September 2, 1909] 



NA TURE 



289 



in conditioning the resolution of water under the influence 

 of solar energy into reduced chlorophyll and oxygen or, 

 more probably, a labile peroxide, from which oxygen is 

 independently split off at a subsequent stage, it may 

 be uiidrr the influence of a so-called catalase. 



Whatever the process by which the plant acquires its 

 initial store of carbonaceous material, the formaldehyde is 

 apparently at once made use of and, in part at least, con- 

 verted into starch. The view may be taken that glucose 

 is the primary product of condensation — that the form- 

 aldehydrol molecules become ranged against a glucose 

 template in series of sixes, which are soldered by enzymic 

 influence into a single molecule by the interaction of con- 

 tiguous hydrogen and hydroxyl radicles along the chain. 



The glucose is thereafter carried a stage higher and 

 converted into maltose or it may be that a maltose tem- 

 plate is effective from the beginning and that the biose 

 is the immediate product of condensation ; the conversion 

 of maltose into starch must take place in some similar 

 manner. The recent observation that cellobiose is a 

 /3-glucoside enables us to realise that the formation of 

 cellulose differs from that of starch in that the glucose 

 molecule, instead of being converted into the /3-glucoside 

 maltose, becomes changed into the correlated j3-glucoside, 

 a membrane being thus secured which can resist the diastic 

 enzymes by which starch is attacked. 



The formation of the albuminoid substances may be 

 regarded from a similar point of view. At present, how- 

 ever, there is no satisfactory evidence to show at what 

 stage nitrogen is introduced into the molecule. As the 

 plant takes up nitrogen in the form of nitrate, not as 

 ammonia, it is probable that the nitrate is reduced to 

 hydrox^'lamine and that this, rather than ammonia, is 

 the active synthetic agent. Formaldehyde and hydroxyl- 

 amine would }ield formaldoxime, which would easily pass 

 into methylamine on reduction ; the interaction of form- 

 aldoxime and formaldehydrol might give rise to a higher 

 aldoxime which would be easily convertible into amino- 

 acetic acid (glycine). Higher glycines might be formed 

 from glycine by syntheses similar to those Erlenmeyer has 

 effected ; but to account for the formation of asymmetric 

 amino-acids it is necessary to assume that the action is 

 controlled at this stage and that the glvcine is formed 

 against a template perhaps under the influence of an 

 enzyme. 



.Another conceivable mode of formation is by the fer- 

 mentative degradation of glucosamine. 



Until we know more of the order in which the amino- 

 acid radicles are united in the various albuminoids and 

 of the character of the associations other than those which 

 are characteristic of polypeptides, we can consider the 

 formation of albuminoids only from a very general point 

 of view ; but taking into account the very different pro- 

 portions in which amino-acids and other cleavage pro- 

 ducts are formed on hydrolysing substances of different 

 origin, it is clear that the several sections of the molecule 

 must be differently ordered in the different proteins ; 

 again, therefore, it is necessary to assume that the forma- 

 tion of such substances is directed. We may picture mole- 

 cule after molecule as being " brought into line " against 

 a template and the junctions which are required to bind 

 the whole series together as being made through the agency 

 of the enzymic dehydrating influence before referred to. 



.Attention has been directed to the relativelv simple wa^■ 

 in which the hydiocarbons are constructed, that even the 

 paraffins are not to be visualised as so many ducks strung 

 upon a ramrod, Munchausen fashion, but as forming curls, 

 owing to the natural set of the affinities. This probably 

 is true of complex substances such as the proteins. 



Protoplasm, in fact, may be pictured as made up of 

 large numbers of curls, like a judge's wig — all in inter- 

 communication through some centre, connected here and 

 there perhaps also by lateral bonds of union. If such a 

 point of view be accepted, it is possible to account for 

 the occurrence in some sections of the complex series of 

 interchanges which involve work being done upon the sub- 

 stances brought into interaction, the necessary energy 

 being drawn from some other part of the complex where 

 the interchanges involve a development of energv. 



