ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 321 



position one insoluble salt or two such. The one of these salts must 

 be dissolved in the liquid, whilst the other must be present in a solid 

 form. 



These forms of organic elements (cells, tubes, &c.), being produced 

 either in a liquid of organic or semi-organic origin (such as the 

 saccharate of lime), or an absolutely inorganic liquid (e. g. silicate of 

 soda), there can be no longer any question of distinctive forms cha- 

 racterizing inorganic bodies on the one hand and organic on the 

 other. 



The formation of such pseudo-organic figured elements depends 

 on the nature, the degree of viscosity, and the concentration of the 

 liquids in which they are produced. Certain viscid liquids, such as 

 solutions of gum arabic, or of zinc chloride, yield nothing of the kind. 



The forms of these pseudo-organic products are constant with 

 reference to the salt employed, and constant also as any crystalline 

 form of minerals. This characteristic form is so well maintained 

 that it may even serve for the detection in mixtures of a very minute 

 proportion of a substance. This form may be employed as a means of 

 analysis, as sensitive as spectral analysis, and to distinguish for 

 instance the alkaline carbonates, sesqui-carbonates, and bi-carbonates 

 from one another. 



The form of the artificial pseudo-organic elements depends prin- 

 cipally on the acid which enters into the composition of the solid salt. 

 The sulphates and the phosphates in certain cases produce tubes, 

 whilst the carbonates give rise to cells. 



With some exceptions, such as copper, cadmium, zinc, and nickel 

 sulphates, the pseudo -organic forms are only produced by means of 

 substances which are found in real organisms. Thus the saccharate 

 of lime produces organic forms, whilst those of strontia and baryta do 

 not. 



The artificial pseudo-organic elements are enveloped in true mem- 

 branes possessing a high degree of dialysing power, and giving 

 passage only to liquids. They have heterogeneous contents, and 

 produce in their interior granulations arranged in a regular order. 

 They are, therefore, both in form and constitution, absolutely similar 

 to the figured elements of which organisms are constructed. 



It is probable that the inorganic elements contained in organic 

 protoplasm play a certain part in the constitution of the figured 

 organic elements for the determination of the forms which those 

 elements present. 



It is suggested * that by these experiments one of the characters 

 by which mere lifeless matter was till yesterday differentiated fx'om 

 the living organism is wiped out. There are no longer any distinc- 

 tive forms by which we may distinguish the two great classes, and it 

 is asked whether it is not very possible that such structures might be 

 produced without human intention and interference, in what may be 

 called an accidental manner ? Might they not, considering the large 

 proportion of silica which they contain, become preserved for acres, 

 and continue to disj)lay pseudo-organic features ? Supj)Ose we find, in 

 * Journ. of Sci., iv. (1882) pp. 148-53. 



