1894.] Criticism: Transmission of Mutilations. 11 
moisture, different manner of nourishment, transform entirely 
unmistabably the organism of plant and animal, and there is 
nothing in the way of the opinion that by the continued work- 
ing of such external influences and stimuli the molecular 
structure of the germ plasm also experiences a change which 
can lead to a transmission of the transformations. Above all, 
it ought not to be forgotten in this case that the somatic cells are 
in no way the first to be modified by the stimulus, and that then 
by some sort of unexplained process (Pangenesis, or intracell- 
ular pangenesis) this stimulus is transmitted gradually by these 
cells to the plasma of the germ cells. The influence on the 
germ plasm is rather a direct one, and if, by continued influ- 
ence, a transformation of the structure of this plasm takes place 
and transmission occurs, then we have simply a transmission 
of blastogenic, by no means of somatogenic characters, and 
therein is not the slightest admission of the transmission of 
acquired characters. 
LITERATURE CITED. 
(1) van Bemmelen, De erfelijkheid van verworven eigen- 
schappen. s’Gravenhage, 1890. 
(2) Bonnet, Die stummelschwanzigen Hunde im Hinblick 
auf die Vererbung erworbener Eigenschaften. Beitr. z. pathol. 
Anat., Bd. IV. 
(8) Ritzema Bos, Zur Frage der Vererbung von Traum- 
atismen. Biolog. Centralbl., XI. Bd., Nr. 23, 1892 ; ibidemein 
Zusatz zu voriger Arbeit von J. Rosenthal. 
(4) Brock, Einige ältere Autoren über die Vererbung 
erworbener Eigenschaften. Biol. Centralblatt, VIII, p. 491. 
(5) Claus, Ueber die Wertschätzung der natiirlichen Zucht- 
wahl als Erklirungsprinzip. Wien, 1888. 
(6) Detmer, Zum Problem der Vererbung. Archiy f. die 
ges. Physiologie, XL, 1887. 
(7) Dingfelder, Beitrag zur Vererbung erworbener Eigen- 
schaften. Biol. Centralblatt, VII, p. 427, and VIII, p. 210. 
(8) Doderlein, Schwanzlose Katzen. Zool. Anzeiger, X,and 
Biol. Centralblatt VII, p. 721. 