The conclusions thus arrived at mav be utilised in dis- 

 cussing the problem of heredity. The inheritance of 



NO. 2079, VOL. 81] 



parental qualities, the need to assume continuity of the 

 germ plasm and the comparative unimportance from the 

 standpoint of heredity of somatic qualities, as well as the 

 non-inheritance of mere environmental effects (acquired 

 characters), are all necessary consequences of the view I 

 have advanced. 



The general similarity of structure throughout organised 

 creation may well be conditioned primarily by properties 

 inherent in the materials of which all living things are 

 composed — of carbon, of oxygen, of nitrogen, of hydrogen, 

 of phosphorus, of sulphur. At some early period, how- 

 ever, the possibilities became limited and directed pro- 

 cesses became the order of the day. From that time on- 

 ward the chemistry prevailing in organic nature became 

 a far simpler chemistry than that of the laboratory; the 

 possibilities were diminished, the certainties of a definite 

 line of action were increased. How this came about it is 

 impossible to say ; mere accident may have led to it. 

 Thus we may assume that some relatively simple asym- 

 metric substance was produced by the fortuitous occurrence 

 of a change under conditions such as obtain in our labora- 

 tories and that consequently the enantiomorphous isomeric 

 forms of equal opposite activity were produced in equal 

 amount. We may suppose that a pool containing such 

 material having been dried up dust of molecular fineness 

 was dispersed ; such dust falling into other similar pools 

 near the crystallisation point may well have conditioned 

 the separation of only one of the two isomeric forms 

 present in the liquid. .\ separation having been once 

 effected in this manner, assimiing the substance to be one 

 which could influence its own formation, one form rather 

 than the other might have been produced. .An active sub- 

 stance thus generated and selected out might then become 

 the origin of a series of asymmetric syntheses. How the 

 complicated series of changes which constitute life may 

 have arisen we cannot even guess at present ; but when 

 we contemplate the inherent simplicity of chemical change 

 and bear in mind that life seems but to depend on the 

 simultaneous occurrence of a series of changes of a some- 

 what diverse order, it does not appear to be beyond the 

 bounds of possibility to arrive at a broad understanding 

 of the method of life. Nor are we likely to be misled 

 into thinking that we can so arrange the conditions as to 

 control and reproduce it ; the series of lucky accidents 

 which seem to be required for arrangements of such 

 complexity to be entered upon is so infinitely great. 



It is impossible to rate chemistry at too high a value in 

 Canada. The maintenance of the fertility of your fields, the 

 |)roper utilisation of your vast mineral wealth, the purity of 

 vour food supplies ' will depend mainly on the watchful care 

 and skill of chemists ; but the educational value of the 

 subject may also be set very high. If properly taught in 

 your schools, it will afford a means superior to all others, 

 I believe, of training faculties which in these days should 

 be developed in every responsible citizen. No other sub- 

 ject lends itself so effectively as a means of developing the 

 experimental attitude of mind — the attitude of working 

 with a clearly conceived purpose to a desired end, which 

 is so necessary to success in these days ; and if care be 

 taken to inculcate habits of neatness and precision and 

 of absolute truthfulness, if care be taken to teach what 

 constitutes evidence, the moral value of such work is in- 

 calculable. But to be effective it must be done under 

 pioper conditions, systematically; the time devoted to the 

 work must be adequate ; I would even advocate that the 

 subject be allowed to come before conventional geography 

 and history and other unpractical subjects, assuming that 

 the training is given in a practical way and with practical 

 objects in view, not in the form of mere lessons learnt by 

 rote ; if taught in the form of mere didactic lessons it "-s 

 as worthless as any other subject as mental discipline. 

 Let me add that I would confine the teaching to a narrow 

 range of problems but make it very thorough with refer- 

 ence to these. 



1 I should like to take this opportunity of saying that it is impossible to 

 over-rate the public value of the great work which Dr. Wilev has under- 

 taken in the United States in endeavouring to secure the supply of food free 

 from deleterious ingredients. At home we certainly need some one to preach 

 a similar crusade and to free us from doctored infants' foods_ and the innu- 

 merable host of medicines by which even our fair fields are disfigured. 



