,life3 ,its ,true ,genesis ,by ,r4 ,w4 ,wright ,masoretic ,hebrew4-- 4-- 4 ,septuagint4 ,whose general principle of life1 each in itself after its own kind1 is upon the earth4 ,correct ,translation4 ,second ,edition #ahhd ,,respectfully ,,dedicated ,,to ,,arthur ,e4 ,,hotchkiss1 ,,esq4 ,,of ,,cheshire1 ,,conn4 ,contents4 ,prefatory ,chapter ,i4 ,introductory4 ,chapter ,,ii4 ,life--,its ,true ,genesis4 ,chapter ,,iii4 ,alternations of ,forest ,growths4 ,chapter ,,iv4 ,the ,distribution and ,vitality of ,seeds4 ,chapter ,v4 ,plant ,migration and ,interglacial ,periods4 ,chapter ,,vi4 ,distribution and ,permanence of ,species4 ,chapter ,,vii4 ,what ,is ,life8 ,its ,various ,theories4 ,chapter ,,viii4 ,materialistic ,theories of ,life ,refuted4 ,chapter ,,ix4 ,force-,correlation1 ,differentiation and ,other ,life ,theories4 ,chapter ,x4 ,darwinism ,considered from a ,vitalistic ,stand-point4 ,preface to ,second ,edition4 ,here is the law of life1 as laid down by the eagle-eyed prophet ,isaiah1 in that remarkable chapter commencing1 ,ho1 every one that thirsteth--whether it be after knowledge1 or any other earthly or spiritual good--come unto me and ,i will give you that which you seek4 ,this is the spirit of the text1 and these are the words at the commencement of the tenth verse3 ,as the rain cometh down1 and the snow from heaven1 and returneth not thither1 but watereth the earth1 and maketh it 7the earth7 bring forth and bud 7not first bud1 bear seed1 and then bring forth71 that it 7the earth7 may give seed to the sower1 and bread to the eater 7man being the only sower of seed and eater of bread73 so shall my ,word be 7the ,word of ,life7 that goeth forth out of my mouth 7the mouth of the ,lord72 it shall not return unto me void 7i4e41 lifeless71 but it shall accomplish that which ,i 7the ,lord ,jehovah7 please1 and it 7the living ,word7 shall prosper in the thing whereto ,i sent it4 ,this formula of life is as true now as it was over two thousand six hundred years ago1 when it was penned by the divinely inspired prophet1 and it is as true now as it was then1 that ,instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree1 and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree2 and it shall be to the ,lord for a name1 for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off4 ,that is1 as the rains descend and the floods come and change the face of the earth1 a law1 equivalent to the divine command1 ,let the earth bring forth1 is forever operative1 changing the face of nature and causing it to give expression to new forms of life as the conditions thereof are changed1 and these forms are spoken into existence by the divine fiat4 ,in all the alternations of forest growths that are taking place to-day1 on this continent or elsewhere1 this one vital law is traceable everywhere4 ,in the course of the next year1 it will be as palpable in the ,island of ,java1 recently desolated by the most disastrous earthquake recorded in history1 as in any other portion of the earth1 however free from such volcanic action4 ,on the very spot where mountain ranges disappeared in a flaming sea of fire1 and other ranges were thrown up in parallel lines but on different bases1 and where it was evident that every seed1 plant1 tree1 and thing of life perished in one common vortex of ruin1 animal as well as vegetable life will make its appearance in obedience to this law1 as soon as the rains shall again descend1 cool the basaltic and other rocks1 and the life-giving power referred to by ,isaiah once more become operative4 ,there is no more doubt of this in the mind of the learned naturalist1 than in that of the most devout believer of the ,bible1 from which this most remarkable formula is taken4 ,we have no disposition to arraign the ,american and ,european ,agnostics1 as they are pleased to call themselves1 for using the term ,nature instead of ,god1 in their philosophical writings4 ,as long as they are evidently earnest seekers after ,truth as it is to be found in nature--the work of ,god--they are most welcome into the temple of science1 and their theories deserve our thoughtful consideration4 ,it is only when they become dogmatic1 and assert propositions that have no foundation in truth1 as we sincerely believe1 that we propose to break a lance at their expense1 and lay bare their fallacies4 ,we claim nothing more for ourself1 as a scientific writer1 than we are willing and ready to accord to them4 ,indeed1 we would champion their right to be heard sooner than we would our own1 on the principle that it is our duty to be just to others before we are generous to ourselves1 or those of our own following4 ,but our ,agnostic friends should remember that when they charge us with being dogmatic in science1 the charge should be made good from a scientific stand-point1 and not merely by the bandying of words4 ,when they tell us1 for instance1 that a toad has hibernated for a million years in any one of the stratified rocks near the surface of the ground1 we interpose the objection that none of these batrachian forms can exist for a period of more than twelve months without air and food4 ,and yet they have been blasted out of cavities in the surface rocks of the earth1 where they have apparently lain for the period named by our scientific friends referred to4 ,the fault is not ours1 but theirs1 that they are in error4 ,had they determined to study the subject of life1 as we have done1 from the ,bible as well as from nature1 they would have commenced at these toad-producing rocks1 and worked their way upward to the source of all life1 and not downward to the vanishing point--that where animal life ceases in the azoic rocks4 ,the batrachians are low down in the scale of nature1 but they have a determinate period of existence1 as do all other forms of life4 ,try your experiments with them2 see how long they will live without light1 air1 and food4 ,this you can do as well as ourself4 ,conform to all the conditions required--the absolute exclusion of light1 air1 and food--and you will find that the toughest specimen experimented with is a dead batrachian inside of one year4 ,this experimental test should settle the question of lengthened vitality between us4 ,there is no miracle about this matter at all1 and science finds no stumbling-block in the way of a complete explication of this riddle1 if1 in the light of nature1 there be any such riddle4 ,we claim there is not1 when we interpret nature in the light of nature's ,god4 ,let the earth1 or rather its silicious and other decaying rocks1 bring forth these batrachian forms4 ,the command is imperative and not dependent upon any seed previously scattered or sown in the earth itself4 ,the father of the writer was ,superintendent of the ,green ,mountain ,turnpike ,company1 extending from ,bellows ,falls to ,rutland1 ,vt41 from #ahab to #ahcb1 and worked every rod of that road many times over4 ,from our earliest boyhood we accompanied him on these working trips1 attended by a large force of laboring men1 and our attention was early called to the characteristics of these toad-producing rocks4 ,the rotting slates1 shales1 sandstones1 shists1 and rocks of various kinds1 were often ploughed up by the road-sides1 and the dbris scraped into the centre of the road-beds2 the heaviest ploughs of that day being used to cut through these wayside rocks1 and often requiring as many as six or eight yoke of oxen to break the necessary furrow4 ,in many of these decaying slates1 shists1 sandstones etc41 hundreds of young toads1 many of them not more than half an inch in length1 were turned out at different seasons of the year1 showing that they were produced independently of any parent batrachian1 there being no trace of a mother toad in connection with them4 ,the parent toads bury themselves in the gardens and ploughed fields in the early autumn1 and if they survive the severity of the winter months1 may propagate their kind the second year1 and probably for several years4 ,but they require remarkably favorable conditions to continue their life for any considerable number of years in open-field propagation1 while under no circumstances whatever can they make their way into these decaying rocks in order to propagate their species4 ,the reason why such fresh specimens appear under these circumstances1 and in the cavities of the rocks named1 is conclusively that indicated by the prophet ,isaiah1 in the text quoted by us2 and when ,professor ,agassiz was forced to admit that trout must have made their appearance in the fresh-water streams emptying into ,lake ,superior1 instead of originating elsewhere1 it is to be regretted1 for the sake of science1 that he did not boldly enunciate the formula of life as taught by the eagle-eyed prophet of the ,bible1 and not as proclaimed by the owl-eyed professors of the ,london ,university ,college4 ,what is true of the trout in these ,lake ,superior streams1 is true of them almost everywhere1 even right in the town of ,cheshire1 ,conn41 where we are inditing this preface1 the #ajth day of ,october1 #ahhc4 ,we recently visited the ,rev4 ,david ,d4 ,bishop1 in the northeastern portion of this township1 where that cultured gentleman was constructing an artificial trout-pond4 ,it was at a season of the greatest drought known for years in that portion of the town4 ,the point selected for this trout-pond was at the farthest eastern source of what is known as ,honey ,pot brook in ,cheshire1 a famous one for trout in former years4 ,mr4 ,bishop proposed to stock his pond with the best spawn he could procure4 ,we remarked to him that there was no need of that expense1 as no stream ever produced better trout than the ,honey ,pot2 and on closely examining one of the six or eight cold springs developed in his enclosure1 to his surprise1 not ours1 we discovered several small trout1 not more than six weeks old1 as lively as they could well be under the blasting operations then going on there2 while his children were fishing out from the rocks any number of young frogs 7of the common ,rana family71 abounding wherever rocks and water make their appearance in similar localities4 ,this incident was all the more remarkable for the reason that this small stream1 or rather source of one1 had been apparently dry for months1 as had been many of the best wells in the town4 ,our well1 in the western part of the town1 had been dug some six feet into the solid rock and an inexhaustible supply of the coldest water secured4 ,we invited our neighbors1 those living on both sides of us1 as well as at some distance from us1 to come and draw all the water they wanted1 remarking that they might now and then draw up a small frog1 originating therein1 but that1 by fishing him out of the pail1 he would make his way to the neighboring streams not dry1 and would flourish well enough as one of the ,rana family4 ,it was only to our more intelligent neighbors 7such as ,mr4 ,bishop7 who had read our work on ,life1 that we stopped to explain this phenomenal fact4 ,and so of all life1 wherever it appears1 whether vegetable or animal4 ,our experiments with mosquitoes are equally conclusive4 ,three years ago we took two barrels of rain-water from our cistern1 tightly covered2 one barrel we left open to the warm sun and air1 and the other we covered with the finest mosquito netting4 ,the barrel left open was soon thronged with mosquitoes1 constructing their little rafts of eggs and paving their way for the swarms of young wigglers that in the course of a week or two made their appearance in the open barrel in immense numbers4 ,the process by which these wigglers hatch out into mosquitoes is an interesting one1 and will bear the closest study1 as well as scientifically pay for watching the operation4 ,at the proper time they come to the surface of the water1 undergo a palpable modification in their structure1 and beautifully burgeon forth into the tormenting little insects that they are during the summer and autumn months in our ,northern climate4 ,the object of the covered barrel was to ascertain whether we could reach the conditions favorable for the development of this little pest of the ,culex family1 independently of the eggs of the insect itself4 ,this required some patience and not a little care4 ,we knew that an egg dropped through the interstices of the netting would sink to the bottom of the water and fail to germinate1 as every scientist understanding the process well knows4 ,it must be floated on the water at first1 or until it reaches the point of development into a wiggler4 ,the first step in the process of its life is as cunningly devised as the second1 and the second as the third1 until the full-fledged mosquito is reached4 ,all precautions must be taken against any mistake or error in the experiment named4 ,but we persevered and found nature responsive to our demands4 ,wigglers after awhile made their appearance sparsely in the covered barrel1 but the mosquitoes developed from them proved innocuous of harm1 as we kept the barrel covered1 and they were soon drowned in the water1 not having sufficient area of flight to answer the conditions of their life4 ,we might instance some remarkable discoveries in the vegetable world1 showing conclusively that plants and trees come without seed1 and we feel the more pride in this discovery because we have been assured by ,prof4 ,othniel ,c4 ,marsh1 of ,yale ,college1 a gentleman highly distinguished in his specialties1 that if we would show that an oak tree came without an acorn1 he would abandon ,evolution and accept the exposition given by us of the ,bible genesis2 but we have no special ambition to make so eminent a convert from ,herbert ,spencer's ranks4 ,he is a much younger man than ourself1 but the great ,english ,evolutionist or ,involutionist1 whichever he may ultimately decide to call himself1 is about the writer's own age1 and1 for special reasons1 he would prefer to win him to the vital side of this question1 that he may act with ,professor ,beale in the great controversy now waging in ,england on this subject1 and we will assure both ,prof4 ,marsh1 and his friend1 ,herbert ,spencer1 that if either of them will show that an acorn comes without an oak tree1 we will abandon any position we have taken on this subject1 and accept theirs1 however absurdly 7to our mind7 it may have been taken in the past4 ,we know that tall oaks from little acorns grow2 but that is when man becomes the sower of seed1 and knows the origin of each specific tree that is brought forth4 ,when we talk about the squirrel1 or the birds becoming the sowers of seeds1 especially the acorns1 we are talking at random1 and without any certain knowledge4 ,this we say with all due deference and respect to our learned ,agnostic friends1 and wish they would treat their vitalistic brothers with the same becoming courtesy4 ,in a work which we have now in preparation for the press1 to be entitled ,biodynamics2 or1 ,the ,laws of ,life1 we shall give this seed question a more exhaustive inquiry than we have yet done4 ,our proofs in regard to one form of life are equally applicable to any other plant1 insect1 or animal1 and there is no greater or less mystery in the life of a blade of grass than in the cedar of ,lebanon figuring so conspicuously in the historic page4 ,when the ,nile overflowed its banks in ancient times1 and caused the young frogs to swarm up as a pest upon the ,egyptians1 the same law of life was operative in that land1 as when warm thunder-showers pelt the earth with us in the summer season1 causing hundreds and thousands of these batrachians to come out of the gritty waysides1 and swarm along our highways and by-ways1 leading ignorant and thoughtless people to suppose that they have rained down from the sky4 ,the simple fact is1 that the earth was commanded to bring them forth1 and that great mother of all vegetable and animal life is obeying the command to-day1 just as she did in the beginning4 ,one of the greatest errors that science has yet committed1 or rather that scientific men have stumbled upon1 is the theory that all living forms have appeared but once in time and place1 and that they have thence diffused themselves1 in pairs1 throughout the globe1 as from specific centres of origin4 ,in the primeval oceans1 whenever and wherever the environing conditions of matter were the same or identical1 the like living forms made their appearance and flourished for hundreds and thousands of years1 and finally disappeared1 in a fossilized state1 as their environing conditions were changed4 ,they came not genetically--as in pairs--but thronged the seas in thousands and millions as the divine edict went forth4 ,as another conclusive proof1 to our mind1 of the existence of this law of life1 we instance the case of the mango-tree growing in the ,west ,india ,islands1 especially along the sea-shore1 where it becomes the natural habitat of the oyster4 ,it is the belief of some ignorant persons that the oyster climbs these trees and deposits its spawn or spat upon the extreme limbs of the same as they bend down toward the water4 ,this is manifestly an error1 and belongs to the same class of fallacies as the common impression that toads rain down from the sky4 ,the smaller mango-trees growing about the bays and inlets of these islands1 furnish1 as we have said1 a natural habitat for the oyster1 and as the salt sea-spray washes their roots and the bark of their trunks1 the long thin-shelled oysters of that region make their appearance thereon without the presence of spawn1 just as they do when old oyster-shells are dumped along our sand-banks in ,new ,england4 ,on these dumped shells oysters will be produced abundantly1 simply because the conditions are favorable1 and not in consequence of the presence of spat4 ,oysters have little1 if any1 locomotive power1 and can no more climb the mango-tree than they can scale the cliffs of the ,azores4 ,the reason why they hang in pendent clusters from the extreme boughs of the mango in the ,west ,india ,islands is1 that these boughs are sprayed upon by the rippling waters1 and the environing conditions being favorable1 the indifferent oyster of that region makes its appearance4 ,there has been no migration of the oyster from one centre of origin to another1 any more than there has been a transference of the white whale from the arctic seas to the fiery equator4 ,every thing has its place in nature1 and comes with or without seed as natural laws determine4 ,during the last year ,i have gathered cedar trees that did not make their appearance till late in ,august and ,september1 long after the seed of the previous year had entirely disappeared1 and there was no more life in them than there is in acorns that have crossed the ,atlantic a dozen times in bulk4 ,and the late ,henry ,d4 ,thoreau1 in his ,excursions1 says that they will not stand one such shipment to ,europe1 and that every acorn that does not sprout by the end of ,november of the year it matures1 is hopelessly a dead acorn4 ,this is in harmony with our experience1 and we have no doubt of the correctness of his observations4 ,how absurd1 then1 to suppose that acorns can retain their vitality so as to germinate after years of out-door or other exposure4 ,the seeds of forest-trees that mature in ,may and ,june1 or the majority of them at least1 have to be planted in those months1 as all persons engaged in forest culture well know4 ,this is specially true of cedars and oaks1 as well as of elms and maples4 ,study the paleontological facts as given by ,prof4 ,frederick ,mc,coy1 of the ,university of ,melbourne1 in ,australia1 a gentleman highly distinguished for his learning and research4 ,he has explored portions of that continent as far down as the azoic rocks1 and made many important discoveries as to the past life of the globe4 ,his researches have been especially rich in the ,cambrian or ,lower ,silurian epochs1 and have led to many modifications in the classification of the various forms of life pervading those earlier periods1 and we may say that the facts he has brought to light tend strongly to show the correctness of our theory as taken from the biblical text2 as1 for instance1 the ,trilobites1 occurring so abundantly in what is known as the ,utica slates4 ,wherever the slates make their appearance1 whether in ,australia1 ,america1 or any portion of ,europe1 this fossil1 characteristic of the ,silurian and ,devonian systems1 appeared1 not so much in time and place as in extended localities and conditions--indicating the presence of a law of life such as we have enunciated4 ,we once inquired of the elder ,prof4 ,silliman how long it took for the formation of one of these periods or systems8 ,his reply was curt and pertinent3 ,it took long enough1 young man6 ,that satisfied us at the time1 and we have never asked the question since4 ,it is prying beyond scientific depth1 and the ablest scholars in the world will so regard it in the end4 ,all fossils follow the same developmental law1 and seem to have been governed by corresponding conditions everywhere4 ,the doctrine of similia similibus gignuntur--similar conditions producing similar forms--obtains universally4 ,the ,graptolites1 occurring in the bituminous shales of the ,silurian sandstone period1 afford only another instance of the same law to which we have called the attention of our readers4 ,in fact1 the annals of natural history abound in the most conclusive proofs1 as well in the fossilized as the living world1 of what the paramount text of the ,bible teaches us4 ,when ,professor ,ehrenberg1 one of the most distinguished classifiers of minute forms of life in the world1 declared1 as he recently did before the ,royal ,geographical ,society of ,london1 that there was a great invisible rock-and earth-forming life in nature1 he came pretty near enunciating a great truth in science2 and had he connected his language with the induction of environing conditions and the sequence of life therefrom1 he would have accomplished what we undertook to do in our work begun several years ago1 but not completed and published until #ahhj4 ,for it will be seen that we had been gathering the material for ,life3 ,its ,true ,genesis for many years before we sat down to the task of writing it4 ,when we said to one of our most intimate college friends that we were less than six months preparing it for the press1 we stated what was literally true2 but we had no intention of giving him to understand that we had spent only that time in gathering the vast amount of material at our command--twenty times as much as we could possibly use in the preparation of such a volume for the press4 ,the long months and even years of toil and study spent by us in the needful preparation1 were a part of the labor1 as every author1 writing intelligently on any subject1 knows4 ,the immense amount of care and labor that enabled ,hermann von ,meyer to prepare his paper on the ,archopterix1 rescued from the lithographic slate1 is a case in point1 as showing how small apparently the labor of accomplishing a great work for science4 ,the time devoted to preparing the paper was trifling as compared with the result of his achievement4 ,and so with every one who enters the temple of science with a devout wish to attain success4 ,it will be apparent to the religious mind of this country and ,england1 if not to that of ,mr4 ,tyndall himself1 that1 if the exegetical rendering we have extended to the ,bible be correct1 there is no necessity whatever for the vast uncomputed periods of time intervening the different geological strata1 to which that scientific gentleman refers in his fanciful musings upon the ,matterhorn6 ,nor is there any such necessity for it1 if what ,professor ,ehrenberg says be true in regard to the basaltic rocks thrown up by volcanic action in the ,island of ,st4 ,paul4 ,for if these rocks possess this mysterious power of life1 ,he who made them manifestly imparted it4 ,one thing is certain1 at least1 the rocks did not make themselves2 nor did they impart to themselves any life-originating power after they were made4 ,the same power that originated them originated all their characteristic properties1 and the same may be said of ,professor ,tyndall's sky-mist or any other mistier name suggested by scientific men4 ,we have only to take the ,thesaurus of the ,silurian period1 and connect it with the induction of the biblical text1 and we shall see that the forms characteristic of that period appeared not only synchronously in time and space1 but also in physical conditions1 and consequently1 that no immense epochs were expended in the propagation1 of species on the two-pair theory of our materialistic friends4 ,they simply flourished over vast areas for a while1 and were then locked up as fossils where they are now found4 ,how long it took for this transformation to take place is manifestly beyond any data we may now have for determining4 ,in the case