Elastomer es Which Acquire Formative Control 25 



to the effective germinal zone, leads us to a second 

 hypothesis, namely: that the especially germinative 

 energies of those nuclei destined to become somatic may 

 be once for all silenced, that is once for all put in a 

 potential state incapable of activation, on account of the 

 preponderance which the nuclei that go to form the 

 effective germinal zone or central zone acquire. 



In fact we can suppose that the first blastomeric nuclei, 

 though exactly alike qualitatively, are different quanti- 

 tatively, that is to say are furnished with amounts of 

 energy which do not chance to be quite the same in all, 

 perhaps on account of special conditions of nutrition or, 

 perhaps, on account of special conditions of the proto- 

 plasm in which they are placed. Then, as soon as the 

 moment comes when because of the nature of the com- 

 mencing transformation, such as perhaps imagination or 

 some such thing, embryonal development can no longer 

 proceed after the same fashion in all cells, certain ones 

 will necessarily gain the upper hand, namely those which 

 possess more potential energy. 



The other blastomeres whose nuclei would no longer 

 be able to activate their germinal energies will from now 

 on conduct themselves, in relation to the stimuli of the 

 nuclei of those blastomeres which constitute the central 

 zone of development, just like cells with indifferent 

 nuclei. And with the progressive somatization of these 

 latter the mass of their respective specific elements to 

 which is due the persistence, potentially at least, of their 

 germinal energies, will gradually diminish and finally 

 disappear. 



There is only a single conceivable exception, namely 

 the case in which at the beginning of development or in 

 inferior forms, these blastomeres or cells just beginning 



