Orr 255 



Orr continues in these words: "The co-ordination 

 of forces which determines development is not to be 

 considered a definite, localized mechanism, wound up, 

 and ready to go when touched. If such were the case 

 we ought to find one such mechanism allotted to a cer- 

 tain definite number of cells; but instead we find that 

 each piece (of a hydra), regardless of the number of 

 cells, or whether it be the half or the twentieth of the 

 hydra, is capable of producing only one new individual." 



"The quality upon which development depends seems 

 to reside in a small piece just as well as in a large piece 

 and moreover equally in all parts." 



"I think we can best compare the inheritance of the 

 plan and potentiality of development in the clump of 

 protoplasm to inherence of ideas and potentialities of 

 volition in the brain substance, not as though each idea 

 and potentiality were located there in its own minute 

 definite limited space, and attached to a definite mechan- 

 ism of matter; but rather we should think of development 

 and mental potentialities as dependent upon certain states 

 of living matter, which states are the result of the entire 

 past history of that living matter and which thus deter- 

 mine the method of response to external stimuli, and the 

 direction which shall be taken by the new energy con- 

 stantly entering from the outside." 192 



This recalls again the above mentioned conception of 

 Nageli and Hertwig of idioplasm which is both general 

 and mnemonic, with all its short-comings which consist 

 in complete indefiniteness or worse yet in lack of content 

 masked by empty words. 



Nevertheless it is worthy of notice that however 



1B2 Orr: Ibid. P. 172173. 