of some artificial baths in which crystalline forms appear1 we know that it takes only a few weeks at least1 and why should natural processes be any more delinquent or defective in their operation than those that are purely artificial8 ,remember that we are not musing on the ,matterhorn as was the gifted ,english naturalist1 but upon the text of the equally gifted ,isaiah1 and pondering the works of ,god as seen by the devout prophet in his day4 ,when ,mr4 ,tyndall can tell us how long it took ,god to lift the towering ,matterhorn from its base1 he will be in a frame of mind to answer the other problems involved in the controversy between us4 ,in an instant--the twinkling of an eye--some of these phenomena have occurred1 and recent events1 such as wide volcanic disturbances1 show how idle it is for man to place a limit to the power of the ,most ,high4 ,even the red snow1 unmistakably a vegetal formation1 appearing at times on the loftier ,alps1 is as much a proof of ,god's power as the ragged mountain peaks on which it appears--covering vast areas within a few hours' time4 ,when such men as the late ,professor ,silliman1 and ,professor ,dana1 ,sen'r1 of ,yale ,college1 take up the ,bible genesis1 and speak in high commendation of its value to science1 it is idle for the ,agnostics of that or any other institution of learning to speak sneeringly of their efforts4 ,they both know 7for the elder ,benjamin ,silliman still lives7 that the first command of this genesis was1 for the earth to bring forth its vegetation1 not from seed distinctively so-called1 but from the germinal principles of life therein2 what ,ehrenberg calls the rock-and earth-forming life or power of life in matter4 ,that the second command was1 for the waters of the earth to bring forth their specific forms of life1 including the birds2 just where science now asserts they originally came from4 ,and that the third command was1 for the earth to bring forth the beasts thereof1 and every creeping thing thereon4 ,here the rock-and earth-forming power of life ceased1 and the language of the genesis changes4 ,it is no longer ,let the earth bring forth1 but let the ,divine energy intervene6 ,let us 7the divine ,trinity in ,unity7 make man in our own image--after our own conception of what he should be--the being of two worlds1 the material and spiritual2 and man was made accordingly4 ,god breathed into his nostrils the breath of life1 and he became a living soul4 ,this is the record--brief1 grand1 historic4 ,no evolution1 no involution1 no word without sense or meaning4 ,he who was to have dominion1 in his limited sphere1 over all the earth1 thus came in due time for a wiser and grander purpose than man has yet seen2 but which1 in the providence of ,god and the light of ,his word1 he will yet come to see1 as scientific truth advances with the march of religious knowledge4 ,heaven speed the day when this millennium of truth shall dawn upon us here6 ,in this remarkable genesis we have a bridge that spans the chasm between the man and the anthropoid ape as no other bridge spans it4 ,it is a bridge over which is flung the living garment of ,god1 and angelic hosts may pass it to and fro1 as well as the master-minds of our own and future ages4 ,it takes man out of the category of a beast of the earth1 and places him where all soul-aspiration lifts us--lifts even ,robert ,g4 ,ingersoll1 in his higher inspirational moods1 or will lift him when his extreme material dogmatisms and false teachings desert him1 as we trust they some day will4 ,let him read the ,student1 by ,bulwer1 and he will learn how narrowly ,voltaire escaped becoming a ,reformer in the ,church of ,england1 instead of the violent antagonist he was of the corrupt ,church of ,rome in ,france4 ,we do not make ourselves2 it is the environing circumstances and conditions in which we are placed which oftentimes determine our career for good or for evil4 ,we had proposed embodying in this ,preface one or two caustic reviews of our late work1 from an ,agnostic source1 but have been deterred from so doing1 for the reason that we deem it in bad taste as well as irrelevant at this late day4 ,we shall be pardoned1 however1 in alluding to ,the ,national ,quarterly ,review1 for the captious manner in which it treated us after we had courteously replied to several inquiries made of us in its two- or three-page review4 ,after complaining that we had been hailed1 by a class of callow religious critics1 as a ',savior' from scientific error and enormities1 it charged us with certain unscrupulous methods of criticism1--such as putting language into ,mr4 ,darwin's mouth that he never thought of uttering1 etc41 etc4 ,and as this pretentious ,quarterly put several questions to us1 such as ,when and where the great ,evolutionist had taught any such doctrine as this8 we ventured to reply as courteously as we knew how4 ,we endeavored to treat our reviewer fairly1 as he had handsomely accorded to us the credit of searching the fields of natural science1 lance in hand1 to deal hard thrusts at impious skeptics1 materialists1 and evolutionists--of which ,mr4 ,darwin and ,mr4 ,bastian fare the most severely4 ,but we had no thought of using these offensive adjectives toward either of the distinguished gentlemen named1 and did not so use them2 however unscrupulous our methods may have been in other respects4 ,our reply was unnoticed by the bulky ,quarterly1 and we were content with knowing that it was received by its editor1 and shared the fate of all intrusive communications which it is easier to throw into the waste-basket1 especially in hot weather1 than to answer in the interests of science1 when such answers are difficult to be made4 ,this was the first and only discussion we attempted to provoke with our exhaustive ,reviewers1 and it will1 in all probability1 be the last4 ,little is gained by these polemical controversies1 when conducted in the spirit of unfairness1 or with greater asperity than the true interests of journalism demand4 ,the beauty of its kindly advice to us1 as a scientific critic1 was that every word of it came back1 as a cruel boomerang1 into the writer's own face4 ,but this is enough4 ,for the last three years we have been mostly engaged in writing another book1 the character of which is already sufficiently indicated in this ,preface4 ,the reasons why we have been led to adhere to our original purpose of making this a ,bible ,genesis1 as ,the ,national ,quarterly ,review speaks of it1 are best known to our more intimate friends1 and we do not propose to disappoint them in their expectations4 ,if we have failed to make our theory understood by others1 we regret it2 if others fail to understand the inspired text1 it is manifestly a matter for them to regret1 and for us to deplore4 ,to those who have spoken kindly of ,life3 ,its ,true ,genesis1 we return our thanks3 to those who have extended to it their sharpest criticisms1 in what they believe the true interests of science1 we also return our thanks4 ,we have no fear that ,truth will be crushed in this contest3 ,truth crushed to earth shall heavenward rise again1 ,like wayside flowers that lift their heads1 aglow ,with a far sweeter fragrance when they've been ,all rudely trampled on by hostile foe1 ,than when in ,flora's gentle arms they've lain ,the long night through1 and wake at early dawn ,to greet ,aurora--jewelled queen of morn6 ,r4 ,w4 ,wright4 ,west ,cheshier1 ,conn41 ,oct4 #ab1 #ahhc4 ,prefatory4 ,the office of a preface is twofold2 first1 to introduce the author to the public2 second1 to introduce his work4 ,as the writer seeks no personal introduction1 beyond what a favorable or unfavorable reception of his work may give him1 he leaves the more formal1 if not formidable branch of salutation untouched4 ,the work has cost him some labor1 as the reader will see4 ,the field he has traversed is vast and varied1 and the facts he has gathered are numerous and from many and diversified sources--all bearing more or less conclusively on the one vital point he seeks to establish1 viz3 ,that the primordial germs 7meaning germinal principles of life7 of all living things1 man alone excepted1 are in themselves upon the earth1 and that they severally make their appearance1 each after its kind1 whenever and wherever the necessary environing conditions exist4 ,the foundation of this emphatic formula we find in the ,bible ,genesis1 in the words given on our title-page1 which are more accurately translated in the ,septuagint1 than in our common ,english version of the ,old ,testament4 ,the words are to be found in the #aath verse of the first chapter of ,genesis1 and the writer confidently believes that they contain the true ,genesis of ,life1 although entirely overlooked1 heretofore1 by both the biblical and scientific scholar4 ,in the work which he here gives to the public1 he will endeavor to show that all the vital phenomena of our globe1 with the single exception named1 find their complete explication in this ,genesis of ,life2 and that we have only to take the scientific ,genesis out of some of its more imposing categories1 to make the two either entirely harmonize1 or fall into the same lines of incidence in human thought4 ,science has long taught that the absence of necessary physiological conditions results everywhere in the disappearance of vital phenomena2 by reversing its logical methods1 it will also find that the presence of these necessary conditions results everywhere in the appearance of vital phenomena4 ,take1 for instance1 the vegetation of ,northern ,europe1 where it is known that the oak succeeded the pine1 and the beech the oak1 after each had held possession of the soil for we know not how many thousand years4 ,in bringing about the necessary conditions of soil1 the pine paved the way for the oak1 and that in turn paved the way for the beech4 ,neither sprang from the other1 nor did the selection of the fittest have anything to do with the appearance or disappearance of either4 ,each yielded fruit after his kind1 whose seed 7germinal principle of life7 was in itself1 i4e41 after its own kind1 upon the earth1 and made its appearance spontaneously1--that is1 without the presence of natural seed1--whenever the necessary environing conditions favored4 ,and the same law of vegetal propagation is everywhere operative to-day1 in the alternations of forest growths1 the spontaneous appearance of oak forests where pine have been cleared away1 and vice versa1 in some parts of the country1 where heavy forests of oak timber have been felled4 ,so with the new growths of timber springing up in the paths of tornadoes1 over large burnt districts1 in soils brought up from below the last glacial drift1 and in hundreds of other instances which the reader will find conclusively verified in these pages1--all making their appearance without the possible intervention of natural seeds4 ,the great value of the ,septuagint1 as compared with other versions of the ,hebrew ,bible1 will appear from the fact that it is older by many hundred years than any manuscript copy of the ,hebrew text now extant4 ,it was undoubtedly translated at ,alexandria1 in ,egypt1 as early as the third century before ,christ1 while the oldest known ,hebrew ,,ms4 is a ,pentateuch roll dating no further back than ,a4 ,d4 #ehj4 ,its translators had before them much older and more perfect ,,mss4 than any that survived to the time of the masoretic recension1 when an attempt was made to give uniformity to the readings and renderings of the ,hebrew text by means of the vowel points1 diacritical signs1 terminal letters1 etc41 all of which are now subject to rejection by the best ,oriental scholarship4 ,according to ,irenus1 this ,greek version was rendered at the request of ,ptolemy ,lagi1 in order to add to the treasures of the ,alexandrian library1 and it no doubt derived its name from the number of ,hebrew and ,hellenistic scholars1--probably the most eminent to be found in that day1--employed upon the work4 ,the version comes1 therefore1 with paramount authority to our own times2 and we accept its ,greek rendering as the highest and most conclusive evidence of the authenticity of the text1 and the new genesis of life we derive therefrom4 7as contained in the ,septuagint7 has almost an identical signification with the ,hebrew word ,,zra4 ,it means the germ of anything1 or the germinal principle of life1 as contained in anything that lives or grows4 ,no one will claim that it is used in its literal sense of seed1 in the text4 ,for1 when the divine command was issued1 there was no plant or tree1 and1 presumably1 had been none upon the earth from which seed could have been derived4 ,the word was used in its larger and more comprehensive 7that is1 metaphorical7 sense1 as the germinal principle of life in matter1 or precisely in the sense in which the ,greek stoics used it in their philosophy4 ,both ,theophrastus and ,diogenes use the terms expressing the laws of generation contained in matter--precisely the meaning we attach to it in its textual connection4 ,the eleventh verse should read1 therefore1 as follows3 ,let the earth bring forth grass1 the herb yielding seed1 and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind1 whose germinal principle of life1 each in itself after its kind1 is upon the earth ,we accept this rendering of the seventy1 because they had the most complete and perfect ,hebrew ,,mss4 before them1 and were no doubt better scholars1 and far more competent renderers of the original text than the ,masorites who came some seven or eight hundred years after them4 ,but this is not the most important point of inquiry in this connection4 ,the materialistic objector may say3 ,admit all this2 grant that the true rendering is here given2 grant even that the true law of vegetal development and growth is here enunciated2 what has 'star-eyed science' to do with the 'odium theologicum8' ,we answer1 nothing4 ,we would bury both theological rancor and atheistical pretension in the same barrow1 and agree never to peep and botanize over their common grave4 ,but if a great scientific principle--one that fits into all the phenomenal facts of nature--explains them all1 and is1 in turn1 explained by them--be found in the ,hebrew ,hagiographa1 of what less value is it to science than if it had been originally enunciated by ,aristotle or ,plato8 ,or--to make the inquiry still sharper and more emphatic--of what less value is it to science than if it had originally come from ,professor ,tyndall or ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer8 ,take the biblical genesis as we have enunciated and explained it--with all the facts crowded into these explanatory pages--and science has no longer any genetic mystery to brood over1 further than that every operation of nature is a mystery into which it is useless for scientific speculation to pry4 ,we know what nature does1 or may know it by the proper scrutiny1 but we shall never know the causes of things1 any more than we shall find ,god at the bottom of ,herbert ,spencer's crucible1 or at the top of his ladder of synthesis4 ,in the light of the ,bible genesis1 science can account for the origin of the stalwart oak or the lordly pine1 without going back to any mycological or cryptogamic forms1 to follow down an ever-changing vital plexus that is as likely to land in a buttonwood tree as an oak1 or in a hemlock as a pine1--in fact1 quite as likely to land in a carnivorous animal as in an insectivorous plant4 ,let the earth bring forth1 is still the eternal fiat1--just as implicitly obeyed to-day as it was in the world's primeval history1 when an exuberance of endogenous vegetation laid the foundation of the coal measures4 ,it requires no greater effort on the part of nature to produce the pine1 the oak1 the beech1 the hickory--all of which we see springing directly from primordial germs to-day--than it did to produce the lowest vegetal organism1 from an invisible1 indestructible vital unit1 or ,darwinian gemmule1 thousands of years ago4 ,he who is the same yesterday1 to-day1 and forever1 and in whose sight a thousand years are but as yesterday1 knows no such law of variability as our materialistic friends have been spinning for us in their unverified theories of evolution1 natural selection1 selection of the fittest1 rejection of the unfit--force-correlations1 molecular machinery1 transmutation of physical forces1 differentiation1 dynamical aggregates1 molcules organiques1 potentiated sky-mist1 undifferentiated life-stuff1 and other hylotheistic and purely hypothetical formul1 with which the average mind has been well-nigh crazed for the last fifteen or twenty years4 ,believing that the time has come to call for a halt in scientific speculations1 and a return to the phenomenal facts of nature as the true and only basis on which to formulate the immutable laws of life1 matter1 motion1 etc41 the writer submits this volume with trustful confidence to the public4 #a ,r4 ,w4 ,wright4 ,west ,cheshire1 ,conn4 ,true ,genesis4 ,chapter ,i4 ,introductory4 ,it is undeniably true that the progress of scientific thought and speculative inquiry1 both in this country and in ,europe1 is rapidly tending towards a purely materialistic view of the universe1 or one that utterly excludes the ancient and long-predominating metaphysical conceptions of ,life1 to say nothing of the more regnant and universally prevailing conception of a ,god4 ,and it is quite as undeniable that the current of experimental research and investigation is setting1 with equal rapidity1 in the same direction4 ,according to the views of many of our more advanced chemists1 physiologists1 and other scientific and speculative writers and thinkers--those whose experimental investigations have1 it is claimed1 reached the ultimate implications of all material substance--there are but two immutable1 indestructible1 and thoroughly persistent elements in the universe--,matter and ,motion4 ,everything else1 they confidently assert1 is either purely phenomenal1 or else essentially mutable1 ephemeral1 transitory4 ,force1 according to their theory1 is only another name for motion or its correlates1 and1 hence1 the two terms are interchangeably used by them in predicating their ultimate conclusions respecting matter4 ,light1 heat1 electricity1 magnetism1 chemical affinity1 molecular force1 and even life itself1 are only so many manifestations or expressions1 they claim1 of one and the same force in the universe--,motion1 ,with the exception of matter1 it is the only self-persistent1 permanently enduring1 ever active and reactive agency4 ,light1 they say1 is dependent1 heat conditional1 electricity and magnetism more or less phenomenal1 chemical affinity and molecular force mere modes or correlated forms of motion1 and all-pervading life itself a mere postulate of the schools1 or at best only the result of the dynamic force of molecules4 ,deem not this collocation simply a burlesque on ,scientific categories4 ,professor ,bastian1 in his great work on the ,beginnings of ,life1 has unhesitatingly said3 ,the 'vitalists' must give up their last stronghold--we cannot even grant them a right to assume the existence of a special 'vital force' whose peculiar office it is to effect the transformation of physical forces4 ,the notion that such a force does exist1 is based on no evidence2 it is a mere postulate4 ,the assumption of its existence carries with it nothing but confusion and contradiction1 because the very supposition that it exists1 and does so act1 is totally averse to the general doctrine of the correlation of forces4 ,and this defiant challenger of the vitalists1 who thus half-sneeringly speaks of those who believe that the vital forces of the universe are among the highest potential factors expressed therein1 is one who1 for the last decade and a half1 has mostly lived in the ephemeromorphic world1 and who1 in diving into the beginnings of life1 has so far lost his way that the all-glorious end of it is as much an inexplicable mystery to him now1 as when he was more successfully expounding pathological anatomy and ruthlessly hacking away at anatomical subjects over the dissecting-slab of the ,london ,university ,college4 ,had he spent less time over this dissecting-slab1 and more in studying the marvellous manifestations of life in its outspoken beauty of leaf1 bud1 flower1 fruit--things of not mere guess and fancy--he would undoubtedly have had a higher appreciation of what is most vital in nature1 and less of what is simply material in a non-functional sense4 ,with ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 he gratuitously sneers at the old specific-creation hypothesis1 or the divine fiat in the beginning2 but without that fiat1 where would he find his ephemeromorphs8 or even the dead tissues used in his organic infusions for the vainest of all human endeavors--that of producing life1 or seeking to produce it1 de novo8 ,he is so immeasurably disgusted with the vitalists that he hardly allows himself to speak of life or even use the term vital as applied to its simplest manifestations1 without quotationizing them as terms to provoke both incredulity and derision4 ,the world may1 however1 overlook much of this in him1 in view of his past professional pursuits1 as well as in consideration of his eminent services as a specialist in science4 ,the dissecting-room of a university is not the most desirable place in the world for profoundly studying the vital forces of nature4 ,it is too grim and ghastly a repository of dead men's skulls1 and holes where eyes did once inhabit1 in which to regard life's enchanting cup as one sparkling to the brim4 ,detaching a muscle here1 and laying bare another there2 taking out a sightless eye in one subject1 and putting the dissecting-knife deep into the pulseless heart of another2 cutting the fragments of a human body into shreds and tatters over one dissecting-slab1 and loading down another with splintered bones and mangled hands and limbs1 is not exactly the sort of occupation to enkindle the highest enthusiasm for life1 in any of its more manifold phases in nature4 ,too many lifeless notions get crammed into the head--to say nothing of baffled endeavor in the pursuit--to admit of the more conclusive and satisfactory inductions respecting living organisms4 ,but why should an assumption of the existence of life carry with it any greater confusion and contradiction1 than a like assumption respecting either matter or motion8 ,simply because the materialists insist1 in their logical inductions1 upon so distributing the terms of their syllogism that only a negative conclusion shall follow4 ,matter and motion1 they say1 are alone indestructible4 ,life is neither matter nor motion1 ,therefore3 ,life is not indestructible4 ,this syllogism is manifestly unanswerable1 if there be no fallacy in the distribution of its major and minor terms4 ,but wherein lies the incompatibility of reversing the order of its terms1 so as to prove that neither matter nor motion is indestructible8 ,and would such a judgment1 thus derived1 be any more spurious1 the process of reasoning any more illicit1 or the conclusion any less unanswerable8 ,we might as well say that neither matter nor motion is an absolute entity in the universe1 without some apprehensive intelligence1 or rational intuition therein1 to embrace them as distinct concepts or objects of thought2 nor can either have the least conceivable attribute without some co-existing intelligence to ascribe it4 ,for to ascribe an attribute1 is to conceive or think of such attribute4 ,and as our general conceptions are conceded to be realities1 even by the materialists themselves1 it necessarily follows that this conscious ego--this thing that conceives1 thinks1 ascribes attributes--is either co-existent with matter1 or else antedates it in the order of existence4 ,and here--at this identical point in the argument--we are irresistibly forced back1 in our inductive processes1 to the theological conception of a ,god--the one supreme ,ego of the universe--from whom alone all our intuitions of consciousness1 as well as apprehensive intelligence1 is derived4 ,we can no more get rid of these inductive processes than we can change the order of nature or reverse the inevitable laws of thought4 ,hence1 we are constantly driven to formulate the following1 or some equivalent inductions3-- #a4 ,cause must exist before effect4 #b4 ,without some vital principle1 therefore1 prexisting as a cause1 there can be no life-manifestation4 #c4 ,but there can be no life-manifestation without organic structure4 #d4 ,the reverse of this proposition is also true4 #e4 ,which1 therefore1 precedes the other as a cause1 and which follows as an effect8 #f4 ,nothing can organize itself4 ,to do so1 it must contain within itself both the operating cause and the resulting effect1 which is at once an incongruent and conflictive judgment4 #g4 ,but the thing that organizes must exist before the thing organized1 whether it be a vital principle or an intelligent agency4 #h4 ,hence ,life1 either as a prexisting cause or vital agency1 must precede both animal and vegetal organism4 ,again3-- #i4 ,cause is that which operates to produce an effect1 as effect is that which is produced by an operating cause4 #aj4 ,but whatever operates to produce a life-manifestation must precede it as an operating cause4 #aa4 ,life1 therefore1 whether as a blind or intelligent force or agency1 must precede its own manifestation2 that is1 must exist as an operating cause before there is any produced effect4 #ab4 ,and this is true both as regards physical and moral effects4 #ac4 ,our intuitions1 as the final arbiters of judgment1 demand this or some equivalent order as the only one embraced in a logical praxis4 ,and since there can be no sound without an ear to appreciate it1 so there be can no matter without an existing ego1 in some state of consciousness in the universe1 to apprehend it--to ascribe to it attributes4#b ,on what1 therefore1 are we to predicate the existence of either matter or motion1 except it be these intuitions of consciousness whose validity1 so far as we have any knowledge whatever on the subject1 rests exclusively on that breath of life1 which was breathed into man when he became a living soul8 ,but if our intuitions are not realities1 then nothing is a reality4 ,all is as unsubstantial1 as vague and shadowy1 as ,coleridge's image of a rock1 or ,bishop ,berkeley's ghost of a departed quantity1 as he once defined a fluxion4 ,we may1 therefore1 retort upon ,professor ,bastian3--,the materialists1 must give up their last stronghold--we cannot even grant them a right to assume the existence of either matter or motion1 since both manifestly depend1 for their slightest manifestation1 upon the more potent agency of vital force1 as expressed in thought1 volition1 and consciousness--that triumvirate of the intellectual faculties without which neither matter nor motion could have so much as a hypothetical existence4 ,the great trouble with ,professor ,bastian1 as with ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 is that he advances a purely materialistic hypothesis1 and then goes to work1 with his quantitative and conditional restrictions1 to eliminate all vital force from the universe4 ,as he has been no more successful in finding ,god--the ,infinite source of all life--at the point of his dissecting-knife1 than has the speculative chemist at the bottom of his crucible1 or ,mr4 ,spencer at the top of his ladder of synthesis1 he resolutely grapples with logic1 as a last resort1 and as remorselessly syllogizes ,god out of the universe as he would a mythological demon infecting the atmosphere of his dissecting-room4 ,in the same way1 he successfully syllogizes all life out of existence3 although1 in the very act of constructing his syllogism1 he demonstrates its existence as conclusively as that matter and motion are objective realities in the world of mind and matter which is about him4 ,he fails to see1 however1 that the thing which demonstrates must necessarily precede the thing demonstrated1 as life must necessarily precede its manifestation4 ,in admitting the existence of vital manifestation1 therefore1 he virtually admits an antecedent vital principle1 lying back of an effect as a cause1 which must exclude anything like a contradictory judgment1 so long as the laws of the human mind1 in respect to logical antecedents and consequents1 remain as they are4 ,whatever may be the alleged inaccuracies of the ,bible ,genesis or the disputes heretofore indulged in respecting the ,hagiographa1 or sacred writings of the ,jews1 it will hardly be denied by the ,biblical scholar that some of the most important discoveries in modern science1 especially in the direction of astronomy1 as well as in geological research and inquiry1 confirm rather than throw doubt upon their more explicit utterances4 ,this has been so marked a feature in the controversy1 that whenever scientific speculation has thrown down any fresh gage of battle1 as against the validity of these sacred writings1 the advocates of the latter have only had to take it up to dispel the mists of controversy and achieve a more conclusive triumph than ever4 ,for the truth of this statement it is only necessary for us to instance a few of the more important facts contained in the ,bible ,genesis4 ,and should it be found that the writer of this volume has discovered1 in a long overlooked1 much neglected1 and inaccurately translated passage of this ,genesis1 a key that unlocks the whole mystery of life1 as the great battle is now waging between the materialists and vitalists of this country and ,europe1 it will most conclusively establish the point we shall here make--that in no equally limited compass1 in ancient or modern manuscript or published volume1 since the first dawn of letters to the present time1 are there to be found so many conclusively established facts of genuine scientific value as in the first chapter of ,genesis4 ,in dispelling the mists of prejudice1 and possibly of doubtful translation1 let us look this genesis squarely in the face3-- #a4 ,take the statement that in the beginning the earth was without form and void1 and darkness rested upon the face of the depths4 ,here is not only no conflict with science1 but the great suggestive fact which led ,laplace to construct his ,nebular ,hypothesis1 or that magnificent system of world-structures which regards the universe as originally consisting of uniformly diffused matter filling all space1 and hence without form and void1 but which subsequently became aggregated by gravitation into an infinite number of sun-systems1 occupying inconceivably vast areas in space4 #b4 ,nor can science well afford to cavil at that other most important suggestive statement that the spirit of ,god--the great formative force of the universe--moved upon the face of the depths1 after which the evening and the morning were the first day1 that is1 the first distinctive epoch in the order of creation4 ,when materialistic science shall define gravitation--the supposed aggregating force of infinitely diffused matter in space--so as to make it a distinct and separate factor in the universe from the spirit of ,god1--that spirit which was breathed into man when he became a living soul1 and which1 we are told1 upholds the order of the heavens1 then its devotees may sneer at the ,bible ,genesis1 and the logical deductions to be drawn therefrom4 #c4 ,again1 science can have no conflict with the ,bible ,genesis1 except in the most hypercritical way1 in the affirmative statement that ,god set two great lights in the firmament1 the one to rule the day and the other to rule the night2 and that he made the stars also4 ,for it is nowhere stated that the greater light was not made to perform a similar office for each of the other planets of our system1 or that it was not set in the firmament to adorn the skies of other and far-distant worlds1 as bright ,arcturus1 fairest of the stars1 adorns our own4 #d4 ,nor can materialistic science dispute the more explicitly revealed fact1 that the order of creation1 so far at least as animal and vegetable life are concerned1 is precisely that to be found in geological distribution1 or as unerringly recorded in the lithographic pages of nature4 ,and yet nothing was known of these pages--not a leaf had been turned back--at the time the ,bible ,genesis was written4 ,so that1 whoever was its author1 this precise order of distribution could only have been guessed at1 setting aside its inspirational claims1 by the writer of this most remarkable genesis4 #e4 ,and again1 science can have no successful conflict--certainly none in which she will ultimately come off victor--in reference to the equally explicit statement that every living thing1 and every living creature1 either yields seed1 bears fruit1 or brings forth issue1 after his kind1 and distinctively none other4 ,for this would seem to be the one inflexible law governing all living organisms1 from which there can be no divergence in any such sense as the scientific genesis1 pretentiously so called1 would authoritatively indicate4 ,no increase in variety1 which ,mr4 ,spencer regards as the essential characteristic of all progress1 will ever enable us to gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles4 #f4 ,nor will materialistic science ever succeed in overthrowing the ,bible theory herein advanced1 that the germs of all living things1 man only excepted1 are in themselves 7that is1 each after its kind7 upon the earth1 and that they severally make their appearance whenever the necessary environing conditions occur4 ,this most remarkable statement of the ,bible genesis will be found to fit into all the vital phenomena occurring upon our globe1 explaining the appearance of infusoria1 all mycological and cryptogamic forms1 as well as all vegetal and animal organisms4 ,all these come from the earth wherein there is life1 and hence the divine command for the earth to bring forth every living thing 7except man7 after his kind4 ,but let us embrace1 in the proper antithetical summary of statements1 some of the more distinctive points of antagonism between the ,bible genesis and that of materialistic science3-- ,,the ,,bible ,,genesis4 #a4 ,the ,bible ,genesis presents the theological conception of a ,god1 or an ,infinite ,intelligence in the universe1 with whom1 as personified1 there is no variableness1 neither shadow of turning4 #b4 ,the ,bible ,genesis represents every living thing as perfect of its kind1 which the earth was commanded to bring forth from seed or germs1 declared to be in themselves upon the earth4 #c4 ,the ,bible ,genesis represents ,god as causing to grow1 out of the ground1 every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food1 also every plant of the field before it was in the earth1 and every herb of the field before it grew4 #d4 ,the ,bible ,genesis represents ,god as causing the waters of the earth to bring forth abundantly great whales and every living creature that moveth therein1 and every winged fowl that flieth above the earth in the open firmament of heaven4 #e4 ,the ,bible ,genesis represents ,god as causing the earth to bring forth every living creature after his kind1 enumerating them in the order in which they appear in geological distribution4 #f4 ,the ,bible ,genesis represents ,god as making man in his own image1 after he had commanded the waters and the earth to bring forth abundantly of every other living creature4 #g4 ,the ,bible ,genesis represents ,god as breathing into man the breath of life1 and he became a living soul1 #h4 ,the ,bible ,genesis represents ,god as creating the earth for the abode of man--giving him dominion over the fish of the sea1 the fowl of the air1 the beasts of the earth1 and of every living thing that creepeth upon the face of the earth4 #i4 ,the ,bible genesis represents ,god as exercising a moral government over man1 to the exclusion of every other living creature4 #aj4 ,in fine1 the ,bible ,genesis represents man as only a little lower than the angels4 ,,the ,,scientific ,,genesis4 #a4 ,the ,scientific genesis virtually eliminates the idea of a ,god from the universe1 by assigning to natural causes all the diversified and myriad-formed phases and changes that have taken place therein1 extending through an infinite duration of past time1 and constantly confronted by an infinite duration of time to come4 #b4 ,the ,scientific ,genesis represents every living thing as more or less imperfect of its kind1 but advancing towards perfection by some underlying law of variability or selection of the fittest1 or by gradual development from lower into higher organisms4 #c4 ,the ,scientific ,genesis emphatically repudiates the idea of any divine agency in the growth of plants and trees1 and insists that life1 in all its manifold phases1 is only an undiscovered correlative of motion1 or1 at best1 only a sort of tertium quid between matter and motion4 #d4 ,the ,scientific ,genesis represents all fishes1 amphibia1 reptiles1 birds1 etc41 as travelling along their respective lines of developmental progress and differentiation1 from points far back in geologic time1 and constantly working their way up from cold and flabby creatures into those of higher cerebral activity1 and brighter and more varied life1 until gigantic winged reptiles mounted into the air and became birds4 #e4 ,the ,scientific ,genesis attributes the appearance of every living creature upon the earth to a law of evolution1 by which one thing constantly overlaps another1 forming a sort of stairway for lower organisms to climb into higher1 without regard to kind1 or even orders1 genera1 or species4 #f4 ,the ,scientific ,genesis distinctly takes issue with that of the ,bible respecting the divine origin of man1 and insists that he has been climbing up from protoplasmic matter1 through a thousand other and lower organisms1 until he finally leaped from an anthropoid ape into man4 #g4 ,the ,scientific ,genesis emphatically repudiates the idea of a soul as thus derived1 and even insists that conscience1 the highest known moral factor in the universe1 is only a modified expression of the social instincts of the lower animals--the difference being in degree only1 not in kind4 #h4 ,the ,scientific ,genesis promptly takes issue with this creative plan and purpose--insisting1 in the dazzling speculations and fancies of its adherents1 that well known physical and physiological laws have worked out all these phenomenal aspects and changes1 and that these laws are wholly indifferent as to whether man shall have dominion over the shark and the tiger1 or they dominion over him4 #i4 ,the ,scientific ,genesis illogically insists that natural laws1--those expressing no sovereign will1 and having no seat in the bosom of ,god--are fully adequate for the government of man1 he exercising to that end all the higher powers with which1 by evolutional changes1 he has become endowed4 #aj4 ,while the ,scientific ,genesis represents him as only a little higher than the apes6 ,and yet no scientific authority has ever been claimed for these sacred ,hebrew writings4 ,they were simply designed as a rule of human faith and conduct1 ostensibly having the divine sanction1 and containing historical1 devotional1 didactic1 and prophetical writings1 to be read through1 at least once a year1 in the ,jewish synagogues4 ,but the most important of these antithetical statements1 so far at least as modern scientific research and inquiry are concerned1 is that which represents the germs of all living things--man alone excepted--as being implanted in the earth itself4 ,we take the definition of the ,hebrew word ,,zra1 translated seed in the #aath verse of the #ast chapter of ,genesis1 from ,professor ,edward ,leigh1 of ,magdalen ,hall1 ,oxford1 in his ,critica ,sacra1 first published in #affb3--,sparsit1 asparsit1 cum aspersione fudit1 diffudit1 etc1 that is1 something sown1 scattered1 universally diffused1 everywhere implanted1 as a germ in the earth4 ,that the ,hebrew word ,,zra4 does not mean1 in this connection1 the seed of a plant or tree1 is manifest from the fact that the first plant or tree1 from which seed could have been derived1 had not yet appeared upon the earth4 ,the exact translation is1 whose primordial germs are in themselves 7that is1 each after its kind7 upon the earth1 implanted therein1 as the diversa diversorum viventium primordia of ,dr4 ,william ,harvey1 were originally implanted in the earth4 ,this illustrious physician and biologist1 the discoverer of the circulation of the blood1 not only taught the doctrine expressed in his phrase omne vivum ex ovo1 but that of primordial germs--living indestructible principles of life--existing in the earth itself4 ,for it is evident that he uses the word egg1 in its more general sense1 as designating any material substance capable of receiving his primordium 7first principle of life7 and developing itself into a living organism4 ,the whole controversy1 as at present conducted by the materialists and vitalists1 resolves itself into this one question3--,whether life springs from what ,dr4 ,harvey calls a primordium1--a pre-existing vital germ or unit--or whether it originates de novo1 as the materialists assert1 from infusions contained in their experimental flasks1 or from plastide particles contained in protoplasmic matter1 or from the still more daring hypothesis of molecular machinery as worked by molecular force8 ,it is certain that the materialistic theory is quite as inexplicable1 on the basis of analogical reasoning and microscopical investigation1 as that indicated in the ,bible ,genesis2 while the vitalistic theory would seem to be more in harmony with vital phenomena1 and hence the more rational hypothesis of the two4 ,besides1 the ,bible ,genesis answers to the logical necessity of predicating a determinate cause for each and every vital effect1 or each living organism apparently springing from plasmic conditions or mere structureless matter4 ,whenever the seeds of plants or trees are actually planted or sown in the earth1 this logical necessity rests on an induction impregnably laid in cause and effect2 while the materialistic dogma1 nihil ex nihilo1 would necessitate a like induction wherever seed is not sown4 ,in either case the change that ensues is manifestly due to vital properties1 whether the same be inhering in the seed1 or in necessary environing conditions4 ,and the vital processes are the same1 with the single difference as to actual environment4 ,the germ in the seed is capable of assimilating1 by well-determined and thoroughly specialized processes1 the nutrient matter contained in its environment1 precisely as the primordial germ develops under its environing conditions4 ,from the moment they strike their rootlets into the ground1 the processes of development and growth are the same4 ,the only point1 however1 necessary to make in this connection1 is1 that when we go back to the first living organism of a species--its primordially developed form--we necessarily reach environing conditions within which there is no such thing as a germ-cell with an exterior environment corresponding to the testa of seeds1 or to any conceivable notion we may have of seeds themselves4 ,at this point--one not merely theoretical1 or speculatively possible only1 but absolutely fixed and determinable in our backward survey of the vital forces of nature--we find individual parentage lost in a natural matrix1 or in the vital principle implanted as a primordium1 in the earth itself4 ,to this inevitable induction of ,dr4 ,harvey we are all driven in the end1 by those intuitive processes of reasoning which are hardly less conclusive than mathematical induction itself4 ,we may call these primordia viventium plastide particles1 bioplasts1 vital units1 or whatsoever we will1--the name is nothing1 the working process is everything4 ,scientific speculation accomplishes nothing1 therefore1 by its new terminology1 except it be to confound the ignorant and astonish the wise4 ,to call the homogeneous basis of an egg blastima1 and its germinal point a blastid1 is all well enough in its way2 but it adds no new knowledge1 nor additional wealth of language1 wherewith to predicate vital theories1 whether they relate to the progeny of a hen-coop or the lair of a tiger in an ,indian jungle4 ,teach us to know what nature does1 not what she is2 and whatever of divine revelation is vouchsafed us1 whether it be found in the majestic ,poem of the ,dawn1 attributed to the inspired pen of ,moses1 in the myriad-minded ,shakespeare1 or the irradiated and deeply-prophetic soul of a ,shelley1 let us accept it with thanks1 if not to the inspired authors themselves1 at least to the great ,giver of life who imparted their inspiration4 ,we accept the theory of primordial germs1 not simply because it is contained in the ,bible ,genesis1 nor because it was conceived by the great and gifted ,harvey as a possible solution of the whole difficulty1 but because it presents1 as we have before said1 a satisfactory explanation of all the phenomenal facts of life with which we are acquainted4 ,if ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer will descend from his stilted theory of molecular machinery worked by molecular force1 and tell us what it all means2 and1 at the same time1 turn us out a single plastide particle1 or fungus spore1 by any generating process referable to the machinery in question1 we will as devoutly worship ,matter and ,motion as ever ancient ,egyptian did the god ,osiris4 ,but until he does this1 we prefer to accept the positive assurance of ,professor ,lionel ,s4 ,beale1 a far more competent authority to speak of hypothetical molecules1 that none of the forces possessed by the molecules of which the primitive nebulosity of the universe was composed ever produced a vital manifestation1 or succeeded in making life a slave to force4 ,we shall consider this question of molecular force in its proper place1 and with reference to the different theories of life advanced by the materialists1 without pursuing it further in this connection4 ,the evidence we shall present in reference to the alternations of forest growths1 and the impossibility of accounting for them on any theory of seed-distribution--alternations covering1 in many instances1 independent forests springing up on a vast scale--and the still wider dispersion of domestic weeds1 grasses1 forage plants1 etc4 in localities where they were never known before1 will be conclusive1 we think1 of the correctness of our position1 that the ,bible ,genesis contains the true key to the mystery of life4 ,bear in mind that the true theory of life1 whenever it shall be reached in human conception and formulated into definitely-known processes of action1 must satisfactorily explain all life-manifestations1 as ,newton's theory of gravitation accounts for the movements of all celestial bodies4 ,and the simpler the theory when once formulated--the more perfectly it falls into the grooves of definitely-expressed thought1 and the more harmoniously it adapts itself to all vital manifestations--the more conclusive must be the induction on which it rests4#c ,the emphatic statement that the primordial germs of all living things are in the earth1 from the lowest infusorial form to the highest vital organism below specifically-created man1 when supplemented by the scientific statement that vital units make their appearance whenever environing conditions favor1 is conclusively a theory which accounts for all the life-manifestations heretofore occurring upon our globe4 ,and this theory falls at once into the necessary categories of human thought4 ,life1 as generally defined1 is a state of organized being wherein there is functional activity2 while a state1 or status1 is an incidence determined by environing conditions4 ,but back of each of these--life and its status--there must lie some efficient cause1 producing1 in the first instance1 the environing conditions1 and then the functional activity dependent on organization4 ,to assume that this efficient cause is simply the effect or result of organization--one of its dependent conditions--is begging the whole question1 and1 at the same time1 discarding a very important element in the problem--that of conditional environment4 ,what this efficient cause is1 is a question that awakens no responsive inquiry4 ,it strikes its roots too deeply into the intuitions of consciousness for the soul to give back an intelligible reply4 ,certain it is that neither metaphysical speculation1 nor scientific inquiry1 will ever enable us to reach the roots of this question1 or extract from them the first quantitive essence of life itself4 ,we shall also consider1 in their proper place1 the various theories of life which have been advanced from time to time by the materialists1 in their avowed hostility to current religious beliefs1 and especially those founded on the sacred ,hebrew writings1 and the supplementary teachings of the ,new ,testament4 ,and to show the extent of this hostility1 and the real animus of those waging it1 it is only necessary to refer to the great central doctrine of the ,sacred ,scriptures1 that ,life--natural1 spiritual1 eternal--is the gift of ,god4 ,and this is the grand corner-stone of all religious edifices--those erected by the ,egyptians1 the ,assyrians1 the ,phoenicians1 the ,greeks1 and even the inhabitants of farther ,india4 ,materialistic science must1 therefore1 deal its first and most effective blows at ,life1 either as a theory to be resolutely assailed and overthrown1 or else thoroughly ignored and set aside1 in the more imposing and august temple of ,science4 ,hence1 the reader will find1 in none of the great encyclopedias prepared under the supervision