354 rROFESSOK LIONEL S. BEALE, P.R.S., ON 



amoeba is iDcrfectly clear, Iransparent and structureless, and it 

 possesses powers of movement not jet explained, perhaps in- 

 explicable, but possessed by all living matter. I should like to 

 discuss with my friends the movements of bioplasm or living 

 matter, which movements slvo natui'al in every kind of living 

 matter, and not in any kind of non-living matter. I would 

 venture to speak of them as vital movements. The movement is 

 totally different from any other kind of movement known. 



We find that from the very beginning of the developmental 

 process — say in the chick, particles of clear, colourless, structure- 

 less stufF, call it what you will, which divide and sub-divide, 

 producing innumerable particles, and before long indications 

 of vessels containing blcod and a pjtZiah'n.*; organ driving the 

 blood through the vessels — and remember, the red corpuscles 

 which give to the blood its colour — every one comes from pre-exist- 

 ing particles of Bioplasm. The red corpuscles of blood have no vital 

 power of their own at all, for those of many animals readily 

 crystallize — for instance, the red blood corpuscles of guinea pig's 

 blood crystallize on a glass slide a few moments after it has been 

 taken fi'om the vessels of the animal, and I have seen a single 

 blood corpuscle foi-m sometimes one, sometimes many tetrahedral 

 crystals — and very beautiful they are. 



1 cannot go into the great question of the origin of life, nor do 1 

 care to do so until we hear of some hypothesis more in accordance 

 with reason, than anyone of those advanced during the past two 

 thousand years. We now know of the colourless stuff out of Avhich 

 everything that lives or that has lived, has come, and I venture to 

 say, every living oi'ganism that is about to come will have similar 

 origin. Let us restrict oui'selves, for a time, to the consideration 

 of the actual matter in which all living here undoubtedly begins. 



One gentleman referred to Professoi" Japp, whose observations 

 are extremely interesting, and I am sure will lead to very important 

 further observations. Three years ago a very distinguished 

 chemist said he wanted a little moi'e vitality. I quite agree with 

 him. We not only want a little more, but very much more 

 vitality than has been allowed by Avhat is called the tendency of 

 scientific thought ; and I for one mean to demand it, and on purely 

 scientific gi'ounds, and in accordance with reason. 



I was going to say something about the heart and its action ; 

 but I have already trespassed upon your time and thought, and 

 must postpone what I would say to another opportunity. I think 

 we ought to restrain ourselves for a time to a Acry restricted 



