December 25, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



909 



the place of this germinal matter in syn- 

 thesis, it must apparently subserve this 

 double function of suffering oxidation of a 

 part to yield the energy required to or- 

 ganize its remaining part into other com- 

 plex compounds. This peculiar double 

 function seems to furnish a criterion which 

 must probably be met, if we are to find in 

 early terrestrial history any inorganic 

 agency which may have subserved crudely 

 the synthetic function which has since been 

 developed so extraordinarily by self-per- 

 petuating organic agencies. Are there any 

 agencies among those previously under re- 

 view which act in any such way, and which 

 might be supposed, even by the license of 

 hypothesis, to serve as a crude substitute 

 or forerunner for the germinal matter? 



Before trying to answer this crucial 

 question, let another characteristic of 

 organic matter as a source of energy be 

 noted. The energy which can be derived 

 from living matter by oxidation is dis- 

 tributed among many atoms, or, if it be 

 interpreted as concentrated in certain of 

 the atoms among the complex assembage, 

 it is so diluted or distributed by the 

 neutral atoms present that its effect is dis- 

 tributive. The end secured by this is a 

 slow — perhaps one may say a controlled — 

 use of energy in oxidation distributed 

 over a prolonged period. The organism is 

 indeed a thermal engine, but its tempera- 

 ture is phenomenally conservative, uni- 

 form and sustained, and its consumption 

 of fuel in any unit of time is small. At 

 the same time its constructive work, both 

 of material and of energy, is so much more 

 conspicuous than its consumptive work as 

 to almost completely mask the latter. 

 This distributive conservative action is 

 perhaps the key to the successful absorp- 

 tion and utilization of the mild but per- 

 vasive energies of cosmic origin which 

 furnish the increment of energy necessary 



to increase the sum total, notwithstanding 

 the portion expended. 



Now if we gather together the essentials 

 of the energy processes previously cited as 

 probably present in the primitive days of 

 the earth, shall we find in them any an- 

 alogues of this cooperative, controlled and 

 constructive process ? 



Summarizing these essentials in terms 

 of energy, it appears (1) that several of 

 the elements that take part in organic ac- 

 tivities were probably present at the outset 

 in a free state and capable of yielding 

 their maximum of energy by oxidation, 

 such as graphite, amorphous carbon, and 

 perhaps sulphur, together with the free 

 gases, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen; 

 (2) that there were probably present 

 simple biaary compounds such as the car- 

 bides and nitrides, which were capable of 

 reacting with water and of setting energy 

 free, and at the same time generating some- 

 what more complex compounds; (3) that 

 there were hydrogen compounds suscep- 

 tible of oxidation with liberation of energy, 

 such as the hydrocarbons, ammonia, sul- 

 phuretted and phosphoretted hydrogen; 

 (4) that there were partially oxidized 

 compounds susceptible of further oxida- 

 tion with a liberation of energy, such as 

 the nitrites and ferrous salts; (5) that 

 there were fully oxidized compounds, end 

 products, such as carbon dioxide and 

 water, from which, by the expenditure of 

 energy, the carbohydrates might hypo- 

 thetically be derived by deoxidation and 

 combination; as well as such end products 

 as nitric acid, nitrates, sulphates and phos- 

 phates from which, in combination with 

 the preceding, proteids and the nitro- 

 genous group generally might, hypothetic- 

 ally, be compounded; (6) that there were 

 abundant supplies of potassium, calcium, 

 magnesium and silicon in combination 

 from which these elements could be de- 

 rived by similar means; (7) that there was 