of scientific men1 the slightest mention whatever of ,life as a subject worthy of consideration at their hands4 ,it finds1 of course1 its meagre definitional place in the dictionaries1 but the bulky and more exhaustive encyclopedias have no room for it1 except as it may be defined1 under some correlate of motion1 as the latent possibility of a nebula1 or of undifferentiated primeval mist1 originally pervading the interplanetary spaces4 ,we have no disposition to charge such materialists as ,professors ,tyndall1 ,bastian1 ,haeckel1 ,virchow1 and ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 with directing their experimental batteries against the phenomenal facts of life for the purpose of overthrowing the foundations of religious faith and belief in the world4 ,they are all eminent scientists1 and apparently earnest seekers after truth in the several directions in which their respective paths of investigation have been pursued4 ,but they manifestly array their opinions against the vitalists on the assumption that there is no scientific value whatever in the many and singularly diversified statements respecting life in both the ,old and ,new ,testaments4 ,and this1 it may be claimed1 is necessitated by the generally accepted dogma1 that science and religion are more or less hostile1 the former resting on the inexorable logic of facts only1 and the latter entirely on preconceived and prejudicial notions respecting faith and belief4 ,to this position of theirs we have no objection to make1 so long as they subject their scientific statements to the one rigid ordeal of positively ascertained facts4 ,but when they set themselves to spinning their theories of life on the strength of nebular potentialities1 and the possibilities of undifferentiated sky mist1 we must insist that they are infinitely wider of the mark than the theologians who claim that the great formative power of the universe is ,god1 and that his spirit1 and not gravitation1 upholds the order of the heavens3--certainly much wider of the mark than was ,pope1 when he wrote of the universe3-- ,all are but parts of one stupendous whole1 ,whose body nature is1 and ,god the soul4 ,the truth is1 that religion is quite as much the handmaid of science as science can be said to be the handmaid of religion4 ,she breathes far more household laws for her devotees1 if she does not veil her sacred fires more modestly from the sight of men4 ,she is certainly less dogmatic1 less dictatorial1 less abounding in positive assertion1 than what now passes for science1 in the popular estimation4 ,perhaps ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer represents the scientific side of a greater number of questions agitating the public mind to-day1 than any other one man1 and he is still industriously engaged in solving1 or endeavoring to solve1 a greater number of social problems4 ,and yet the most enthusiastic admirer of this gentleman will be forced to admit1 when driven to the wall of actual controversy1 that one-half1 if not two-thirds1 of his more formidable statements1 put forth in the name of science1 remain undemonstrated as scientific truths4 ,we are thankful enough1 however1 for the one-third he has vouchsafed us to let the other two-thirds pass as the dogmatic achievements of his wonderfully gifted pen4 ,professor ,beale asks the question1 whether a man who has the gift of science must ever be wanting in the gift of faith8 ,it is certain that this inquiry sharply emphasizes the antagonism at present existing between materialistic science and religious faith4 ,but there is only one reason why this antagonism should be continued1 and that is1 the persistent claim of science to superior recognition in all cases where there is the slightest apparent conflict between the two4 ,certainly no man ever did more to popularize the genuine truths of science in this country than ,professor ,agassiz1 or worked more successfully to that end4 ,he was willing to place the decorative wreath on the starry forehead of science1 but refused to pluck from the soul the starry eyes of faith and hope1 that man might be dwarfed down to the nearest of kin to the anthropoid ape4 ,when we come to this assumed relationship in genetic types1 we have not so much as laid the first abutment of the bridge by which these revivers of ,lucretian materialism would span the chasm between mind and matter1 between the spiritual and physical side of man1 between dark brute sense and a soul as white as heaven4 ,for going back to undifferentiated primeval mist1 and following down the whole line of vital phenomena1 from whatever subtle molecular combinations their first manifestation may have arisen1 until we reach the highest differentiated organism below man1 we shall find the chasm between the physical and the psychical not a thousandth part spanned4 ,and even if man1 with the assistance of all the maleficent spirits that walk the air both when we wake and sleep1 could span this chasm1 it would be only by another bridge of ,mirza across which no daring mortal could ever pass4 ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 in his ,principles1 thinks he has mastered the necessary psychological1 if not mechanical1 engineering for the successful construction of this bridge4 ,in that branch of his work entitled the ,principles of ,psychology1 he so far abandons the exact scientific method as to take up psychical phenomena1 and deal with them genetically1 as he would with the phenomenal manifestations of organic life1 in the continuous chain of ideas every where presented as consecutive thoughts in the universe4 ,he finds1 or claims to find1 in these psychical manifestations1 a constant tendency towards differentiation--towards advanced and continuously advancing differences1 varieties1 and new modes of thought--the same as1 or similar to1 those taking place in living organisms4 ,he accordingly assumes1 for the science of mind1 as complete a foundation on which to base the doctrine of evolution1 as in the case of either physical or physiological science4 ,but he is no less troubled1 in this psychological realm1 with divergent varieties1 and exceptional variations and changes1 than when he plants himself on the more solid substratum of life in the abounding realm of nature4 ,his psychological differentiations present too many and constantly-shifting divergencies and re-divergences--exceptional branchings in one direction1 and still more exceptional in another--to admit of any sufficiently potentiated potentiality for bridge timber4 ,the arch to such a bridge would have to abut1 according to ,professor ,tyndall1 on a vital foundation at one end1 and spring from undifferentiated sky-mist at the other4 ,the bridge will never be built4 ,chapter ,,ii4 ,life--,its ,true ,genesis4 ,the profound ,newton did not attempt to show what the gravitative force of the universe was4 ,he bore himself more modestly1 only endeavoring to show that such a force existed1 and that it accounted for all the movements of celestial bodies1 even to their slightest perturbations4 ,he frankly admitted his inability to determine what this force was1 but by observations and calculations made with the greatest care1 he ascertained that its action upon matter was proportional to its mass directly1 and to the square of its distance inversely2 and1 with the requisite data and the principles of pure geometry1 he demonstrated that this mysterious force--utterly inapproachable by human conception in its mystery--not only governs and controls the movements of all the mighty masses of matter rolling in space1 but transmits its influence--not successively1 but instantly and without diminution--to the smallest conceivable molecule on the outlying boundaries of the universe4 ,in the same calm and comprehensive spirit1 if it be possible for us to reach it1 let us look upon this mysterious force called life1 not to show that it is simply a correlate of this or that motion 7a thing utterly impossible of demonstration1 if it actually exists71 but to ascertain how and in what way it acts1 and by what known law1 if any1 it is governed4 ,in all the vast realm of ,reality there is no more conclusive and palpable fact than that life exists--appearing wherever the bright light flashes1 the loving raindrop falls1 the dancing brook ripples1 the sparkling streamlet murmurs1 and the broad river flows to mingle with the sea4 ,all along this bright pathway of sunlight and cool translucent wave1 this wonderful principle of vitality manifests itself in all-glorious life--filling the air with balmy odors2 making perennial bud1 leaf and flower1 speeding from sire to son1 from heart to heart1 from spirit to spirit1 from age to age1 from time into eternity4#d ,for like all living principles1 in this realm of ,reality1 it cannot die4 ,it is immortal in its primal source1 immortal all along its bright pathway1 immortal as it flows onward to eternity1 immortal in its return to the bosom of ,god4 ,it is no postulate1 no corollary1 no mere hypothetical judgment2 no undiscovered correlative of motion1 no baseless fabric of a vision--but the one grand comprehensive ,datum on which all the objective1 as well as subjective1 data of the universe rest4 ,it is the same spirit that moved upon the face of the depths1 in that majestic ,dawn of ,creation when the evening and the morning were the first day2 the same spirit that upholds the order of the heavens2 that pervades the vast realm of ,reality1 that flashes in the bright sunlight1 descends in the loving raindrop1 ripples in the dancing brook1 sparkles in the murmuring stream1 and forever flows onward bearing its primal fulness to the sea4 ,to deny the existence of this vital principle because we cannot bottle it up in our airless flasks3 to reduce it to some unknown correlate of motion because it constantly defies our poor mental grasp2 to insist upon its artificial production because elementary substances may be chemically handled in our laboratories--is the same sort of preposterous folly that ,newton would have been guilty of1 had he attempted to show that there was no such thing as gravity in the universe2 that it was only some undiscovered correlative of a thermal limit1--some unknown molecular complexity or entanglement in cosmic ether--some spontaneously occurring affinity or antagonism of ethereal molecules in the interplanetary spaces--some potentiated potentiality of mere sky-mist1--conditions of which he could have had no experimental knowledge1 nor have given the slightest analogical proof4 ,that we are justified in thus partially travestying the technical methods of some of our modern scientists1 so called--especially those of the materialistic school--those advocating a purely physical theory of life1 we need only quote a sentence or two from ,professor ,lionel ,s4 ,beale1 of ,king's ,college1 ,london4 ,this eminent physiologist1 in his recent work on ,the ,mystery of ,life1 says3 ,notwithstanding all that has been asserted to the contrary1 not one vital action has yet been accounted for by physics and chemistry4 ,the assertion that life is correlated force rests upon assertion alone1 and we are just as far from an explanation of vital phenomena by force-hypotheses as we were before the discovery of the doctrine of the correlation of forces4 ,and he further adds that each additional year's labor1 in this special field of investigation1 only confirms him more strongly than ever in the opinion that the physical doctrine of life cannot be sustained4 ,many able and eminently learned physiologists have been disposed to recognize the presence of pre-existing germs in the earth1 but not to the extent of accounting for all life-manifestations therein1 as the doctrine is conclusively taught in the ,bible ,genesis4 ,the language of this genesis is too clear and explicit to be misunderstood1 in its proper renderings4 ,it especially emphasizes the remarkable and most extraordinary statement1 at least for the period in which it was written1 that all life comes primordially from the waters and the earth4 ,note the order in which the command to bring forth was issued3-- #a4 ,let the earth bring forth its vegetation4 #b4 ,let the waters bring forth the fishes1 the amphibia1 the reptiles1 the fowl of the air4 #c4 ,let the earth bring forth the beast1 the cattle1 every living creature1 and everything that creepeth upon the earth--each after his kind4 #d4 ,let us make man in our own image4 ,and this is the precise order in which the ,scientific genesis proceeds1 with all the lithographic pages of nature turned back for its inspection4 ,before vegetation there could have been no animal life upon the globe4 ,this fact is most conclusively proved1 not only by geographic and paleontologic records1 but by legitimate induction4 ,from the highly crystalline1 and1 for the most part1 non-fossiliferous era1 far back in the ,laurentian period1 down1 in the order of time1 to the modern or post-tertiary period1 there is one continuous history of life-manifestations1 written upon the stratified rocks1 in the order of the ,bible ,genesis4 ,was this mere guess and fancy on the part of the writer1 even to the seemingly improbable element wherein is assigned the origin of the fowl of the air8 ,bear in mind that nothing was known of geological distribution at the time this most remarkable genesis was written4 ,had there been1 it is certain that the careful and painstaking ,hesiod1 who suffered no important fact of the ,cosmos to escape him1 would have given us some hint of it in his ,works and ,days2 for ,greece was1 even in his early day1 largely the recipient of ,phoenician learning and literature1 as she was certainly ,phoenicia's foster-child in letters4 ,but the more conclusive proofs of the correctness of the order of creation1 as given in the ,bible ,genesis1 are to be found in the accurate observations of modern geological science4 ,before there could have appeared in the primeval oceans any living organism1 even the lowest primordial forms of crustacea1 there must have been marine vegetation--that springing from inorganic matter and laying the foundation of organic life4 ,plants originate in1 and are solely nourished by1 inorganic substances2 or1 to speak more definitely1 they originate from primordial germs--the first elementary principles of life--whenever inorganic conditions favor1 and1 assimilating air1 water1 and other inorganic materials1 convert them into organic substances1 or such as answer to the conditions of organic life4 ,in doing this1 they take up and decompose carbonic acid1 retain the carbon1 and give off oxygen--a vital process not known to occur in the case of animal life4 ,that their primordial germs1 or vital units1 are in the earth1 as the ,bible ,genesis declares1 is conclusively shown by the experimental processes first successfully entered upon by the ,abb ,spallanzani1 ,charles ,bonnet1 and others1 and more recently renewed and advocated by ,m4 ,pasteur1 and his co-laborers in super-heated flask experimentation1 as well as logically established by inductive methods4 ,nihil ex nihilo is conceded to be as conclusive an induction as omne vivum ex vivo4 ,that is1 as without some chemical unit--some primary least considered as a whole--there can be no chemical action1 so without some vital unit1 in the same primary sense1 there can be no vital manifestation4 ,the doctrine of chemical units is universally conceded1 and that of morphological units almost as universally claimed4 ,what greater incongruity is there1 then1 in assuming the presence between the two of a physiological or vital unit8 #e ,at all events1 it is as impossible to demonstrate the non-existence of the one unit as the other4 ,and so long as legitimate induction supports the doctrine of the ,bible ,genesis1 it is useless to indulge in a contrary assumption which is wholly without verification or proof4 ,but to return to land vegetation4 ,this appeared and flourished throughout the ,devonian period1 if not anterior to it1 and long before the appearance of batrachian reptiles and other low air-breathing forms of life4 ,in fact1 there could have been no life-breathing atmosphere until the earlier land vegetation had whipped out its more destructive elements1 and paved the way1 in necessary conditions1 for the appearance of air-breathing animals4 ,hence the command for the earth to bring forth both marine and land vegetation--the vegetation of the earth--before there was any similar command respecting either marine or land forms of organic life4 ,but by what logical method was this exact order inferred in the ,bible ,genesis8 ,neither the ,jews1 nor their earlier ,hebrew ancestors1 nor the ,phoenicians before or after them1 were in any sense of the word metaphysicians2 nor did their language admit of those nicer distinctions and speculative conclusions which would have enabled any writer using it1 thousands of years ago1 to draw the commanding induction contained in this remarkable genesis4 ,there is nothing in the incomparable methods of ,m4 ,comte1 or the metaphysical spirit of ,herbert ,spencer1 in his most daring speculations1 which gives the world a more legitimate and conclusive induction than is contained in this simple statement of the order of creation4 ,that it should have been a mere piece of guess-work on the part of ,moses1 or any other writer of his time1--covering1 as it does1 so many particularities of statement1 all according with the exact observations of geologic science1 and supported by paleontologic records1--requires quite as much credulity of judgment as to accept it for divinely inspired truth4 ,a disciple of ,m4 ,comte might object to this conclusion as susceptible of two interpretations1 the one a legitimate induction1 and the other not4 ,but the mind of the profounder reasoner would accept the interpretation which is supported by the higher reason1 and validated by the greater number of conclusively-established facts4 ,in the case of a strongly intuitive mind1 it might be possible to guess the exact order of three or four apparently disconnected events1 but to arbitrarily associate with them other and more distinctively subordinate occurrences1 like the appearance or disappearance of whole groups and classes of plants and animals1 the supposition that guess-work1 and not positive information1 governed in the formation of a judgment1 is at once rejected because of its utter incredibility4 ,it is not our purpose1 however1 either to affirm or dis-affirm the inspirational claims of the ,bible ,genesis4 ,we simply take its language as we find it1 stript of its ,masoretic renderings and irrational interpretations1 and unhesitatingly aver that the three ,hebrew words1 translated in our common version--whose seed is in itself upon the earth --contains1 when properly rendered1 the key that unlocks the whole mystery of life1 or1 as ,dr4 ,gull emphasizes it1 the grand questio vexata of the day4 ,it expressly declares that the primordial germs of all plant-life 7and1 inferentially of all life7 are in themselves 7i4e4 each after its kind7 upon the earth1 and we have only to supplement this physiological statement with the necessary incidence of conditions1 as formulated by the physicists1 to explain every phenomenal fact of life hitherto occurring upon our globe4 ,take all the hints as to the spontaneous origin of life to be met with in ,aristotle2 all those subsequently repeated by ,lucretius and ,ovid2 all the experiments of the renowned ,abb ,spallanzani--all the alleged fantastic assumptions of ,m4 ,bonnet--all the theories of panspermism1 by whomsoever advocated--all the fortuitous aggregations of molecules organiques1 as put forth by the ,french school of materialists--all the primordia viventium of the gifted ,harvey--all the molecular machinery and undiscovered correlates of motion formulated by ,herbert ,spencer and ,professor ,bastian--in fine1 all the more brilliant theories of life ever spun from the recesses of the human brain1--and we shall find that they all fit into the three simple ,hebrew words to be found in the ,bible ,genesis1 and all are explained by them4 ,we say all1 with one exception only--that of man4 ,and how inconceivably grand and majestic this exception6 ,the crowning work of creation was ,,man4 ,he came from no muddy vesture of decay2 no mere life-creating fiat spoke him into existence4 ,he who was to have dominion over all the earth--who was to be created only a little lower than the angels--in the image of ,god created ,he him4 ,and1 breathing into his nostrils the breath of life1 he became a living soul6 ,here is the bridge over which the evolutionist may pass1 if he will1 without wearing either the dunce's cap or the ass's ears4 ,it spans the chasm between the anthropoid ape and man as no other bridge can span it4 ,across this bridge is flung the living garment of ,god1 and how grandly1 yet reverently and humbly1 did the profound ,newton cross it6 ,oh1 ye defiant iconoclasts of sublime faith in the old doctrines2 ye who talk so flippantly of the potentialities of life in a nebula2 who sit on the awe-inspiring ,matterhorn1 at high noon1 and muse in sadness over the primordial formless fog1 teeming with all the mighty possibilities of myriads of sun-systems like our own2 and1 musing1 sneer1 if you can1 at the idea of a specific creation in the beginning--of an ,infinite ,intelligence that directs and superintends all6 ,because you cannot annihilate matter1 nor conceive of its annihilation in the infinitessimal compass of your brain1 is that any reason why ,infinite power and intelligence may not have spoken it into existence at ,his sovereign and commanding will8 ,if man would presumptuously press towards the threshold of the ,infinite1 let him do it reverently1 and with humility of spirit1 and not as one that vaunteth himself of strength1 or multiplieth words without knowledge4 ,but let us examine the ,bible ,genesis a little further in this direction4 ,it is said in the second verse of the first chapter that the spirit of ,god moved upon the face of the waters1 that is1 upon the face of the abyss--the chaotic mass at creation--the earth without form and void4 ,what is here meant by the spirit of ,god1 is that life-giving breath or power of ,god which operates 7continuously operates7 to impart life to inanimate nature4#f ,from the connection in which it here stands it means this1 as in other connections it means the power which operates 7continuously operates7 to produce whatever is noble and good 7,god-like7 in man4 ,there is no implication in the text that this life-giving principle or power was suspended in the act of creation4 ,on the contrary1 there is abundant evidence in nature to show that it is just as operative now as it was in the beginning4 ,one of the definitions given by ,professor ,gibbs of this spirit is1 that which operates throughout inanimate nature1 not that which once operated1 and then forever ceased its operations4 ,and ,professor ,gibbs no doubt meant by nature1 in this connection1 not only all the physical phenomena she presents1 but the aggregate or sum total of all her phenomena1 whether active or passive1 animate or inanimate1 embracing the world of matter or the world of mind4#g ,all are but parts of one stupendous whole1--not a part nature1 and a part not nature4 ,again1 in the eleventh verse1 it is distinctly declared that the ,,zra4 the germinal principle of life1 is in the earth1 producing each living thing1 at least in the vegetable world1 after its kind1 that is1 after its own class1 order1 genera1 species4 ,hence1 the three distinct and separate commands given to the earth1 or to the earth and its waters1 to bring forth4 ,no such command would have been given to the earth1 had it not first received its baptism of life from ,god--in other words1 derived the animating principle of life from the source of all ,life4 ,and hence1 also1 the two separate averments in the second chapter of ,genesis1 both entirely meaningless apart from the construction we here give it1 that out of the ground made the ,lord ,god to grow the vegetation of the earth1 and out of the ground produced he 7or caused to be produced7 every beast of the field1 etc41--all of which has a definite and comprehensive significance in this one sense only1 that the animating principle of life is in the earth1 as the language of this most remarkable genesis implies4 ,and this seems to have been the patristic idea1 namely1 that law and regularity1 not arbitrary intervention1 nor any specific act of creation1 were what governed in the case of both vegetal and animal life4 ,st4 ,augustine says3 ,in prima institutione natur non quseritur miraculum1 sed quid natura rerum habeat4 ,and it is certain that both ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas and ,st4 ,basil held the same view4 ,and they further held that the animating principle of life once implanted in nature1 