270 RELATION OF PLANT PROTOPLASM TO ENVIRONMENT. 



temperatures, and abundant colloid substances, evidently existent in primitive 

 thermal waters, all favored formation of abundant colloid compounds from 

 simpler constituents, and this on the principle probably of Traube's cells. 



10. That the living Schizophycese and Schizomycetes show graded advance 

 in cell morphology from simple spherical unicellular and asexual organisms 

 devoid of any recognizable chromatin or nucleus, to thread forms in which 

 chromatin granules or loops are aggregating into a nuclear structure. 



11. That protoplasm, as claimed by Pictet, Loeb, and Chodat is a chemical 

 compound "that conforms to the same fundamental laws as do inorganic bodies," 

 but which exhibits a greatly more complex structure and capacity of adaptation 

 and response to environal stimuli, owing to the greatly more complex combi- 

 nation of the organizing molecules. 



12. That the Schizophycese of thermal springs show varying degrees of 

 coloration of their cells, which suggest graded stages in chlorophyll evolution. 



13. That the Schizomycetes originated as a later offshoot from the Schizo- 

 phyceae, or as a primitively independent colorless group that utilized chemical 

 energy from siliceous, calcareous, sulphur or other compounds. From this group 

 saprophytic and parasitic forms arose, that developed corresponding habits. 



14. That during gradual cooling of the earth, and restriction of volcanic and 

 hot spring activities, thermophilic organisms became adapted to more temperate 

 surroundings, and gave rise by adaptive modification to more recent plants. 



15. That throughout the entire vegetable kingdom, at some stage in the life 

 history of many plants, a wide ancestral adaptive capacity is shown by the cell 

 protoplasm to temperature, light and chemical agents. 



16. That not merely spores and seeds, but many other parts — even entire 

 plants — of the Spermatophyta, show a wide range of environal relation, that is 

 in no way different from that shown by the simple thermophilic organisms. 



17. That relative water content is probably the main determining agent in 

 conferring varying degrees of response on all plants or plant parts, though this is 

 probably correlated with the presence of varying coagulable proteids. 



18. That possibly the relation of the chromatin in the Metaphyta, to the 

 protoplasm and to water content, have also an important bearing on species 

 adaptability. 



1. Phillips, O. P. 



LITERATURE. 



2. Gomont, M. 



Bot. Contrib. Univ. Penn., II (1904), 237. 



Monogr. Oscill. in Ann. Sc. Nat., s. 7, XVI (1892), 91. 



3. De Toni, G. B. 



Sylloge Algarum, V (1907). 



4. Tilden, Josephine. 



Minnesota Algae, I (1910). 



5. Gooch and Whitfield. 



BuUetin U. S. Geol. Surv. No. 47 (1888), 58. 



6. Cohn, Ferd. 



Flora, Bd. XLV (1862), 538. 



