THE CELL THEORY 247 



tant work. Apart from that his best-known contributions to 

 science are: experiments upon spontaneous generation, his 

 discovery of the " sheath of Schwann/' in nerve fibers, and 

 his theory of fermentation as produced by microbes. 



Schleiden. — Schleiden (Fig. 75) was quite different in 

 temperament from Schwann. He did not have the fine self- 

 control of Schwann, but was quick to take up the gauntlet 

 and enter upon controversies. In his caustic replies to his 

 critics, he indulged in sharp personalities, and one is at times 

 inclined to suspect that his early experience as a lawyer had 

 something to do with his method of handling opposition. 

 With all this he had correct ideas of the object of scientific 

 study and of the methods to be used in its pursuit. He in- 

 sisted upon observation and experiment, and upon the neces- 

 sity of studying the development of plants in order to under- 

 stand their anatomy and physiology. He speaks scornfully 

 of the botany of mere species-making as follows: 



''Most people of the world, even the most enlightened, are 

 still in the habit of regarding the botanist as a dealer in bar- 

 barous Latin names, as a man ^^ho gathers flowers, names 

 them, dries them, and wraps them in paper, and all of whose 

 wisdom consists in determining and classifying this hay 

 w^hich he has collected with such great pains." 



Although he insisted on correct miCthods, his ardent nature 

 led him to champion conclusions of his own before they were 

 thoroughly tested. His great influence in the development 

 of scientific botany lay in his earnestness, his application of 

 new methods, and his fearlessness in drawing conclusions, 

 which, although frequently vrong, formed the starting-point 

 of new researches. 



Let us now examine the original publications upon which 

 the cell-theory was founded. 



Schleiden's Contribution. — Schleiden's paper ^^■as par- 

 ticularly directed to the question, How does the cell originate ? 