held good for all time4 ,but we are not seeking for early and medival authority4 ,what we propose to show is1 that nature is still implicitly obeying just such a law as that implied in the command given her to bring forth1 however doubtful may be the authority on which it rests1 in the opinion of our modern scientists4 ,and how completely does this genesis of life take man out of the definitional formula embracing the beasts of the earth4 ,from the lowest vertebrate1 in ,mr4 ,darwin's plexus1 to the highest quadrumane 7his nearest allied type to man71 covering almost an infinite variety of distinct living forms1 the distance to be traversed1 in order to reach man1 is hardly more than one-third the length of the still unlinked and uncompleted chain4 ,in the average capacity of the monkey's brain-chamber1 to say nothing of his other characteristic differences1 the distance is not half traversed4 ,as a beast of the earth1 he remains allied to his own type1 and nothing higher4 ,both ,darwin's vertebral plexus1 and ,herbert ,spencer's line of individuation1 must begin with the lancelet and its disputed head1 and end in the ,catarrhine or ,old ,world monkey4 ,no a priori induction will ever extend this line or plexus to man4 ,the developmental chain1 if indeed there be one1 has no congenital link that will either drag man down to the beast of the earth1 or lift the latter up to the transcendent plane of humanity4 ,each must remain specifically in his own type1 whatever may be their vertical tendencies1 upwards or downwards4#h ,and this word type implies a fundamental ground-plan--an archetype--an original conception of what each should unconditionally be1 and what plane each should as unconditionally occupy4 ,man's place in nature can never be changed or modified by materialistic speculations4 ,whatever theories the materialists may spin into the unsubstantial warp and woof of their scientific formul respecting life1 will never stand before the tenacious and stubborn physiological facts which almost any thoroughly-informed and well-read scholar of nature may readily present against them4 ,even the wild ,indian of our prairies has a more rational conception of life and its accountabilities1 than some of these learned professors whose theoretical conclusions we find it imperative to handle4 ,with all his rude1 rough nature1 hanging like so many mental clogs about him1 this unlettered savage recognizes the fact that the earth is the genetrix omnium viventium1 or the living mother on whose bosom he shall rest when his spirit has passed to the happy hunting-fields beyond4 ,unlettered as he is1 and unread in any genesis of life1 he fails not to perceive that the earth is forever teeming with the germinal principles of life1 and that when his prairie fires have invaded the forests in which he had previously hunted the deer1 other and different forest growths are constantly making their appearance1 without any apparent intervention of seeds1 but not without the supervisional care and direction of the ,great ,spirit1--while many of his hardier prairie grasses have disappeared1 only to give place to the more nutritious gramma coveted by his favorite game4 ,and here we may as well anticipate an objection which will be raised against the presence of this animating principle of life in the earth1 as to meet and answer it further on in the argument4 ,but as the objection to which we refer is one of those dragon's teeth we do not care to leave behind us1 we will meet it at the very threshold of the controversy4 ,it will probably be admitted that the vegetation of the earth may appear in the way and manner indicated in the biblical genesis1 the same as infusorial forms appear in super-heated and hermetically-sealed flasks4 ,but how about the prexisting germs or vital units of the mastodon1 the megatherium1 and other gigantic mammiferous quadrupeds of the ,eocene period8 ,from what experimental flasks1 in the great laboratory of nature1 did they first make their appearance8 ,the objection is a legitimate one1 and we will answer it4 ,but first1 let us do so from the materialist's own stand-point4 ,time1 they all agree1 is practically infinite--past time1 as well as future2 while matter is susceptible of an infinite number of diverse movements1 changes1 modifications1 combinations1 etc41#i chemically as well as molecularly considered4 ,this1 they claim1 is not a mere hypothetical judgment1 but a mathematically demonstrable proposition4 ,grant it for the sake of the argument1 and then see if the mastodon does not promptly emerge from some one of their experimental flasks1 as they choose to put it4 ,for if the number of these diverse movements1 changes1 modifications1 etc41 of matter1 have been infinite1 in its progress from the lowest statical to the highest dynamical manifestation1 then every possible1 as well as conceivable1 form of matter1 must have existed somewhere1 and at some time1 in nature1 even to its highest and most potentially endowed plasmic form in which there is life4 ,and if this be true1 and the materialists will not deny but rather affirm it1 then the inter-uterine conditions of matter1 in the case of all animals 7the mastodon included71 as well as the inter-cellular conditions in the case of all plant-life1 must have existed1 with their necessary environments1 somewhere and at some time1 in the all-hutched laboratory of nature4 ,hence1 in the infinite number of these changes and combinations--in the countless collocations of molecules and chemically changed conditions of matter1 we have the possibilities of all terrestrial life-manifestations1 as we have1 in the infinite number of cosmical changes1 the possibilities of all planetary1 cometary1 and asteroidal manifestations4 ,for whenever these vital changes occur1 the life-manifestations dependent thereon1 must as inevitably follow as that infinitely diffused matter should be aggregated by gravity1 or by what ,humboldt calls1 in his ,cosmos1 the world-arranging ,intelligence of the universe4 ,who shall say1 then1 that in that immensely remote and long-protracted era--the ,eocene period--in which the gigantic elephantoids first made their appearance1 there did not exist somewhere1 in some one of nature's more cunning and prolific recesses1 the exact plasmic conditions necessary for the appearance of the mastodon8 ,if they existed anywhere 7which is concessively possible71 with the necessary environment 7also concessively possible71 then the mastodon could no more help wallowing out of his essential plasma than the earth can help responding to its axial motion4 ,all things are framed in the prodigality of nature1 and she never commits an abortion upon herself4 ,if both the conditions and necessary environment were at any time present1 as they must have been on the materialistic theory1 the mastodon is just as easily accounted for as the first fungus1 or the first fungus-spore4 #aj ,all physicists1 as well as physiologists1 agree that individual species of both plants and animals have disappeared from the earth for the want of the necessary conditions under which they once lived and flourished4 ,what greater fallacy is there1 then1 in the assumption that they originally appeared from the presence of these identical conditions1 whatever they may have been1 and whenever they may have occurred8 ,we put this question not simply because the ,bible ,genesis asserts that out of the ground made the ,lord ,god to grow every plant of the field before it was in the earth1 as well as every herb of the field before it grew2 nor because it declares that their primordial germs are in the earth2 nor because it speaks of the earth as containing within itself the animating principle of life4 ,but we put it on the irrefragable logic of the materialist's own premises and conclusions4 ,they may use other and different physiological terms from what we should care to employ1 but their correlates of motion1 their molecular force1 their highly differentiated life-stuff1 etc41 may possibly mean nothing more than what we mean by vital units1 vital forces1 vital conditions1 etc4 ,their preference for the terms they employ1 over essential qualities or properties of matter1 is entirely due to the obvious invalidity of their conclusions1 except as their physical theory of life may help them out of an unpleasant dilemma4 ,force is a more convenient term on which to allege the de novo origin of life--its spontaneous manifestation in their experimental flasks--than any vital principle primarily inhering in matter1 and manifesting itself whenever conditions favor4 ,it is to validate their own reasoning that they construct their fallacious force-premises1 from which to draw their materialistic inductions4 ,in other words1 theirs is the fallacy of non causa pro causa1 or that vicious process of reasoning which alleges some other than the real cause of vital manifestation1 and fastens induction where none is legitimately inferable4 ,burdach1 ,buffon1 ,pouchet1 ,needham1 and other professed vitalists1 agree that in all life-manifestations there must be some prexisting vital force or principle1 without which no living thing1 whether plant or animal1 can come into existence4#aa ,m4 ,pouchet says3 ,i have always thought that organized beings were animated by forces which are in no way reducible to physical or chemical forces4 ,the ,abb ,needham is satisfied to formulate a force vgetative1 so far as plant-life is concerned2 ,buffon invariably falls back on vital force or energy2 and ,burdach on a force plastique1 which is essentially inseparable from nature in her vital manifestations4 ,according to the latter1 the whole universe is an organisme absolu constantly endowed with life1 and giving expression to it in all conceivable directions4 ,and all that these vitalists need1 to give a full interpretation to their facts of observation1 is to supplement their theories with the ,bible declaration that the animating principle of life is in the earth1 from which all living things make their appearance1 each distinctively after its own kind1 whenever environing conditions favor4 ,for they severally recognize these necessary conditions as inseparable from all vital manifestation4 ,an effort has been made to show that ,goethe was the great inspired prophet of the doctrine of ,evolution1 as a ceaselessly progressive transformation of one thing into another1 in the metamorphoses of plants and animals2 and ,haeckel quotes this passage from him as entirely conclusive of this point3 ,thus much we should have gained 7towards solving the problem of life7 that all the more perfect organic beings1 among which we include fishes1 amphibians1 birds1 mammals 7and at the head of the latter1 man71 to be formed according to an archetype1 #ab which merely fluctuates more or less in its ever persistent parts1 and moreover1 day by day1 completes and transforms itself by means of reproduction4 ,but this attempt to give a poetic glorification to ,haeckelism in ,goethe's speculations1 and bring his commanding name into support of the evolution theory of development1 will prove utterly futile in the light of his archetype1 and the persistency with which he concedes that nature adheres to perfected forms4 ,goethe accepts the doctrine of vis centripeta1 beyond the influence of which no developmental progress can be made in the way of diversifying or variegating ideal types4 ,in other words1 he virtually fixes limits to variability1 from the outermost circumference of which reversion must inevitably take place4 ,his whole doctrine may be summed up generally1 if not specially1 in these words3 ,the animal is fashioned by circumstances to circumstances1 as the eagle to the air and mountain top1 the mole to the loose soil in which it burrows1 the seal to the water in which he frolics1 and the bat to the cave1 the twilight1 and the night air4 ,we should rather say that the animal is fashioned1 after the ,great ,architect's pattern1 to circumstances1 and is only varied by circumstances1 and that within the narrowest limits of variability4 ,for the most that ,goethe means by his archetype is an ideal pattern1 after which1 or on which1 a natural group of plants or animals has been fashioned within the limits of possible variability4 ,but by whose mind1 or rather within whose mind1 was this ideal pattern--this essential archetype--fashioned8 ,whence this ideal type1 this natural group1 this ,archeus pervading all nature and fashioning all organic matter8 ,not from the mind of ,goethe certainly1 nor from that of ,aristotle or ,lucretius1 but from the one supreme mind of the universe1 in which the groups of all living things were originally fashioned in the archetypal world--that world which1 according to ,bolingbroke1 contains intelligibly all that is contained sensibly in our world4 ,this archetypal doctrine of ,goethe1 coupled1 as he couples it1 with the influences of environment1 or necessary external conditions1 with typical modifications only1 while it entirely harmonizes with the ,bible genesis of types 7everything modeled after its kind71 is far from aiding1 or in any way abetting1 the materialistic hypothesis of ,haeckel1 unless we make nature at once the creator and modifier of her own archetype4 ,and even then the variability of species remains unaccounted for1 except as we attribute to nature a purpose to modify persistent forms under a law that is immutable even in its variability4 ,for the assumption of an archetype carries with it an archetypal plan and purpose1 with a degree of intelligence1 either in or above nature1 capable at once of conceiving the type and determining the limits of its variability4 ,the question is not1 therefore1 as many may seem to think1 whether species originate by miracle or by law1 but whether laws and causes can exist independently of any predetermining will or agency in the universe4 ,our language1 and that of all civilized peoples on the globe1 must be thoroughly recast1 not only in its philological and etymological character1 but in its ideologic1 etiologic1 and other significations1 before we can successfully fall back on an antecedent cause without an effect1 or an effect without an antecedent cause4 ,besides1 the human mind would have to undergo as complete a subversion of structure as language itself1 before any such attempt at recasting it1 on the basis of modern materialistic ideas1 could possibly prove successful4 ,and then1 at least one-third of our language would have to disappear in this iconoclastic reform4 ,for instance1 take any well-tabulated synopsis of our categories and their relations1 and they would nearly all have to be recast or entirely abandoned4 ,time1 space1 matter1 motion1 intellect1 abstract ideas1 volitions1 affections1 etc41 with their several correlates or co-relations1 would all have to undergo a thorough recasting process4 ,the personal1 intersocial1 sympathetic1 moral1 and religious relations and obligations1 would have to be summarily set aside for future revision1 if not for sweeping rejection4 ,all our ideas of life1 materiality1 spirituality1 animality1 vegetability1 sensibility1 etc41 would have to fall into greater or less desuetude1 the language disappearing with the ideas4 ,all the words expressing our ideas of a superhuman agency1 of ,god1 angels1 heaven1 revelation1 religious doctrines1 sentiments1 acts of worship1 piety1 human accountability to divine institutions1 rites1 ceremonies1 etc41--to say nothing of maleficent spirits1 mythological and other fabulous divinities1 entering so largely into the spirit and machinery of all our best poetry--would utterly disappear from our language4 ,all our churches1 minsters1 chapels1 tabernacles1 cathedrals1 and temples erected to the living ,god1 embracing the finest and most majestic architecture of the world1 would have to succumb to the iconoclastic zeal of these materialistic reformers4 ,the ten categories of ,aristotle would disappear in the one category of ,haeckel1 or possibly the two categories of ,bastian--,matter and ,motion6 ,philologically speaking1 we should all be at sea1 drifting1 like a set of deaf-mutes1 on a wide and inaudible ocean--all inarticulate1 tongue-tied1 voiceless--with only the screeching of the sea-mew1 or some other sepulchral bird of the night1 to greet us as in wide-mouthed derision of our speechlessness and folly4 ,but let us see how the incontestible facts of nature1 and the truths of science1 fit into the three simple ,hebrew words referring to germs1 or the germinal principle of life1 instead of the natural seeds of plants or trees4 ,we have given what we claim to be the true rendering of these words4 ,to show how perfectly they harmonize with all the phenomenal manifestations of life in nature1 we hurriedly pass to our third chapter4 ,chapter ,,iii4 ,alternations of ,forest ,growths4 ,no fact has more profoundly puzzled the vegetable physiologist than the alternations of forest growths which are everywhere occurring without the apparent interposition of natural seeds1 and which have been considered as wholly inexplicable except as one unsatisfactory theory after another has been suggested to account for the wide dissemination and distribution of their seeds4 ,we have had any number of these theories1 more or less ingeniously constructed1 but it is safe to say that none of them satisfactorily accounts for more than a very limited number of the phenomena presented4 ,it is only within a comparatively recent period that these alternations of timber growth have attracted the attention of scientific men2 consequently little more than crude suggestions and ill-digested facts are at the command of the general reader and writer4 ,and yet the facts themselves1 such as they are1 would fill a dozen volumes of the size of ,dr4 ,hough's recent ,report upon ,american ,forestry4 ,we can only give a few of the more important facts we have gathered1 and many of these are so deficient in necessary detail that their value is greatly lessened for scientific uses4 ,this is especially true of nearly all those noticed and collated by ,dr4 ,hough1 in his report to the ,united ,states ,commissioner of ,agriculture1 made in #ahgg1 in which the alternations in question are referred to at length1 but no new suggestions presented1 nor any very important new facts given4 ,if our construction of the ,bible genesis be the correct one1 it will1 we think1 be unhesitatingly admitted that all the facts collected and collated by ,dr4 ,hough1 together with others more carefully noticed by our ablest writers on vegetable physiology1 not only harmonize with this ancient ,hebrew text1 but so completely fit into it1 both in its implications and explications1 that adverse criticism will be awed into silence rather than provoked into any new controversy on the subject4 ,this remarkable genesis declares that the germs of all living things are in themselves upon the earth--upon the face of all the earth4 ,it is true that this declaration1 as contained in the #aath verse of the first chapter of ,genesis1 is textually limited to the vegetation of the earth2 but the further emphatic statement that the animating principle of life is in the earth1 coupled with the more substantive fact that ,god commanded the waters and the earth to bring forth abundantly of every living creature1 with the single exception of man1 conclusively extends the language of the #aath verse to whatever vegetable and animal life the earth was specifically directed to bring forth4 ,it is our purpose to consider1 in this connection1 not only the various facts noticed and theories suggested by our ablest writers and thinkers on the subject of seed-distribution1 but to ascertain1 as far as possible1 to what extent their several facts and theories harmonize with natural phenomena1 and at the same time determine what disposition should be made of them in the light of this new genesis1 herein for the first time disclosed4 ,professor ,george ,p4 ,marsh1 in his work on ,man and ,nature1 in which he treats largely of forestry in ,europe1 says that when a forest old enough to have witnessed the mysteries of the ,druids is felled1 trees of other species spring up in its place2 and when they1 in their turn1 fall before the axe1 sometimes even as soon as they have spread their protecting shade over the surface1 the germs which their predecessors had shed1 perhaps centuries before1 sprout up1 and in due time1 if not choked by other trees belonging to a later stage in the order of natural succession1 restore again the original wood4 ,in these cases1 the seeds of the new crop may have been brought by the wind1 by birds1 by quadrupeds1 or by other causes2 but1 in many instances1 this explanation is not probable4 ,it is manifest that ,professor ,marsh uses the word germs1 in this connection1 in the sense of seeds only2 for no seed-bearing trees shed any other germs than the natural seeds they bear4 ,and while he admits that1 in many instances1 the generally accepted theory concerning the dissemination of seeds is not a probable one1 he still clings to the exploded notion that vegetable physiology furnishes a record of numerous instances where seeds have grown after lying dormant for ages in the earth4 ,he further says1 in the same connection1 that their vitality seems almost imperishable while they remain in the situations in which nature deposits them2 although he is reluctant to accept the accounts of the growth of seeds which had lain for ages in the ashy dryness of the ,egyptian catacombs1 believing that they should be received with great caution1 if not rejected altogether4 ,but why he should scruple about receiving these speculative accounts of ancient ,egyptian cereals1 which are sometimes hawked about the country for two and three dollars a seed1 and1 in the same breath1 accept the absurder theory that seeds may lie dormant for ages in soils where the hardest and most enduring woods will utterly perish and disappear in a few brief years1 is wholly inexplicable to us1 except as an hypothesis to force a conclusion1 or to account for the otherwise unaccountable alternations of forest growths4 ,but the idea that nature has any cunning devices by which she may hide seeds away where they will remain almost imperishable for ages1 is not entirely new with ,professor ,marsh1 nor is it any suggestion that would be protected by copyright4 ,in finding the winds1 birds1 quadrupeds1 and other assumed agencies of distribution improbable1 he seeks1 with ,dr4 ,dwight1 for the seeds of an ancient vegetation1 and1 finding none by actual observation1 concludes that nature has some occult1 and thoroughly surreptitious1 method of hiding them away1 even in soils below the last glacial drift1 where no microscope can possibly reach them4 ,as the accounts of seeds taken from the mummy-cases of ,egypt may answer the purposes of those seeking to palm off some new cereal as a nine-days wonder on the ignorant1 so these speculations about the indestructibility of seeds1 when hidden away by nature1 may answer a like purpose in imposing upon the over-credulous2 but they will hardly be accepted by the intelligent1 much less the scientific1 in the light of all the facts herein given4 ,the simple truth is that all seeds are speedily perishable by out-door exposure4 ,we hardly know a single seed that will survive beyond the second year when subjected to such exposure4 ,if they do not germinate the first year1 their vitality is utterly gone the second year1 as hopelessly so as if they had been cast into the fire and consumed to ashes4 ,but there is a large class of vegetable phenomena which wholly excludes the idea of this wonderful vitality of seeds4 ,it is well known that soil brought up from deep wells and other excavations1 often produces plants entirely unlike the prevailing local flora4 ,this soil has been brought up1 in many instances1 from beneath the last glacial drift1 where it must have remained for not less than a quarter of a million years at the lowest calculation1 and may have remained for millions of years1 if not longer2 and yet the same singular phenomenon is presented4 ,exposed to the sun's rays1 and the fructifying influences of showers and dews1 the soil burgeons forth into an independent flora1 and such as are nowhere to be found in the surrounding locality4 ,the writer1 in digging a well in ,waukesha1 ,wis41--a place now famous for the curative properties of its waters--in #ahdg1 struck soil at a depth of about thirty-five feet--that which was evidently ante-glacial4 ,the place is some twenty miles back from ,milwaukee1 and the whole section1 far into the interior of the state from ,lake ,michigan1 is one of drift1 covering the primeval soil at various depths1 from a few feet up to a hundred or more2 and the imbedded soil must have remained in its place for untold ages4 ,and yet1 it was no sooner brought to the surface than it produced several small plants