ORGANIC EVOLUTION — THE FACTORS 125 



He founds this opinion on some researches by the latter 

 gentleman, which tend to show that cell-division is not 

 absolute, but that cells are connected by " a fine proto- 

 plasmic reticulum, so that the alleged independence of 

 the reproductive cells does not exist " (p. 41). Now as 

 regards some cells, for instance nerve cells, it has long 

 been known that they are connected by a fine proto- 

 plasmic reticulum, but until Mr. Sedgwick did it, it had 

 never occurred to any one to call the brain for instance 

 " a continuous mass of vacuolated protoplasm.'' 



Nevertheless, let us concede the point, and agree, for 

 the sake of argument, to regard a multicellular organism, 

 e. g. an elephant, as a continuous mass of vacuolated pro- 

 toplasm — as a sort of gigantic unicellular organism. How 

 does the concession help Mr. Sedgwick ? Does it aid 

 him in proving, for example, that if changes are acquired 

 in that part of the vacuolated mass which we call the 

 elephant's trunk, that these changes will so affect that 

 part of the vacuolated mass which we call the germ cell, 

 that when the latter has developed into another elephant, 

 there will spontaneously appear in the trunk of the de- 

 scendant animal variations similar to those which were 

 acquired by the parent — ^variations which arose in the 

 parent in response to stimulation, and which arise 

 anew in the ofifepring only in response to similar 

 stimulation ? 



Mr. Sedgwick writes, and Mr. Spencer quotes — 



" Finally, if the protoplasm of the body is primitively 

 a syncytium, and the ovum until maturity a part of 

 the syncytium, the separation of the generative products 

 does not differ essentially from the internal generation 

 of a Protozoon, and the inheritance by the offspring of 

 peculiarities first appearing in the parent, though not 

 explained, is rendered less mysterious ; for the proto- 

 plasm of the whole body being continuous, change in 

 the molecular constitution of any part of it would 



