\ 



158 



77/^ BEGINNINGS OF LIFE 



some 



difficult to reconcile with the views of those who do 

 not accept this legitimate interpretation. 



Some of the bodies found were partly like unicellular 

 Alg^, and partly like ordinary ToruU, They exhibited 

 only the faintest green tint, and yet the general cha- 

 racter of the corpuscles was less like ToruU than that 



forms of Protococcus. Associated with them 



also was a filament of an algoid character. We have 



already pointed out the very gradual nature of the 



transitions which exist between Fungi and Algx, by 



means of the various forms of Leptotkrlx and Oscilla- 



torla filaments, to say nothing of other intermediate 



forms, such as Achlya, Saprolegma^ and similar types. 



The transitions between the Mucedlnea and Leptothrlx 



are as gradual and unbroken, as those which exist 



between Leptothrlx and the colourless Oscillatorla. 



The latter develop a green colour in an equally 



gradual manner, and insensibly take on characters 



whicli affiliate them to the other filamentous k\gx. 



And now our experiments tend to show, definitely, 



that there is no radical difiference between Fungi 



and Alg^, but that the evolution of the one or the 



other 



is regulated in part by the 



mere presence or 



absence of certain constituents. Where no iron is 

 present new-born specks of living matter may develop 

 into Bacteria or ToruU and gradually unfold into fungus- 

 forms; but if iron be present such new-born specks 

 may incorporate this element^ develop green proto- 

 plasm, and assume the form oi FrotococcuSy with ten- 



f0 



' V other I 



: t^e relation 



■v,wt 



^nation ' 

 ;, <aid tbat Fun 



IS 



often difl 



■iffl species may 

 3 that 



::ii; 



termed "Fl" 



e 



of: 



:[sent impossil 



^ to either i 



spores 



and sodii 



similar t 



'-Id 



Vl 



"Oii 



wliich 



ar 



moi 



Chens i 



'\ Uen 



saj 



If 



...*fdian„ 



51^63?* 



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k ,1., 



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