that were wholly unlike the prevailing local flora2 although1 unfortunately1 they did not sufficiently mature to enable us to determine their genera and species4 ,considerable portions of this soil were dried and subjected by us1 and the late ,dr4 ,john ,a4 ,savage1 then president of ,carroll ,college1 to microscopic examination1 but without discovering the slightest trace of any seed1 or anything resembling seed1 in the several portions carefully examined4 ,the soil1 however1 contained1 in its imbedded place1 several large ,norway spruce logs1 in a more or less perfect state of preservation4 ,but there were no cones1 nor chits to cones1 to be found in it1 although the most rigid examination was made at the time to discover them4 ,that the seeds of these delicate little plants should have survived the wreck of this ancient ,norwegian forest1 or the drift from one1 and burst forth into newness of life after hundreds of thousands1 not to say millions of years1 is decidedly too large a draft upon our credulity to be honored without sight4 ,but we will return to the alternations of forest growths4 ,it is within a comparatively recent period that extensive areas of hemlock1 in ,greene and ,ulster ,counties1 ,n4,y41 were cut off to supply the neighboring tanneries with bark4 ,these clearings were no sooner made than oak1 chestnut1 birch1 and other trees of deciduous foliage1 sprang up and entirely usurped the place of the hemlock2 for the reason1 no doubt1 that the soil had become chemically unbalanced for the growth of the latter1 while its condition was entirely favorable for the development of the germs 7not the natural seed7 of the former4 ,these changes in timber growths have been widely noticed in all parts of this country1 as well as in ,europe1 but the universal supposition has been that they came from the natural seeds of their respective localities1 those either scattered by the winds1 or borne thither by the birds1 by quadrupeds1 or by some other natural agency4 ,no one has suggested the theory of primordial germs or vital units1 or come any nearer to it than ,dr4 ,dwight did in suggesting the seeds of an ancient vegetation4 ,the great truth of the ,bible genesis has been wholly overlooked by reason of a faulty translation in the first instance1 as taken from the ,masoretic renderings of the sixth century1 and implicitly followed since4 ,in #ahde1 a violent tornado swept a wide strip of forest in ,northern ,new ,york1 from the more thickly settled portions of ,jefferson ,county to ,lake ,champlain4 ,the timber that succumbed to the force of the tornado1 and growing at various points along its track1 was mainly beech1 maple1 birch1 ash1 hemlock1 spruce1 etc42 but it was rarely replaced1 at any point1 by the same timber1 in the growths that almost immediately followed4 ,the trees that are now growing along the track of the tornado are principally poplar1 cherry1 birch1 and a little beech and ironwood3 no ash1 maple1 spruce1 or hemlock1 except here and there1 at considerable intervals1 a tree or two which may have been replaced by natural seed4 ,the important fact noticeable1 in this connection1 is that the aggressive timber--that replacing the old--entirely usurped the place of the evergreen growths1 supplanting them with those that were wholly deciduous4 ,besides1 it does not appear that the poplar1 the cherry1 and the ironwood1 which were altogether aggressive1 previously grew near enough to the track of the tornado to have possibly supplied the seed necessary for their appearance and growth4 ,the fact was specially noticeable at the time1 and has been widely communicated since1 that the white oak timber cut off at ,valley ,forge for fuel and other army purposes in the ,american camp1 in the winter of #aggg-gh1 was succeeded by black oak1 hickory1 chestnut1 etc4--the white oak entirely disappearing1 although by far the most favorably situated for propagation by seed4 ,but the alternations of forest growths had attracted too little attention at that time to render the meagre facts given of any special value to scientific men4 ,if the usurping timber had grown in the immediate neighborhood 7a fact not stated71 it might have come from natural seeds1 and not from primordial germs under favoring conditions4 ,in the ,ohio ,agricultural ,report of #ahgb1 an account is given of a storm-track1 in that state1 which swept for a considerable distance1 and was violent enough to bear down all the timber before it4 ,it is stated that the path of this tornado 7which must have occurred many years ago7 had grown up with black-walnut1 another and different growth from that prostrated by the force of the storm4 ,in this instance1 there were no neighboring trees1 except perhaps at distant intervals1 from which the nuts of the black-walnut could have been derived1 unless they had been promiscuously strewn by the tornado along its entire track4 ,but it is1 unfortunately1 not stated that the tornado occurred at that opportune season of the year when the nuts were properly matured for planting4 ,in many parts of the ,united ,states1 particularly in the ,south and ,west1 the paths of local tornadoes--those sweeping the native forests long before the axe of civilization invaded them--may still be traced by the alternations of timber growths1 extending for long distances1 and through forests where there were no neighboring trees from which it was possible that their seeds could have been derived4 ,one of these tornadoes the writer traced many years ago 7as early as #ahcg7 in ,south ,alabama1 and he is satisfied1 both from observation and reading1 that the instances are rare1 if not altogether exceptional1 where the clean path of a tornado1 through any of our primitive forests1 has been succeeded by the same growth of timber as that borne down by the winds4 ,where the path of this ancient tornado of ,alabama swept through a pine forest1 a clean growth of oak was buttressed on either side by pine2 and vice versa1 where it swept an oak forest4 ,and it is certain that the tornado1 whenever it may have occurred1 could have exhibited no such discriminating freak as alternately to distribute acorns in pine growths1 and pine cones in oak growths1 either to make good a scientific theory or balk an unscientific one4 ,professor ,agassiz1 in passing through a dense young spruce forest some years ago1 on the south shore of ,lake ,superior1 noticed that the ground was thickly strewn with fallen birch trunks1 showing that their place had been but recently usurped by the spruce2 and he supposed that the birch had first succumbed to the force of the winds1 and the spruce promptly taken its place1 since1 as a general rule1 an evergreen growth succeeds a deciduous1 and vice versa4 ,we have any number of well authenticated facts similar to this stated by ,professor ,agassiz1 but we cannot give place to them1 in this connection1 without greatly exceeding our limits4 ,dr4 ,franklin ,b4 ,hough1 in his recent ,report upon ,american ,forestry1 to which we have already referred1 says3 ,it is not unusual to observe in the swamps of the northern states1 an alternation of growth taking place without human agency4 ,extensive tracts of tamarack 7,larix ,americana7 may be seen in northern ,wisconsin that are dying out1 and being succeeded by the balsam fir 7,abies balsamea71 which may be probably caused by the partial drainage of the swamps1 from the decay or removal of a fallen tree that had obstructed the outlet4 ,the writer of this work resided for a period of ten years or more in ,wisconsin1 and during that time traversed extensive portions of its territory1 both before and after it became a state4 ,as early as #ahdd1 the extensive tamarack swamps of that region were manifestly dying out for the want of the proper nutritious elements in the soil1 and the balsam fir rapidly taking its place1 especially where the accumulations of soil1 resulting from decayed vegetation1 were favorable for its appearance4 ,the drainage of the swamps had not been thought of at that time1 nor had the swamps themselves been disposed of1 to any considerable extent1 by the federal government4 ,they were subsequently granted to the state for educational purposes1 and afterwards purchased up in the interest of speculative parties4 ,but the decay of the tamarack had really commenced long before population found its way1 in any considerable numbers1 into that section of the country2 and the balsam fir had begun its usurpation1 in many of the swamps1 long prior to the advent there of the white man4 ,neither artificial drainage1 nor accidental drainage1 had anything to do with the appearance of the balsam fir1 or the disappearance of the tamarack4 ,the latter was manifestly dying out for the want of the proper nutriment1 and the former coming in for the reason that the soil was chemically balanced for the development of its primordial germs--those everywhere implanted in the earth1 to await the necessary conditions for their development and growth4 ,the natural seeds of this balsam fir were not present in either the first1 second1 or third tamarack swamp in which this alternation of growth originally took place4 ,the change commenced as soon as conditions favored1 and not before4 ,it is safe to say that1 in none of these tamarack swamps1 was there a single balsam fir cone1 or a single chit to a cone1 nor had there probably been for thousands of years1 before the time when the first balsam fir made its appearance in that section4 ,they came1 as all primordial forests come1 from germs1 not from the seeds of trees4 ,universally1 the germ precedes the tree1 as the tree precedes the seed1 in all vegetal growths1 from the lowest cryptogam to the lordliest conifer of the ,pacific slope4 ,otherwise1 we should be logically driven back to an act of specific creation1 which the materialist stoutly rejects1 and the ,bible genesis nowhere affirms4 ,mr4 ,george ,b4 ,emerson1 in his valuable work on the ,trees and ,shrubs of ,massachusetts1 suggests as a cause 7undoubtedly the true one7 for the dying out of old forests1 the exhaustion of the nutritious elements of the soil required for their vigorous and successful growth4 ,but he is evidently at fault in his speculations as to the alternations of forest growths4 ,the ,cretan labyrinth that everywhere confronts him is the seed-theory1 which is so inextricable to him that he constantly stumbles1 as one scientifically blind1 yet eager to lead the blind4 ,all the phenomenal facts with which he deals admirably fit into the ,bible genesis1 but he fails to see it because the sublime truth 7with him7 lies locked up in an unmeaning translation4 ,he is indefatigable1 however1 in his hunt after seeds where there are no seeds1 and in his jumps at conclusions where there are manifestly no data to justify them4 ,he says3 ,nature points out in various ways1 and the observation of practical men has almost uniformly confirmed the conclusion to which the philosophical botanist has come from theoretical considerations1 that a rotation of crops is as important in the forests as in the cultivated fields4 ,and he supplements this statement 7measurably a true one7 by adding that a pine forest is often1 without the agency of man1 succeeded by an oak forest1 where there were a few oaks previously scattered through the woods to furnish seed4 ,this is a very cautious1 as well as circumspect1 statement2 but one that ,mr4 ,emerson would not have made1 had his experience and observation been that of ,professor ,agassiz1 ,professor ,marsh1 and others we might name4 ,his few oaks previously scattered through the woods are no doubt among the theoretical considerations taken into account by him1 as a philosophical botanist rather than a practical one4 ,they were necessary for the extreme caution with which he would state a proposition when its conditioning facts were not fully known by him4 ,his anxiety to account for the appearance of an oak forest in the place of a pine1 where the latter had been cut off1 was commendable enough to justify him in a pretty broad supposition1 but not in any such general statement as he here makes4 ,had he consulted any of the older inhabitants of ,westford1 ,littleton1 and adjoining towns1 in his own state1 he would have found that not a few oak forests had succeeded the pine without the intervention of scattered oaks1 or even scattered acorns1 in the localities named4 ,nor would his squirrel-theory of distribution have been very confidently adhered to1 fifty years ago1 in localties where the shagbark walnut was almost as abundant as the white oak itself4 ,no squirrel will gather acorns where he can possibly get hickory nuts1 and few will gather hickory nuts where the larger and thinner-shelled walnuts are to be had for the picking4 ,the squirrel is provident1 but no more so than he is fastidious in the choice of his food4 ,he never plants acorns except for his own gratification1 and is never gratified with indifferent food so long as he can command that which is to his liking4 ,in further speaking of the exhausted elements of the soil--those necessary for the food of trees as well as plants1 and without which they inevitably perish and disappear--,mr4 ,emerson says2 ,this is clearly indicated in what is constantly going on in the forests1 particularly the fact which ,i have already stated1 and which is abundantly confirmed by my correspondents1 that a forest of one kind is frequently succeeded by a spontaneous growth of trees of another kind4 ,in the sense in which he manifestly uses the term spontaneous in this connection1 his new forest might be accounted for on the theory of primordial germs1 but not on that of seeds2 for few trees or shrubs in ,massachusetts bear winged seeds1 or possess any other means of dispersion 7the ,acer family excepted7 than those common to our general forest growths4 ,spontaneity1 in a strictly scientific sense1 is not predicable upon the artificial or chance sowing of either acorns1 hickory nuts1 or the chits to pine cones4 ,a spontaneous growth implies a process which is neither usual nor accidental--a growth without external cause1 but from inherent natural tendency--and it is questionable whether there is any such process in nature4 ,it belongs to the same class of idle speculations as spontaneous generation in the infusorial world--a subject that will be considered as we advance in this work4 ,our vegetable physiologists1 ,mr4 ,emerson among the number1 are simply unfortunate in their use of terms--those expressing even the commonest operations of nature4 ,in their genesis of plants and trees they need to adhere a little more closely to the genesis of induction1 and use language in harmony with the phenomenal facts and characteristics which they are called upon to explain4 ,but ,mr4 ,emerson was not alone at fault in this almost universal slip of the scientific pen4 ,he quotes from a letter of ,mr4 ,p4 ,sanderson1 of ,east ,whately1 ,mass41 in which the writer says3 ,there is an instance on my farm of spruce and hackmatack being succeeded by a spontaneous growth of maple wood2 and he adds that instances are also mentioned by him 7,mr4 ,sanderson7 of beech and maple succeeding oaks2 oaks following pines1 and the reverse2 hemlock succeeded by white birch in cold places1 and by hard maple in warm ones2 beech succeeded by maple1 elm1 etc2 and1 in fact1 the occurrence was so common that surprise was expressed at the asking of the question4 ,these several alternations in timber growths1 effectually vouched for by ,mr4 ,emerson1 occurring spontaneously as stated1 can hardly be accounted for on any other theory than the presence of germs and favoring conditions1 such as we have named in connection with the ,bible genesis4 ,they might possibly be explained on the theory of scattered seeds1 if the several growths had made their appearance gradually1 and not spontaneously1 as stated4 ,the misfortune with ,mr4 ,emerson1 as well as with his several reliable correspondents1 was1 that his facts are too meagrely imparted1 in the necessary details1 to draw any satisfactory conclusions from them--such as the nearness or distance of surrounding trees of the same species1 and the possible chances of their seeds taking lodgment in the soil from which they grew4 ,but1 fortunately1 there are facts1 and those abundantly substantiated1 which entirely negative the presence of seeds in the soils where these spontaneous growths are said to have appeared4 ,in some instances1 they cover large tracts of land1 at distances of thirty1 forty1 fifty1 and even hundreds of miles1 from any native forest from which seed could have been derived4 ,dr4 ,dwight1 in the second volume of his ,travels1 mentions visiting a town in ,vermont 7,panton1 near ,vergennes71 in which a piece of land that had been once cultivated1 but was afterwards permitted to lie waste1 yielded a thick and vigorous growth of hickory1 where there was not a single hickory tree in any original forest within fifty miles of the place4 ,of this piece of land he says3 ,the native growth here was white pine1 of which ,i did not see a single stem in the whole grove of hickory4 ,he is greatly puzzled to account for this isolated growth of hickory1 but readily concludes that the fruit was too heavy to be carried fifty miles by birds2 besides he adds1 it is not eaten by any bird indigenous to ,vermont4 ,and even if the birds had carried the nuts thither1 not one of them could have been planted there unless the nut-eating bird had been caught and destroyed on the spot1 and the nut released from its crop4 ,this might account for the appearance of a single tree1 but not for a whole grove of hickory2 and the squirrels certainly could not have been provident enough to plant any considerable grove in this particular locality1 and nowhere else within fifty miles of it4 ,the winds could not have borne them that distance without dropping a single nut by the way1 and there is only one supposition left1 which is that indicated in the ,bible genesis4 ,while ,dr4 ,dwight emphatically rejects the transportation theory1 he imagined he had solved the difficulty in his suggestion that the cultivation of the land had brought up the seeds of a former forest1 within the limits of vegetation1 and given them an opportunity to vegetate4 ,but the utter absurdity of this theory may be demonstrated by any one inside of two years1 by placing hickory nuts1 in different soils1 at a depth to which an ordinary plough-point would reach in cultivation2 and then1 at the end of the second year1 examining those that did not germinate the first year4 ,the commonest observer of a hickory forest knows that if the fallen nuts do not germinate the first year1 their vitality is utterly and hopelessly gone4 ,it makes no difference whether you leave the nuts on the ground where they fall1 or place them one inch or twenty inches beneath the soil1 the result will be the same4 ,at the end of two years1 you can pulverize them between thumb and finger almost as easily as so much dried loam4 ,the idea of deriving a new forest from such nuts1 is hardly less absurd than that of emptying the ,egyptian catacombs of their old mummy-cases1 in the expectation of seeing a race of ,theban kings stalking the earth as before the foundations of either ,carthage or ,rome were laid4 ,dr4 ,dwight was a very close and accurate observer of nature1 and suffered few of even the minor points of detail to escape him4 ,in the same work1 as well as in the same connection1 he gives an account of another forest1 which he supposes sprang spontaneously from the seeds of an ancient vegetation4 ,he says3 ,a field about five miles from ,northampton 7,mass471 on an eminence called ',rail ,hill1' was cultivated about a century ago 7circiter #agbj74 ,the native growth here1 and in all the surrounding region1 was wholly oak1 chestnut1 etc4 ,as the field belonged to my grandfather1 ,i had the best opportunity of learning its history4 ,it contained about five acres1 in the form of an irregular parallelogram4 ,as the savages rendered the cultivation dangerous1 it was given up4 ,on this ground there sprang up a grove of white pines1 covering the field and retaining its figure exactly4 ,so far as ,i remember1 there was not in it a single oak or chestnut tree2 and he adds1 there was not a single pine whose seeds were1 or1 probably1 had for ages been1 sufficiently near to have been planted on this spot4 ,he supposes1 however1 that the seeds 7pine cone chits7 had lain dormant for ages before cultivation brought them up within the limits of vegetation4 ,as early as #ahjg1 ,judge ,peters1 of ,philadelphia1 became satisfied that all that elevated region around the head waters of the ,delaware1 ,alleghany1 and ,genesee ,rivers1 then covered with heavy growths of hemlock1 or with forests of beech and sugar-maple1 was originally an oak forest1 probably covering most of that entire region4 ,and ,mr4 ,john ,adlum1 of ,havre de ,grace1 ,md41 who originally surveyed the lands south of the great bend of the ,susquehanna1 between that river and the ,delaware1 conceived the same idea as early as #aghh4 ,the section surveyed by him was chiefly covered with beech and sugar-maple2 in fact1 it was in what was called1 at the time1 the beech and sugar-maple country4 ,he drew his inferences from the fact that he found1 here and there1 at irregular intervals1 red and white oaks growing to an enormous size1 none being less than sixteen feet1 and many measuring twenty-two feet or more1 in circumference five feet above the ground4 ,he says that the hemlock in this region seems to have succeeded the oak1 while the beech and maple no doubt succeeded the hemlock4 ,this last inference would seem to have been made from the fact that clumps of large hemlock trees were1 at that time1 still growing at intervals among the larger deciduous trees4 ,indeed1 there is no better established fact in vegetable physiology than that of these alternations of forest growths4 ,they sometimes come on gradually1 but1 in a majority of instances1 they make their appearance at once on the cutting off of old forests1 in the tracks of tornadoes1 or where fire has devastated extensive regions of timber4 ,from the facts which have been gathered1 it is difficult to determine any regular order of alternation1 except that oaks and other deciduous trees succeed the different varieties of pine and other evergreen growths1 and1 perhaps1 vice versa4 ,in ,dr4 ,hough's report upon ,american ,forestry1 he makes a brief summary of the order of these alternations in different sections of the country1 on the authority of persons apparently more or less well-informed on the subject1 but by no means accurate observers4 ,he says that in the region about ,green ,bay1 ,wis41 overrun by the fires of #ahga1 dense growths of poplars and birches have sprung up1 and are growing rapidly2 but he omits the most important fact of all1 in his failure to state the previous growths of timber1 or whether there were any neighboring growths of poplar along the track of the burnt district from which seed might have been derived4 ,here are some of his more important statements3-- ,at ,clarksville1 ,ga41 oak and hickory lands1 when cleared1 invariably grew up with pine4 ,this is true of that region of country generally4 ,at ,aiken1 ,s4,c41 the long-leaf pine is succeeded by oaks and other deciduous trees1 and vice versa4 ,in ,bristol ,county1 ,mass41 in some cases1 after pines have been cut off1 oak1 maple1 and birch have sprung up abundantly4 ,in ,hancock ,county1 ,ill41 oaks have been succeeded by hickories4 ,in ,east ,hamburgh1 ,erie ,county1 ,n4,y41 a growth of hemlock1 elm1 and soft maple1 was succeeded by beech1 soft maple1 and hard maple1 but a good deal more of the last named than any other4 ,this is the general character of the summary given1 and if its object were simply to show the fact that these alternations actually took place 7one that nobody has disputed in the last half century71 his chapter on the ,alternations of ,forest ,growths1 is a scientific success4 ,the information really desired in these cases1 was that imparted by ,dr4 ,dwight in his suggestive work of travel1 in which all the incidental facts and surrounding circumstances are fully given4 ,it does not appear from any of the foregoing statements1 given as a specimen1 that there were any neighboring trees sufficiently near to have supplied seed for the new forests taking the place of the old1--manifestly the most important physiological fact connected with the whole inquiry1 whether looking to proper forest-management1 or to future schools of forestry1 certain to be established in this country1 as they have been in most of the leading countries of ,europe4 ,it is1 however1 stated by ,dr4 ,hough1 in his voluminous report1 that1 in ,new ,england1 the pine 7without giving its varieties7 is often succeeded by the white birch1 and1 in ,new ,jersey1 by the oak2 the succession