CHAPTER II. 



CELL - CC /NTENTS AND FORMS OF CELLS. 

 A TYPICAL livin' be said to consist of a wall and a 



protoplast (a unit o? .^Lm) , although it is often customar 

 to refer to the protopla^ alone as constituting the cell. 1 nis ijv 

 view of the fact that the. ADrotop i as ni which makes up tlie ' sub _ 

 stance of the protoplast is the living substance of the pjg^ 

 BfgjJ^s the protoplasm other substances are also fr^ .^ ^ e 

 \ hence\i n a general way the eel H may be said^' be composed 

 of a wall an& contents (cell-content^ The wallj as wdl ag the 

 cell-contents, conVA sts of a number r f su b s tances, and, as the cell- 

 contents are of primary importan :e j n t j le development of the 

 plant, their nature and conip^^Sn will be considered first. 



Cell-contents. With the distinction already made the cell- 

 contents may be grouped into two classes : ( I ) Protoplasmic, or 

 those in which the life-processes of the plant, or cell, are mani- 

 fested; and (2) non-protoplasmic, or those which are the direct or 

 indirect products of the protoplast. The first class includes the 

 protoplasm with its various differentiated parts, and the second, 

 the various carbohydrates (starches and sugars), calcium oxalate, 

 aleurone, tannin, oil, and a number of other substances. 



PROTOPLASMIC CELL-CONTENTS. 



Protoplasm. Protoplasm occurs as a more or less semi- 

 fluid, slimy, granular, or foam-like substance, which lies close to 

 the walls of the cell as a relatively thin layer and surrounding a 

 large central cavity or vacuole filled with cell-sap, or it may be 

 distributed in the form of threads or bands forming a kind of net- 

 work enclosing smaller vacuoles. Protoplasm consists of two 

 comparatively well differentiated portions: (i) Certain more or 

 less distinct bodies which appear to have particular functions and 

 to which a great deal of study has been given, as the nucleus and 

 plastids; and (2) a less dense portion which may be looked upon 

 134 



