282 Theories Treating of Inheritance 



Because of the fact that the theory of Darwin derives 

 the germinal substance from all parts of the soma rather 

 than from one well defined region of it, its partisans 

 could certainly not object to these experiments that they 

 leave the conception still possible that the germinal sub- 

 stance might perhaps be transmitted from such a special 

 well defined region to the sexual organs only along certain 

 very definite special ways, which might be quite different 

 from the blood vessels. And on account of the nature and 

 properties attributed to the gemmules they would be still 

 less able to advance the conjecture that a substance might 

 possibly be reproduced at a distance, quite like another 

 substance, by the direct influence of the latter, by means 

 of some other means of connection of such nature that 

 it would not require any real and proper material trans- 

 mission. From this the conclusion may be drawn, that 

 all theories which do not exclude or perhaps even include 

 one or the other of these two hypotheses upon the manner 

 of transmission or upon the means of reproduction at a 

 distance of the germinal substance, are completely justi- 

 fied in accepting Darwin's conception of the sexual 

 glands, acording to which the latter have only the func- 

 tion of receiving and accumulating a substance the real 

 origin of which is outside these organs. 



In the case of Galton we shall recall only that he was 

 the first who introduced the theory that stirp, i. e., the 

 germ plasm consisting of numerous germs or of gem- 

 mules which remain behind after the extrusion of the 

 particles concerned directly in the formation of the new 

 organism separated itself entirely from the soma 

 immediately, at the commencement of development. 

 Through this separation of the stirp from the soma he 

 opened the way which later led necessarily to the uncon- 



