The Unicellular Organisms. 7 



Pelomyxa, not far removed from the more common forms of 

 amcebse, and chiefly differing by the presence of a large 

 number of nuclei. Professor Biitschli, moreover, has succeeded 

 in artificially compounding a substance which has many of the 

 physical properties of protoplasm to all appearance. He made 

 a fine emulsion of oil and a solution of such a substance as 

 common salt. This mixture not only showed the foam-like 



iCh.Ves 



Ch.V 



Fig. 3.— a portion of the body of an Amreboid multinucleate organism 

 (Pelomyxa), illustrative of foam theory of protoplasm. Very highly 

 magnified. (After A. G. Bourne.) 



N, nuclei ; vac, vacuoles ; Ch. V., vesicles (tinged green by chlorophyll). 



Structure, but it exhibited movements ; and masses of it even 

 divided in a very life-like fashion. In the case of the " artificial 

 protoplasm " the walls of the bubbles were formed by the oil, 

 and the alkaline solution occupied their interior. This mixture, 

 however, bears a relation to true protoplasm like that of 

 a waxwork figure to a man; it is not a kind of monster 

 of Frankenstein. And, ingenious though the experiments 



