126 



HABIT AND INTELLIGENCE. 



[chap. 



Germinal 

 matter is 

 without 

 structure. 



Formed 

 material 

 cannot be 

 further 

 trans- 

 formed. 



Gromia. 



germinal matter into the formed material of the tissues. 

 When it goes on abnormally in the reproduction of a lost 

 part, it is effected in what is essentially the same way ; 

 namely, by the transformation of the germinal matter, or 

 unformed material, which is found in small quantities 

 throughout every living part of every organism, into the 

 formed material of the part that is being reproduced. The 

 food which is assimilated by an organism, whether by a 

 vegetable or by an animal, is vitalized before it is organized ; 

 in other words, it is transformed into formless and struc- 

 tureless germinal matter first, and into the formed material 

 of the tissues afterwards. This is equally true of the 

 development of the original germ into the form of its 

 species ; of the growth of the individual to maturity, after 

 it has assumed its form ; of the renewal of tissue which is 

 constantly going on to supply waste, even after growth has 

 ceased ; and of abnormal acts of development in the healing 

 of wounds and the reproduction of lost parts. In all cases 

 the assimilated food is transformed into germinal matter, 

 and the germinal matter into formed material. It is to be 

 observed, also, that in acqvdring structure the germinal 

 matter loses its plastic properties. The power of growth, 

 development, and transformation generally, which is cha- 

 racteristic of organisms, appears to reside, not in the formed 

 material, but in the germinal matter ; and the more com- 

 pletely has the formed material assumed a character unlike 

 that of germinal matter, the more completely has it lost 

 the power of undergoing spontaneous transformation and 

 development. This would be difficult to prove by any 

 observations or experiments on the higher organisms, but 

 it is at least consistent with what we know of them ; and 

 the lower ones afford experimental illustration of it. The 

 Ehizopods are the simplest of all animals, and scarcely 

 present a trace of organization ; but many of them show, in 

 its simplest form, the distinction between germinal matter 

 and formed material. The gromia, for instance, consists of 

 nothing but a minute mass of gelatinous matter, enclosed 

 in a membranous sac, which is open at one end.^ If the 



^ Carpenter on the Foraminifera, published by the Ray Society, p. 63. 



