LABITITY AND ENERGY IN RELATION TO PROTOPLASM. 405 
Theory. 
1. 
Albumin is formed by con¬ 
densation of the still hypothe¬ 
tical aspartic aldehyde which 
in plant cells either is produced 
from asparagine or built up of 
form-aldehyde and ammonia. 
2. 
There is a chemical differ¬ 
ence between the albumin of 
the living and that of the dead 
protoplasm. 
3* 
The labile, active albumin 
leads by organization to living 
matter, as such and in the form 
of nuclein and nucleo-albumin. 
4- 
The lability of the albumin 
of the living protoplasm is 
caused by the presence of alde¬ 
hyde and amido-groups. 
5- 
The conversion of the albu¬ 
min of the living to that of the 
dead protoplasm, presents a 
remarkable analogy to the 
change of a labile substance 
into a stable modification. 
The unbiassed reader will 
dence between theory and facts. 
Facts. 
1. 
There exist intimate physi¬ 
ological relations between as¬ 
paragine and albumin ; the 
former is an excellent material 
for building up the latter. The 
formation of albumin often 
takes place with great rapidity. 
2. 
The living protoplasm shows 
a chemical behaviour totally 
different from that of the dead. 
3- 
There frequently occurs, as 
reserve-material, in plants a 
highly labile kind of albumin 
of aldehyde character, whose 
chemical nature is altered by 
the same influences, as those by 
which the protoplasm is killed. 
4* 
Compounds which react upon 
aldehydes, and such as react 
upon labile amido-groups with 
great energy, are poisons for 
all organisms. 
5* 
The transition of living pro¬ 
toplasm into dead is accompa¬ 
nied by contraction and deve¬ 
lopment of heat. 
perhaps find here some coinci¬ 
de 
(i) A full account of theoretical views and actual observations is contained in my 
treatise: The Energy of Living Protoplasm, London, 1896 ; Kegan raut, Trench, 
Trübner & Co* 
