126 An Examination of Weismannism. 



He now regards both polar bodies as concerned in 

 the same function of removing superfluous germ-plasm. 

 Therefore one-half of his previous theory is abandoned : 

 "'• the ovogenetic idio-plasm " is now supposed to be 

 simply absorbed in the course of ontogeny, as I had 

 suggested in one of the preceding chapters (pp. 42-46). 

 The consequence is that he has now nothing to oppose 

 to the view which is likewise there suggested (pp. 43- 

 44) — viz., that his whole theory of polar bodies is 

 rendered needless and improbable by the fact that the 

 very mode in which ova are produced renders ample 

 provision for the removal of any amount of superfluous 

 germ-plasm which the theory of germ-plasm may 

 require. 



It is needless to say. after what has already been 

 said in the pages just referred to. that in my opinion 

 Professor Weismann has improved his main system 

 of theories by dropping this part of his subordinate 

 and. for the most part, separate theory of polar bodies. 

 I only wish he could have seen his way to dropping 

 the whole. 



Again, he has now fully considered the phenomena 

 of repair, regeneration, reproduction from somatic 

 tissues, budding, and graft-hybridization. 



Touching the four former he ta'xes the view which 

 I have supposed that he would (p. 53). As regards the 

 latter, he fully accepts the fact of an occasional trans- 

 mission of characters from one species or variety of 

 plant to another by mere grafting \ But. although the 

 explanation which he gives of this fact may pass 

 muster so far as the only case which he deals with in 

 1 The Germ-plasm, p. 342. 



