54 BIOPLASM CONSTITUTING NEW CENTRES. 



movements certainly occur, in the white blood cor- 

 puscle and in the lymph corjDuscle, as well as in pus, 

 and in cancer, and in every kind of living matter in 

 health and in disease, though the movement is not in 

 all cases sufficiently active to be easily detected. In 

 some instances the movements continue for many 

 hours after the living matter has been removed from 

 the surface upon which it grew. In other cases, and 

 we shall not be surprised that this should be so in 

 the higher animals, death occurs the instant the con- 

 ditions under which the living' matter exists are but 

 slightly modified. In many instances no movements 

 can be seen, bat the evidence of their occurrence is 

 almost as decided as if they were visible, for we 

 demonstrate certain results which cannot be explained 

 unless such movements as those referred to have 

 taken place. 



I have often tried to persuade the physicist, who 

 has so long prophesied the existence of molecular 

 machinery in living beings, to seek for it in the 

 " colourless, structureless," bioplasm. But he con- 

 tents himself with asserting that such machinery 

 exists, although he cannot see it or make it evident 

 to himself or others. 



85. Bioplasm constituting new centres. — Nuclei 

 and nucleoli.^ — In many masses of bioplasm a smaller 

 spherical portion, often appearing to be a mere point, 

 is observed. As already mentioned in 36 §, this is 

 known as the nucleus. In some cases this divides 

 before the division of the parent mass takes place. 

 The division of the nucleus is not, however, necessary 

 to the division of the surrounding bioplasm, as was 

 formerly supposed, for division takes place in cases in 

 which no nuclei exist. Moreover it fi'equently hap- 

 pens that one or more of these smaller spots or 

 spherical masses (nuclei) may appear in the substance 

 of the bioplasm, after a portion has been detached 

 from the parent mass. These ai'e new centres composed 



