20 Prof. B. Moore and Mr. W. G. Evans. Forms of Growth 



have had under examination certainly do not contain cellulose, for they give 

 a negative reply to the iodine and sulphuric acid test for cellulose. 



It is now established that many colloidal inorganic substauces in presence 

 of sunlight and of water and carbon dioxide can synthesise organic bodies,* 

 so there is no inherent impossibility that living organisms containing 

 organic carbon compounds can arise from inorganic matter when proper 

 conditions of environment, energy supply, and time are satisfied. But we 

 have been unable to observe anything which we could describe as a living 

 organism arise from these inorganic colloids. 



The forms which arise in metastable solutions of inorganic colloids are 

 worthy of consideration as illustrating a mechanism by means of which, 

 when the steps of evolution of the organic from the inorganic have become 

 understood, the study of the origin of the morphology of the microscopic 

 forms of life can find a basis. 



At the present moment, and with the lacunae now existing in our know- 

 ledge of the stages intermediate between inorganic evolution and organic 

 evolution, even did undoubted living organisms arise in sterilised and 

 hermetically sealed tubes, their origin would be looked upon with suspicion 

 and ascribed to hypothetical unkilled germs or some chance contamination. 

 The intermediate ground which must be cleared is that of the morphology 

 of inorganic colloids, and the properties of these as catalysts enabling them 

 to build up and synthesise organic compounds. It is from this point of view 

 that we submit a preliminary study of the forms of growths originating in 

 metastable solutions of inorganic colloidal solutions. 



The glass tubes used in our experiments were of the same type as those 

 employed by Dr. Bastian in his experiments, and were manufactured for us 

 by the same firm. These tubes are made from glass tubing about 3 cm. in 

 diameter. A rounded bottom of the same diameter as the tube is first blown, 

 then at about 7 cm. from the bottom the tube is drawn off to a tapering- 

 point and sealed at the end, the whole length of the tube, including both 

 wide and narrow parts, being about 17 cm. 



The tubes were delivered to us sealed, and were first broken when the 

 experiment was to be commenced by filling in the colloidal solutions. It is 

 quite obvious that in the process of manufacture the whole internal surface 

 of the tube would require to be so strongly heated by the glass-blower as to 

 incinerate and destroy utterly any possible organic fibres from entrance of 

 dust or vegetable fibre, and the greatest care was taken by us to prevent 

 ingress of adventitious fibres in any of the subsequent observations and the 

 after manipulations for microscopic observation. All slides and coverslips 

 * Moore and Webster, 'Roy. Soc. Proc.,' B, vol. 87, p. 163 (1913). 



