Chap. XXV II. 



OF PANGENESIS. 



375 



visional hypothesis which I have called Pangenesis. Views in 

 some respects similar have been propounded, as I find, by other 

 authors. 29 



29 Prof. Huxley has called my atten- 

 tion to the views of Buffon and Bonnet. 

 The former (' Hist. Nat. Gen.,' edit, of 

 1749, torn. ii. pp. 54, 62, 329, 333, 420, 

 425) supposes that organic molecules 

 exist in the food consumed by every 

 living creature; and that these mole- 

 cules are analogous in nature with the 

 various organs by which they are ab- 

 sorbed. When the organs thus become 

 fully developed, the molecules being no 

 longer required collect and form buds 

 or the sexual elements. If Buffon had 

 assumed that his organic molecules had 

 been formed by each separate unit 

 throughout the body, his view and 

 mine would have been closely similar. 



Bonnet (' CEuvres dHist. Nat.,' torn, 

 v., part i., 1781, 4to. edit., p. 334) speaks 

 of the limbs having germs adapted for 

 the reparation of all possible losses ; 

 but whether these germs are supposed 

 to be the same with those within the 

 buds and sexual organs is not clear. 

 His famous but now exploded theory 

 of emboitement implies that perfect 

 germs are included within germs in 

 endless succession, pre-formed and ready 

 for all succeeding generations. Accord- 

 ing to my view, the germs or gemmules 

 of each separate part were not originally 

 pre-formed, but are continually pro- 

 duced at all ages during each generation, 

 with some handed down from preceding 

 generations. 



Prof. Owen remarks ('Partheno- 

 genesis,' 1849, pp. 5-8), "Not all the 

 " progeny of the primary impregnated 

 " germ-cell are required for the formation 

 " of the body in all animals : certain of 

 " the derivative germ-cells may remain 

 "unchanged and become included in 

 "that body which has been composed 

 " of their metamorphosed and diversely 

 "combined or confluent brethren : so 

 " included, any derivative germ-cell or 

 ,: the nucleus of such, may commence and 

 " repeat the same processes of growth by 

 " imbibition, and of propagation by spon- 



" taneous fission, as those to which itself 

 " owed its origin ; " &c. By the agency 

 of these germ-cells Prof. Owen accounts 

 for parthenogenesis, for propagation by 

 self-division during successive genera- 

 tions, and for the repairs of injuries. 

 His view agrees with mine in the as- 

 sumed transmission and multiplication 

 of his germ-cells, but differs funda- 

 mentally from mine in the belief that 

 the primary germ-cell was formed within 

 the ovarium of the female and was fer- 

 tilised by the male. My gemmules are 

 supposed to be formed, quite indepen- 

 dently of sexual concourse, by each 

 separate cell or unit throughout the 

 body, and to be merely aggregated 

 within the reproductive organs. 



Lastly, Mr. Herbert Spencer (' Prin- 

 ciples of Biology,' vol. i., 1863-4, chaps, 

 iv. and viii.) has discussed at consider- 

 able length what he designates as phy- 

 siological units. These agree with my 

 gemmules in being supposed to multiply 

 and to be transmitted from parent to 

 child; the sexual elements are sup- 

 posed to serve merely as their vehicles ; 

 they are the efficient agents in all the 

 forms of reproduction and in the repairs 

 of injuries; they account for inherit- 

 ance, but they are not brought to 

 bear on reversion or atavism, and this 

 is unintelligible to me; they are sup- 

 posed to possess polarity, or, as I call 

 it, affinity; and apparently they are be- 

 lieved to be derived from each separate 

 part of the whole body. But gemmules 

 differ from Mr. Spencer's physiological 

 units, inasmuch as a certain number, 

 or mass of them, are, as we shall see, 

 requisite for the development of each 

 cell or part. Nevertheless I should have 

 concluded that Mr. Spencer's views were 

 fundamentally the same with mine, 

 had it not been for several passages 

 which, as far as I understand them, 

 indicate something quite different. I 

 will quote some of these passages from 

 pp. 254-256. " In the fertilised germ 