of oak by pine1 and the reverse1 in the southern states4 ,and it is further stated1 without reference to the nature and quality of the different soils1 or the absence or presence of neighboring seed-trees1 that poplars and other soft woods are very often found coming up in pine districts that have been ravaged by fire4 ,we have noticed1 he continues1 in ,nebraska1 ash1 elm1 and box-elder following cottonwood4 ,in the natural starting of timber in the prairie region of ,illinois1 where the stopping of fires allowed1 we often see a hazel coppice2 after a time the cratgus1 and finally the oaks1 black-walnuts1 and other timber4 ,these growths are often quite aggressive on the prairies4 ,in ,florida1 the black-jack oak usually takes the place of the long-leaf pine4 ,in all these cases1 the contiguousness of similar1 or dissimilar growths1 is not stated4 ,he nevertheless cites a most important fact respecting the alternations of timber growth1 noticed by ,sir ,alexander ,mackenzie1 in his overland journey from ,montreal to the ,arctic ,ocean1 in #aghi1 who found1 in the vicinity of ,slave ,lake1 that the banks were covered with large quantities of burnt wood lying on the ground1 where young poplar trees had sprung up immediately after the destruction of the previous growths by fire4 ,in noticing this fact1 the indefatigable ,english explorer remarks3 ,it is a very curious and extraordinary circumstance that land covered with spruce1 pine1 and white birch1 when laid waste by fire1 should subsequently produce nothing but poplars1 where none of that species of tree was previously to be found4 ,but facts of a similar character are too numerous and well-authenticated to be questioned by any intelligent authority4 ,and they all point to but one solution--that of primordial germs quickened into life by the necessary environing conditions4 ,the appearance of a single poplar in the locality named1 or even a dozen of them for that matter1 might be accounted for on the theory that a bird of passage had dropped them there after the fire2 but1 under no conceivable circumstances1 could the dispersion of the requisite amount of seed to plant an extensive burnt district1 along the banks of ,slave ,lake1 have occurred on any other theory than that emphatically set forth1 as a physiological fact1 in the ,bible genesis4 ,there is manifestly importance enough attaching to this subject to justify a much wider range of observation and inquiry than has yet been made4 ,pine forests have been cut off in ,alabama and ,georgia1 covering extensive areas1 where there was not a single oak tree in a circuit of miles2 and yet the oak has promptly made its appearance1 in several varieties1 over the whole cleared district4 ,and it is entirely safe to say that1 had the ground been thoroughly examined1 from the surface to ten feet below it1 after the pine had been felled1 not the first sign of an acorn could have been met with anywhere within the whole area of the clearing1 no matter whether it covered ten acres1 twenty1 or a hundred4 ,the paths of the tornadoes we have referred to conclusively show this4 ,the new-born forests1 in these cases1 do not come from seed1 but from the living1 indestructible1 vital principles implanted in the earth1 before it was specifically commanded to bring forth1 in the language of the ,bible genesis4 ,the materialists1 like ,professor ,bastian1 ,herbert ,spencer1 and others1 may sneer at this declaration1 but let them advance some rational theory to the contrary1 to account for these alternations of forest growths1 before they lay bare the joints of their scientific armor too confidently to the thrusts of the next new-comer in the field of scientific investigation4 ,sneers are cheap weapons--the mere side-arms of pretension and frippery--but they never bear so deadly a gibe as when effectually turned on the sneerer4 ,professor ,moritz ,wagner1 in his description of ,mount ,ararat1 mentions a singular phenomenon1 to which his guide drew his attention1 in the appearance of several plants on soil lately thrown up by an earthquake1 which grew nowhere else on the mountain1 and had never been observed in this 7that7 region before4 ,this writer1 thereupon1 goes into a disquisition upon the vitality of long-buried seeds1 but only to mar the value of his very important observation4 ,the fact that these new plants were rejected by the other soil of the mountain--that not thrown up by the earthquake--is the only other observation of value made by this writer4 ,and the importance of this one observation lies in the apparent1 if not conclusive fact1 that the conditions of the other soil of the mountain were not favorable for the development of the primordial germs1 or vital units1 contained in that which was thrown up by the earthquake1 a circumstance that most materially strengthens the view we have taken1 as all candid and impartial readers will agree4 ,mr4 ,darwin inadvertently makes a very material concession in favor of the theory we have advanced1 although unconscious of any such theory1 except that so broadly and unqualifiedly put forth by the panspermists as to meet with a ready refutation4 ,he is laboring1 of course1 to strengthen his position that nature eternally works to get rid of her imperfect forms1 or to ensure the survival of the fittest4 ,but while his facts accomplish little in this direction1 they establish much in another1 as the reader will see4 ,he says3 ,in ,staffordshire1 on an estate of a relative1 where ,i had ample means of investigation1 there was a large and extremely barren heath1 which had never been touched by the hand of man2 but several hundred acres of exactly the same nature had been enclosed twenty-five years before1 and planted with scotch fir4 ,the change in the native vegetation of the planted part of the heath was most remarkable--more than is generally seen in passing from one quite different soil to another2 not only the proportional numbers of the heath plants were wholly changed1 but twelve species of plants 7not including grasses and sedges7 flourished in the plantation which could not be found on the heath4 ,the attempt is here made1 by ,mr4 ,darwin1 to convey an altogether different meaning to his facts than what they will warrant1 even as adroitly handled by him4 ,no heath plants were wholly changed in characteristics1 but only in proportional numbers2 nor did the twelve new species of plants make their appearance by virtue of any law of variability or selection of the fittest4 ,the growth of scotch fir had simply changed the conditions of the soil1 so that certain varieties of heath growth disappeared for the want of necessary conditions1 and certain varieties of forest growth made their appearance because conditions favored4 ,similar1 if not greater changes1 are constantly occurring in hundreds of localities in ,new ,england1 where choked and worn-out pasture lands are left1 untouched by the hand of man1 to grow up as best they may into new forests4 ,the open-field plants and shrubs entirely disappear1 as the stronger and more aggressive trees1 taking root in favoring soils1 advance in the struggle for supremacy1 while the less hardy and more modest plants--those quietly seeking shelter in the woods--make their appearance1 because they find1 beneath the shade of the usurping forest1 the precise conditions necessary for their more successful growth4 ,no perishable seeds have been awakened from their sleep of untold centuries by these changed conditions of the soil2 but nature1 everywhere obeying the divine mandate1 brings forth her implanted life in all its bountiful diversity of stalk1 leaf1 bud1 bough1 blossom1 fruit1--not in obedience to man's husbandry alone1 but because1 as the vicar of ,god1 she must provide for her benefice4 ,let the earth bring forth is the eternal fiat4 ,nature forever heeds it1 and forever obeys it4 ,oh1 ye blind guides1 who strain at a gnat and swallow a camel1 doubt it if ye will4 ,but forget not that nature has her compunctious visitings1 and will rise up in insurrection against you4 ,nothing in her breast lies dormant for ages1 or even for an hour4 ,her appointed times and seasons forbid it4 ,if the butterfly does not sport in her sunshine to-day1 it is because it lies dead in its golden-colored shroud1 and can never become a butterfly4 ,in all her profusion and prodigality--flinging her glittering jewels1 even in mid-winter1 over all her enamored woods1 and causing her little fountains to leap up from their crystal beds in delight1 that they may be frozen1 mid-air1 into more sparkling jets--she exhibits no such munificence as in her unsparing prodigality of life4 ,to be prodigal in this was the first command she received1 and her great heart constantly throbs to give it expression4 ,and in all this she simply obeys a kindly law which has been implanted in her bosom1 and can never be displanted4 ,she has no need of seeds in her cunning laboratory to perpetuate plant-life1 and only yields them to man for use1 and not abuse4 ,he can utilize them if he will1 so that all things of beauty and golden-fruited promise shall be his4 ,in the language of her greatest and most profoundly philosophical poet1-- ,nature never lends ,the smallest scruple of her excellence1 ,but1 like a thrifty goddess1 she determines ,herself the glory of a creditor-- ,both thanks and use4 ,those who think1 therefore1 to make nature a debtor1 by reversing her laws of propagation and making her dependent on what she bestows in use1 will never find out the smallest scruple of her excellence1 nor add to her glory as a creditor4 ,all things are framed in her prodigality1 and the seeds of plants and trees are no exception to the quality of her bestowals4 ,we may reason1 syllogize1 speculate as we will1 the first plant and the first tree were not nature's thankless bastards1 but her legitimate and loving offspring4 ,she engendered them in her own fruitful breast1 and her copy is eterne4 ,chapter ,,iv4 ,the ,distribution and ,vitality of ,seeds4 ,few questions have attracted more attention among vegetable physiologists1 of late years1 than the dispersion and migration of seeds from place to place in the earth1 and it is safe to say that none has been more unsatisfactorily answered4 ,in the case of quite a number of plants and trees1 special contrivances would seem to have been provided by nature for insuring their dispersion1 as well as migration4 ,with a small number of plants1 for instance1 the seeds are discharged for short distances by the explosive force of their seed-vessels1 when properly matured2 an equally small number have certain membranous contrivances1 called wings1 by which they may be borne still greater distances2 others1 again1 are provided with light feathery tufts1 to which the seed is attached1 and these may be carried by the winds several miles before finding a lodgment in the soil2 while many others are inclosed in prickly and barb-pointed coverings by which they attach themselves to animals1 and even birds1 and may be transported to almost any distance4 ,but with the great majority of plants and trees1 as the seeds fall so they lie1 and must continue to lie until they either germinate or perish1 or are accidentally dispersed or scattered by some extrinsic agency4 ,the anxiety of speculative botanists to account for the recognized alternations of forest and other growths1 have led to the different theories of transportation we have named2 and when these theories have been supplemented by the alleged wonderful vitality of seeds1 in the cunning recesses in which nature manages to conceal them1 they imagine the whole difficulty solved1 when1 in point of fact1 it remains wholly unsolved4 ,this theory of the wonderful vitality of seeds is simply one1 as we have said1 to force a conclusion--to get rid of a lion in the scientific path4 ,professor ,marsh1 with other eminent and scholarly writers on vegetable physiology1 scouts the idea that the seeds of some of our cereal crops have been preserved for three or four thousand years in the ashy dryness of the ,egyptian catacombs4 ,but what better repository in which to preserve them8 ,certainly1 none of our modern granaries1 with all their machinery for keeping the grain dry1 or from over-heating4 ,nor are the catacombs to be despised1 as compared with any out-door means of storage yet suggested by the wit of man4 ,the only means nature has of storage1 or rather of preservation by storage1 is to welcome the seed back to her bosom--the earth from which its parent-seed sprang--where it may be speedily quickened into life1 and bear other grain1 not itself4 ,for that which thou sowest is not quickened1 except it die2 and much more is that dead which is not quickened4 ,whenever seed is thus returned to nature's bosom--all-palpitating as it is with life--whether it quickens or not1 it dies2 and there is no resurrection for dead seed from the earth1 any more than there is for the occupants of the exhumed mummy-cases of ancient ,thebes4 ,the belief in this wonderful vitality of seeds1 in the positions in which nature deposits them1 is pretty much on a par with that which assigns a thousand years to the life of a crow4 ,as nobody but the scholastic fool in the fable has ever attempted to verify the correctness of this latter belief1 so it is safe to assume that the experiment of verifying the former will not be successfully undertaken within the next thousand years1 to say the least4 ,it is well known that the vitality of seeds 7so far1 at least1 as nature handles them7 depends1 upon her cunning contrivances for their preservation1 as well as their dispersion4 ,but many seeds1 in which these contrivances would seem to be the most perfect1 will not germinate after the second year1 and few will do so to advantage after the third or fourth year1 even when they have been kept under the most favorable circumstances1 or in uniform dryness and temperature4 ,farmers1 who have had practical experience in this matter1 and care little for what is merely theoretical1 will never plant seed that is three or four years old when they can get that of the previous year's growth4 ,it is certain that no hickory nut will retain its vitality beyond the first year of its exposure to a ,new ,england soil and climate1 and few seeds are better protected by nature against such exposure2 and it is equally questionable whether the chits to ,dr4 ,dwight's pine cones would have had any better chance of survival at the time the ,indians infested the neighborhood of ,northampton1 and regularly fired the woods every autumn4 ,although ,professor ,marsh confidently says1 in his work on4 ,man and ,nature1 that the vitality of seeds seems almost imperishable while they remain in the situations in which nature deposits them1 he will no doubt admit that this statement rests on no experimental knowledge1 but simply on the hypothesis that the new forests and new species of plants to which he refers1 originated from seeds1 and not from primordial germs everywhere implanted in the earth4 ,dr4 ,g4 ,chaplin ,child1 who swallows the ,egyptian wheat story1 mummy-cases and all1 in speaking of some of the ,english dykes or mound-fences which have existed from time well-nigh immemorial1 says3 ,no sooner are these dykes leveled than the seeds of wild flowers1 which must have lain in them for ages1 sprout forth vigorously1 just as if the ground had been recently sown with seed4 ,he also mentions1 as a more or less remarkable fact1 that a house1 which was known to have existed for two hundred years1 was pulled down1 and1 no sooner was the surface soil exposed to the influence of light and moisture1 than it became covered with a crop of wild-mustard or charlock4 ,and he instances these facts to show that the seeds of this charlock1 and these dyke plants1 had lain dormant in the soil from the time the dykes were built1 and the house erected4 ,but these physiological facts1 however well authenticated they may have been1 are no more conclusive of the presence of dormant seed1 than the appearance of the common plantain about a recently built dwelling-house1 where none ever grew before1 is proof that the seeds of this common household plant had lain dormant for ages before the house was erected4 ,we cannot tell why this common plant follows the domestic household1 any more than we can tell why rats follow civilization4 ,but they are both sufficiently annoying at times1 to satisfy us that they do follow1 however inexplicable the reason may be4 ,the same writer further says1 in connection with the foregoing statements3 ,instances 7of the vitality of seeds7 might easily be multiplied almost indefinitely1 but we shall be satisfied with noticing one of a very extraordinary kind4 ,in the time of the ,emperor ,hadrian1 a man died soon after he had eaten plentifully of raspberries4 ,he was buried at ,dorchester4 ,about twenty-eight years ago1 the remains of this man1 together with coins of the ,roman ,emperor1 were discovered in a coffin 767 at the bottom of a barrow1 thirty feet under the surface4 ,the man had thus lain undisturbed for some #agjj years4 ,but the most curious circumstance connected with the case was1 that the raspberry seeds were recovered from the stomach 767 and sown in the garden of the ,horticultural ,society1 where they germinated and grew into healthy bushes1 ,here is circumstantiality enough to satisfy the most unlimited skepticism1 provided that the facts were satisfactorily vouched for by the living1 and the record left by the dead were sufficiently explicit in detail1 and conclusive in identity of subject4 ,then to suggest even a reasonable doubt would1 we admit1 be equivalent to making truth a circumstantial liar4 ,but this most remarkable story will bear repetition1 with a few running comments4 ,the man 7presumably a ,roman soldier7 died seventeen hundred years ago4 ,this is not unlikely4 ,he died of eating too plentifully of raspberries2 a circumstance not altogether improbable4 ,he was buried at ,dorchester2 where1 of course1 there were no records of deaths and burials kept at the time1 and hence1 we should have to question the record1 if one were presented4 ,he was also buried in a coffin1 or1 at least1 dug up in one4 ,this statement must be received cum grano4 ,the ,romans never used coffins1 and1 under the empire1 they burnt most of their dead4 ,after a battle1 however1 they generally piled them up in heaps1 and1 where there was a lack of fuel to burn them1 they covered them with the surface soil1 taking good care to put a ,roman coin in each soldier's mouth1 so that he might pay the ferryman in ,hades4 ,there was thirty-five feet of surface soil shoveled on top of this particular ,roman1--showing that he was a very consequential personage in camp4 ,no wonder1 then1 that all these nice particularities of statement should have been circumstantially noted in the commanding general's order of the day1 and thus been handed down to posterity for the future advancement of science6 ,he had lain undisturbed for nearly two thousand years4 ,almost any one would have done so1 with that amount of surface soil shoveled on top of him4 ,the seeds were recovered from his stomach2 that is1 after improvidently snatching away the ,roman soldier's life1 they took good care to preserve their own1 as well as the stomach in which they were deposited4 ,the seeds were planted in the ,horticultural ,society's garden1 where they flourished vigorously4 ,all these circumstantially narrated facts 787 were gathered 7by somebody7 about forty years ago4 ,in what authentic and satisfactorily verified record are they to be found to-day8 ,the writer gives us no clue4 ,the stomach1 the coffin1 the ,roman coins1 some of the wonderfully preserved seeds1 as well as the obolus in the mouth of the dead soldier1 should be found somewhere4 ,they could not have disappeared in a night4 ,if they had withstood the relentless tooth of time for seventeen hundred years1 in the surface soil of ,dorchester1 the last forty years ought not to have obliterated all trace of them4 ,the story is simply too incredible for belief1 if printed in forty ,great ,architects of ,nature4 ,from #ahdg to #ahea1 the writer went into any number of ,wisconsin mounds--those not essentially dissimilar from the ,roman barrows in ,england--in company with the late ,i4 ,a4 ,lapham1 of ,milwaukee2 and the idea of finding any human stomach1 with or without seeds in it--with probably not half the time intervening between burial and exhumation1 as in the case of this ,roman soldier--would have been instantly rejected by the distinguished archaeologist accompanying us4 ,indeed1 had any such discovery been made1 he would have unhesitatingly pronounced the mound tampered with for the purposes of imposition4 ,it is possible that surface soil1 containing some raspberry seeds1 may have been taken to the ,horticultural ,society's garden to which ,dr4 ,child refers1 and planted there as stated2 but that they were from a human stomach that had lain buried for seventeen hundred years in the surface soil of ,england1 or any other country1 is simply preposterous4 ,it caps the climax of all the wonderful seed-stories yet manufactured for the scientific mind to wrestle with4 ,it is easy enough to find soil about old stumps1 and fallen trunks and branches of trees1 which will produce raspberries1 either with or without the presence of seed4 ,and soil might have been taken from the bottom of this ,dorchester barrow which produced them4 ,but the appearance of the bushes must have depended on the conditions of the soil1 not on seeds eaten by a ,roman soldier nearly two thousand years ago4 ,that version of the story must be summarily dismissed the attention of scientific men4 ,professor ,marsh1 in the work to which we have already several times alluded1 says3 ,when newly cleared ground is burnt over in the ,united ,states1 the ashes are hardly cold before they are covered with a crop of fire-weed1 a tall herbaceous plant1 very seldom growing under other circumstances1 and often not to be found for a distance of many miles from the clearing4 ,the botanical name of this plant is ,erechthites hieracifolia1 and it is well known to the botanists of ,new ,england4 ,its seeds are almost as destructible by fire as thistle-down itself2 and it is not to be supposed that any of the seeds borne by the winds or by birds1 and scattered through the clearing before it was burned1 could have survived the intense heat to which they must have been subjected in the burning off of a heavy and dense growth of felled timber4 ,the seeds1 if any1 must have been scattered after the fire1 and not before it4 ,but these heavy clearings--those in which we have witnessed the most abundant crops of fire-weed--are generally burnt off in the early spring1 when there are no seeds to be scattered1 as all those of the previous year's growth find their proper lodgment in the soil before the winter fully closes in4 ,the seeds for which ,professor ,marsh would have to search1 therefore1 would be those grown in some corresponding latitude1 or plant zone1 in the southern hemisphere1 not within thousands of miles from the clearing in which they so promptly make their appearance4 ,professor ,marsh suggests1 however1 that they may have come from the deeply buried seeds of a former vegetation1 quickened into life by the heat4 ,but had he examined these plants1 in their incipient stages of growth1 he would have found that they sprung directly from the surface of the burnt soil1 their initial rootlets hardly extending to the depth of two-thirds of an inch below it1 and where they must have utterly perished from the heat4 ,the theory he suggests is the only possible one1 he thinks1 to account for the mystery1 and hence its suggestion by him4 ,but he has only to pass one of the delicate seeds of this plant through the flame of a candle to see that it instantly perishes by fire4 ,his suggested theory must be abandoned1 therefore1 and that of the ,bible genesis accepted in its place4 ,the fact is1 and it ought to be well known to the closer student of nature1 that the fire-weed makes its appearance in the conditions of the burnt soil1 just as stramonium does in the conditions of the soil where a coal-pit has been recently burned2 that is1 not from seed1 but from vital units1 or germs1 everywhere present in the earth--those taking advantage of environing conditions1 just as ,bacteria or ,torultz spring from the proper organic infusions4 ,and the young shoots of stramonium1 in a recently burned coal-pit1 will be found to spring directly from the surface of the burnt ground1 where all seeds and living organism must have perished in the heat1 and not at any considerable depth below it4 ,their first appearance is on the immediate surface of the burnt ground1 the same as in the case of fire-weed1 and at a time when there were no seeds to be distributed1 except such as must have come from the