274 Theories Treating of Inheritance 



not only in the form of cells but also in their mode of 

 activity. Now what is the nature of these differences? 

 We do not know. Are they physical in character? 

 That would be hard to believe, because of the difference 

 of the chemical excreta of these elements. If the dif- 

 ferences are of chemical nature they must leave uninjured 

 the hereditary patrimony (the living substance similar 

 at all points of the organism). Now it is entirely impos- 

 sible that quantitative variations can be produced in the 

 elements, and leave untouched a quantitative character 

 already present. Perhaps there is properly speaking no 

 quantitative variation, but only a modification in the 

 nature of the non-living accessory substances which fill 

 out the aggregate at different points of the organism 

 according to the special conditions obtaining at these 

 points. To all these questions we have as yet no 

 answer." 207 



Before we leave this investigator we must bring up 

 one last point, namely : the logical necessity which forces 

 him to regard the living substance as similar at all points 

 of the organism. According to him, this conception is 

 a logical consequence of the inheritance of acquired 

 characters which he holds as a fact already proved 

 beyond a doubt. For, says he, let us consider any given 

 morphological variation acquired by the organism and 

 transmissible to its descendant. And let us assume that 

 the hereditary patrimony, i. e. the living substance ( a ), 

 originally common to all elements of the individual by 

 descent from the egg, can, under the influence of the 

 morphological variation experienced by the latter, have 

 been replaced, here by a different substance ( /3 ) , there 



207 Le Dantec : Ibid. P. 461462. 



