhere I have en- 

 deavored to explain how, by the constant renewal 

 of matter and electric energy in the sun and in 



