92 The American Naturalist. [January. 
of the occurrence of metabolism, even during the maturation or 
or growth of germs in the parent body, the contrary opinion being in 
conflict with fact. 
The Lamarckian philosophy of transformism therefore offers the 
foregoing hypothesis of heredity as a substitute for the preposterous 
one of the isolation of germ-plasma, which, as here shown, is in the 
most obvious conflict with the principle of the conservation of energy. 
An isolated germ-plasma is as undemonstrable as the presence of bow- 
legged goblins in the moon. The primary postulate of that hypothesis 
is suicidal. There is no middle course to be taken. Biologists who 
commit themselves to an acceptance of the biological vagaries of 
Weismann array themselves against the modern rigorously scientific 
tendency to examine the problems of biology from the standpoint of 
the physicist. 
In that the doctrine of the isolation of the germ-plasma is in 
irreconcilable conflict with the great cardinal principle upon which 
the whole fabric of modern physiological science rears its stately 
proportions, namely, with the general theory of metabolism, and, 
consequently, with the still more imposing and universal principle 
of the conservation of energy, we therefore realize what a colossal 
fabric of speculative rubbish must be consigned to the limbo of un- 
tenable and forgotten hypotheses in what is represented by the mis- 
guided labors af the advocates of the existence of an unalterable 
germ-plasma.—Joun A. RYDER. 


PHYSIOLOGY. 
An Experimental Investigation of Strychnine Poisoning. 
—It is a known fact that certain organs extract certain substances from 
the blood. The kidney, for instance, takes up urea; the motor nerves 
shave an elective affinity for curare, the nervous system for lead, etc- 
As regards any drug which particularly affects any organ, the question 
may arise whether the organ is affected because of a special attraction 
for the drug or because of a special susceptibility to its action. For 
example, does strychnine affect the spinal cord because the latter stores 
up a relatively larger quantity of it than other organs, or is the spinal 
cord more susceptible to its influence than is muscle, or liver, for in- 
stance? In order to throw light upon this subject, Dr. Lovett? has — 
1 Journal of Physiology, Vol. IX., P- 99. 