southern hemisphere1 or been casually picked up by birds1 and taken their slim chances of survival after passing through the natural gristmills of the birds4 ,and even this supposition1 would only account for the appearance of a single stramonium plant or two1 not for a thick bed of it covering the entire ground4 ,the theory of seed-distribution1 in this and other cases1 is wholly out of the question2 as much so as when white clover makes its appearance on a closely-grazed prairie1 hundreds of miles away from where there has been a single sprig of clover growing in a thousand years4 ,every closely observant person1 living for any length of time on our western prairies1 is familiar with the fact that when the rank and hardier grasses1 usually growing thereon1 are effectually fed down by stock1 and especially by sheep1 the prairie grasses disappear1 and the ground at once comes in with white clover1 and the other nutritious gramma or grasses of our common pasture lands4 ,no seed has been sown in these localities1 and none could have been found had every square inch of the surface soil been examined by the most powerful microscope4 ,the white clover and these nutritious grasses make their appearance on these prairies1 just as the first sprig of vegetation did on the earth1 not from seed1 but from prexisting vital units or primordial germs1 implanted therein from the beginning1 and awaiting the necessary conditions for their development and growth4 ,the bird theory is the one almost universally relied upon for the explanation of these phenomena1 where the seeds distributed1 or supposed to be distributed1 are not winged4 ,but we are satisfied that birds perform no such important office1 in the matter of seed-distribution1 as is generally attributed to them4 ,we have examined1 during the past two seasons1 a large number of bird-droppings1 and find our previous impressions respecting them fully verified4 ,with all the more delicate seeds--those of our common field grasses and weeds--the chances are a thousand to one that none of them will ever pass the cloaca of the bird eating them1 in any condition to germinate4 ,all seed-eating birds are also gravel-eaters2 and the pebbles and gravel they eat are mostly silex1 or the material from which our best buhrstones are made4 ,these pass into the gizzard1 or pyloric division of the bird's stomach1 where they are utilized1 the same as we utilize our buhrstones4 ,the gizzard has sharply corrugated interior walls1 extremely thick and muscular1 which involuntarily contract and expand1 giving the bird a tremendous grinding power over his food1 considering the size of his grinding apparatus4 ,the seeds--all the seeds1 in fact1 he eats--pass at once into his crop1 or the natural hopper to his gristmill1 where they undergo a moistening or macerating process previous to being ground into the finest pulp in the gizzard4 ,as a general rule1 all the seeds a bird eats are ground into this pulpy state before they pass into the intestinal canal1 extending from the gizzard to the cloaca4 ,the hard1 semi-translucent1 and highly elastic outer coating of most small seeds1 may be measurably preserved in its passage through the gizzard1 and1 resuming its oval shape in the thinner pulpy mass contained in the upper portion of the intestine1 present the appearance of seed in the cloacal discharges1 and thus deceive the casual observer4 ,but the use of a spatula and a small piece of polished stone slab will show that the entire discharge is excrementitious matter1 with the single exception of this silicious coating of the seeds4 ,the case is different1 however1 with the fruit-eating birds4 ,the fruits they consume are retained but a comparatively short time in the crop1 pass hurriedly through the gizzard1 and no doubt carry along with them some of the smaller seeds of berries1 and now and then the pit of a cherry or small plum4 ,the gizzard1 in these cases1 is simply gorged with the pulp and juices of the fruit1 its muscular action more or less relaxed1 and some of the seeds consequently escape the grinding process they would otherwise undergo4 ,and yet we are satisfied that a majority of these seeds even1 are more or less thoroughly triturated by a healthy gravel-eating bird4 ,this would certainly be the case if they were retained for any length of time in the pyloric division of the bird's stomach4 ,all birds have gizzards1 but their grinding capacity depends very much on the character of the food they eat4 ,birds of prey1 and others subsisting mostly or entirely on animal food1 have thin1 membranous1 and comparatively flabby gizzards2 while those living on hard grains and seeds have extremely thick1 powerful1 and muscular ones1--those capable of crushing up and thoroughly triturating all the food they take into their crops4 ,these gizzards are nature's gristmills1 and they grind exceedingly fine4 ,if any seed escapes1 it is because the mill has been flooded by the bird1 and not because of any defect in the grinding apparatus4 ,these birds are not1 therefore natural sowers of seeds1 as ,professor ,marsh and some others claim2 but are1 at most1 only accidental or chance-sowers4 ,nature never designed that they should do anything more than consume the food they eat1 or submit it to the proper action of their digestive organs4 ,it might as well be claimed that the secretary bird is a natural sower of serpents1 as that many of the grain-eating birds are the natural sowers of seeds4 ,the theory is too foraminated--too full of loopholes and unsatisfactory conditions--to be accepted as an explanation of the more general phenomena presented4 ,the fruit-eating quadrupeds are1 relatively1 far better sowers of seeds than the birds1 for they eat fruit without sending their grists to mill4 ,dr4 ,dwight rejected the transportation theory as early as #ahbj1 and ,professor ,marsh gives any number of cases where it was necessary for him to abandon it4 ,and yet some of our ablest writers1 publishing works of quite recent date1 adhere to it as the only theory that accounts for all the phenomena presented4 ,professor ,george ,thurber1 in speaking of the dissemination of seeds1 finds other agencies therefor than winds1 birds1 quadrupeds1 etc41 such as we have already named4 ,for instance1 he claims that rivers1 ocean currents1 mountain torrents1 and even wars1 contribute largely towards their dispersion and dissemination throughout different parts of the earth4 ,all this may be true to a limited extent2 but none of these enumerated agencies will account for more than a very few of the many well-authenticated facts we have given1 and many others that might be given1 if our limits permitted4 ,among the instances where wars have had1 or are claimed to have had1 an important agency in the distribution of seeds throughout an invaded country1 he mentions the fact that after our late civil war1 a little leguminous plant 7,lespedeza striata7 sprang up all over the southern states1 and adds1 that it was not known how it came1 or where from1 but its native country is ,japan4 ,in some parts of the ,south it is known as ,japan clover1 and is highly valued as a forage plant4 ,but the war had nothing more to do with the appearance of this plant all over the southern states1 than the changes of the moon1 or the phenomenal man therein4 ,the plant had been noticed in certain localities in the ,south before the war1 but the circumstance of its very general appearance throughout a large area of that section of country1 was not particularly noticed until the confederate troops began to move from one southern state to another1 when1 finding it a valuable forage plant1 they naturally enough regarded it as a providential dispensation1 especially in those sections where other forage plants and nutritious gramma were not abundant4 ,but this plant would have made its appearance just the same had the war never been thought of as a possible remedy for aggressive legislation1 however real or imaginary it may have been4 ,it can be easily accounted for1 however1 on the theory we have suggested--that of the germinal principle of life implanted in the earth1 as the ,bible genesis indubitably indicates4 ,the plant in question has long been a native of ,japan1 which lies in the same warm temperate zone as the southern states4 ,the same general hygrometric and thermometric conditions prevail throughout the two countries or sections of country4 ,these1 added to the necessary telluric conditions1 give the required moisture1 heat1 and soil-constituents for the development of the ,japan clover in the ,south1 the same as it was originally developed in its native country4 ,and it is just as much native to the ,south now1 as it was hundreds or thousand's of years ago to ,japan4 ,it did not come from seeds scattered by war1 or any other imaginable agency of man1 but from the indestructible1 vital units or germs implanted in the earth itself4 ,had the plant appeared in any one locality1 or even in half a dozen separate localities1 in the ,south1 it might possibly have been accounted for on the theory of ,professor ,thurber4 ,but its simultaneous appearance over all the southern states1 as he puts it1 absolutely negatives any such theory4 ,neither winds1 river or ocean currents1 casual mountain torrents1 birds1 quadrupeds1 war1 or even man himself1 could have effected this sudden and wide distribution of the plant in question4 ,it came as did all other plant-life1 in the first instance1 from geographical conditions--those favoring the development of primordial germs--just as the different organic infusions1 experimentally prepared by the physiologist1 produce their respective forms of infusorial life2 each distinctive form depending on the chemical conditions of the infusion at the time the microscopic examination is made4 ,change the conditions1 or defer the examination until the conditions themselves are changed1 and other and different forms of life will make their appearance1 in harmony with the physiological law we have named4 ,this wonderful play of the vital forces of nature is no less dependant on conditions--on the necessary pre-existing plasma1 chemically balanced soils1 organic solutions1 etc4--than the alleged dynamical aggregates1 molecules organiques1 plastide particles1 or highly differentiated life-stuff1 insisted upon by the physicists1 in their materialistic theories of life4 ,these physicists make even the slightest change in developmental phases--whether statical1 as in the case of crystals1 or dynamical1 as in the case of living organisms--to depend on physical conditions1--those aiding and abetting what they call the molecular play of physical forces4 ,but with their theory that matter and motion are the only self-subsistent1 indestructible elements in the universe1 what molecular play can be attributed to matter but that which is derived from motion1 or some one of its alleged correlates8 ,we can only imagine two sorts of motion as possible metaphysical conceptions in connection with matter--molar motion1 or that relating to matter moving in mass1 and molecular motion1 or that relating to the movements of matter in its unaggregated form1 or as confined to molecules4 ,but motion itself is not an absolute entity4 ,it is not so much even as a collocating or placing force of matter itself4 ,it is1 at best1 only a mechanical impulse imparted by one moving body to another2 or1 more accurately speaking1 a continuous change of place in a moving body4 ,in other words1 it is simply a process or mode of action1 and stands in about the same relation to matter as growth does to a living plant or tree4 ,independently of matter it has no existence1 either objectively or subjectively1 or even as a metaphysical conception4 ,to allege its indestructibility1 as the physicists do1 is simply to predicate an additional property of indestructible matter4 ,we may call it force--something that constantly expends itself in a moving body--but it is utterly incapable of definition1 or of conception even1 except as it stands related to such moving body4 ,all the marvellous correlates of motion1 therefore1 producing such wonderful effects upon matter1 in both its molar and molecular states or conditions1 are nothing more nor less than vague and inconclusive inductions1 derived from premises having1 at best1 nothing but a relative existence in a universe of moving matter4 ,it would be decidedly better to agree with ,haeckel1 that matter is the only actual existence1 than to predicate of matter a co-existent and wholly inexplicable somewhat1 whereon to base a purely physical hypothesis of life4 ,but let us return from this slight digression4 ,the beautiful and purely local fern 7,schizoea pusilla7 growing in the pine barrens of ,new ,jersey1 affords quite as conclusive proof of the correctness of the ,bible genesis of life as the phenomenal appearance of ,japan clover in the ,south4 ,it was at one time supposed that this most delicate and beautiful of all our ferns was peculiar to the ,new ,jersey pine barrens4 ,but it has been ascertained that it grows quite as abundantly in similar barrens in ,new ,zealand1 which are in the south temperate zone1 at about the same latitude south1 that these pine barrens of ,new ,jersey occupy in the temperate zone north4 ,so that1 at whatever period this fern originally made its appearance in either locality1 it unquestionably found the exact thermometric1 hygrometric1 telluric1 and other conditions necessary for the development of its vital germs4 ,take any accurate1 or even half-accurate1 chart of plant distribution on the earth's surface1 and it will be found that1 everywhere1 under the same favoring conditions1 plants of the same genera and species make their appearance independently of any known processes of dissemination in the case of seeds4 ,the distribution is not one of seeds1 but rather of geographical conditions--thermometric1 hygrometric1 telluric1 and possibly chemical4 ,and this is true of all vegetation1 whether growing in the same plant zones1 in high latitudes1 at high altitudes1 or under one degree of temperature and moisture or another4 ,whenever the telluric conditions are the same or similar1 in the respective localities named1 and the temperature and moisture correspond1 the necessary plant distribution follows in obedience to the divine mandate--,let the earth bring forth4 ,this is the one uniform law that governs everywhere1 and the only one that accounts for all the diversified manifestations of plant-life1 now1 as heretofore1 taking place upon our globe4 ,and the same is measurably true of animal life4 ,it accounts for the appearance of every form of life in organic infusions2 for ,bacteria in the blood1 ,torul in the tissues1 plastide particles1 morphological cells1 and every other vital manifestation1 from the smallest conceivable unit of life in protaplasmic matter1 to the lordliest and most defiant forest oak that ever bared its arms to the storms and tempests of centuries4 ,a purely materialistic science may perk its head with an air of affected incredulity1 and superciliously turn aside from this hypothesis1 because it does not shock our veneration for the ,sacred ,scriptures1 but let its special advocates advance some more consistent and rational life-theory than that of molecular machinery worked by molecular force1 or content themselves1 with ,dr4 ,gull1 in confessing that they are unable to draw the first line between living matter and dead matter1 as they absurdly use these terms4 ,it is conceded that much extravagant speculation has been wasted upon this question of the distribution of seeds4 ,the ambition of each new writer has seemingly been to hit upon some new theory of distribution4 ,the bird theory is a failure1 as we have shown2 nor do they invariably fly due east or west1 so as to supply the several climatic zones with their respective vegetations4 ,the same is true of the squirrel theory1 for this nimble little rodent is as likely to head north or south as to follow the course of the sun2 the wind theory is subject to too many shifts and changes to be accounted a reliable agency2 the river-and-ocean-current theories are still less satisfactory1 since rivers flow in diverse directions1 and ocean currents bear with safety only their own aquatic plants2 the mummy-case theory is hardly an accredited agency1 and the war theory is attended with too much destruction of life to be safely relied on as conserving the vital forces of nature4 ,the climatic zones1 and high and low altitudes1 have still to be consulted to get at the real causes of distribution1 or such as conclusively satisfy the scientific mind4 ,for no single plant is really a cosmopolite4 ,they are simply the habitats of their own separate zones1 except as high altitudes are reached1 and climatic and other conditions favor the appearance of such vegetation as belongs to other plant zones4 ,if we would find the more common plants and weeds of ,new ,england in ,north ,carolina or ,tennessee1 we must go into the mountainous regions of those states1 at an altitude which compensates for the difference in latitude1 and where the influencing conditions of plant-life are essentially the same4 ,in such localities1 we shall find the same household plants1 garden weeds1 and general vegetation1 as in higher northern latitudes1 not because their seeds have been borne thither from ,new ,england or elsewhere1 but because the same climatic1 telluric and other conditions prevail as in the more northern localities4 ,and these conditions are what determine the development and growth of local vegetations4 ,and so of the alpine firs1 grasses1 harebells1 lichens1 mosses1 etc4 ,their seeds have not been scattered1 by any known agencies1 over intervening regions1 for thousands of miles or more1 in order to find lodgment on these lofty mountain cones2 but1 conditions being the same1 the same vegetable growths appear4 ,this is nature's method of propagating vital units and diversifying plant-life--geographical conditions everywhere determining the proper distribution4 ,but if nature is so prolific of vital resources1 in the propagation of plant-life1 what need has she of natural seeds8 ,we anticipate this inquiry only to answer it2 for we recognize it as a legitimate one in this connection4 ,our answer is that the seeds are given for the use of man1 that he may control and utilize vegetation1 and not have to depend on more or less uncertain conditions4 ,agricultural chemistry must be carried to a much higher degree of perfection than it is likely to reach in the next ten centuries at least1 to determine whether any particular plat of ground has been chemically balanced for the growth of wheat1 to the exclusion of other cereal crops4 ,besides1 the process of soil-balancing might be altogether too expensive to be indulged in by judicious husbandry4 ,these chemical conditions admit of too many possible failures1 in balancing even the smallest patch of ground1 to justify experiments in the direction named4 ,seeds also subserve the important subsidiary purpose of supplying food for many birds and animals1 more or less useful to man4 ,but chemistry has its limits as to usefulness in all human laboratories4 ,as man's wisdom is limited1 so is his power over the elementary forces of nature confined to very narrow boundaries4 ,it is given to him to search out many inventions1 and to pry1 thus far and no farther1 into the secrets of nature1 or1 more properly speaking1 into the secrets of ,god4 ,there is no doubt that if our chemico-molecular theorists respecting life-phenomena1 could produce1 in their laboratories1 the exact inter-uterine plasma1 or plasmic conditions1 of an animal--any animal1 in fact--and continue these conditions during the proper period of gestation1 they might produce life de novo4#ac ,but the most daring physicist would stand aghast at the bare proposal of such an experiment4 ,neither his knowledge of chemistry1 nor the present uncertain value attaching to molecular machinery1 would justify him1 for a moment1 in entering upon such a purely tentative and empirical an undertaking4 ,it is hardly necessary to assume that the same law of vital force governs in the appearance and geographical distribution of fungi1 as universally obtains in the higher and more complex vegetal growths4 ,and although it may be difficult1 in some instances1 to draw the precise line between certain low mycological forms and the amoeboid and some other primitive manifestations of animal life1 yet all vegetable physiologists agree in assigning a purely vegetable origin to all the primary groups of fungi--their general cellular character determining their proper place in classification4 ,and in all their extended family groups1 pervading nature as widely as animal and vegetable life1 we find that uniform chemical and other conditions produce uniform mycological results4 ,spores are no more necessary for their appearance1 in the first instance1 than acorns are essential to the appearance of an oak forest when it succeeds the pine4 ,wherever the necessary conditions of moisture and heat are found to obtain1 in connection with decayed or decaying substances1 the particular form of fungus indicated thereby1 whether parasitic or non-parasitic1 will make its appearance4 ,continuously damp walls1 or wall-paper1 will produce them in specific variety1 not because their invisible spores are flying about in the atmosphere to find appropriate lodgment1 but because the necessary conditions obtain for their manifestation1 or for the development of their vital units--those everywhere diffused1 and ready to burgeon forth from the proper matrix1 or from certain nutrient conditions to be met with in all vegetable substances1 after the process of decay has commenced4 ,some orders appear only in a single matrix1 but the greater part of them flourish on different decaying substances4 ,dr4 ,m4,c4 ,cooke1 in speaking of non-parasitic fungi1 and especially of moulds1 says3 ,it would be far more difficult to mention substances on which they are never developed than to indicate where they have been found4 ,the parasitic fungi1 however1 generally confine themselves to certain special plants1 and rarely to any other4 ,it is only the condition of these special plants1 when affected by decay1 that seems favorable for their development2 not because their spores 7assuming that all fungi come from spores17 possess the intelligence to fly about and hunt up the proper nutrient matter on which to subsist during their developmental progress from specific spores into genetic forms of life4 ,the rust or blight of grain is not the cause1 therefore1 but rather the result1 of the common disease known as blight4 ,without some excess or deficiency of absorption and elaboration in the growth of grain or plants--something essentially disturbing their normal and harmonious processes of development--no mycological forms would appear on their stems or roots1 nor would they develop themselves on their fading leaves or congested and decaying fruit4 ,to say that there is any intelligent preference in these fungi--the different species of ,mucor1 for instance--for disgusting offal over decaying fruit1 bread1 paste1 preserves1 etc41 is to predicate a higher degree of intelligence of fungus spores than of the average brute creation1 with all its wonderful instincts for guidance4 ,we might refer to other classes of fungi developing themselves in the testa of hard seeds1 and in the interior of acorns1 sweet chestnuts1 etc41--those in which there is no discoverable external opening by the aid of the microscope--to show the absolute absurdity of the theory that the spores of fungi1 including the non-parasitic and other autonomous moulds1 go madly foraging about the country in pursuit of decaying cocoanuts1 apples1 pears1 plums1 oranges1 etc41 and even committing their depredations on hermetically canned fruits1 the concealed honeycomb of beehives1 the pupa of moths1 and whatever else they may intelligently select as a desirable matrix or habitat4 ,no such theory as this will stand the test of thorough research and investigation1 in any mycological direction4 ,fungi everywhere make their initial appearance in the conditions of decay1 as plants and trees originally make theirs in the environing conditions of vital manifestation4 ,that our life-giving atmosphere--the pater omnipotens ther of ,virgil1 descending into the bosom of his joyous spouse 7the earth7 in fructifying showers1 and great himself1 mingling with her great body for the development of all things of life--should be so immeasurably thronged with death-pursuing fungi that myriads of their spores might dance without jostling on the point of a cambric needle1 is infinitely more fanciful than the conceptions of the poet1 in personifying the atmosphere as father ther1 and the earth as his joyous spouse4 ,but life1 with its pardlike spirit1 beautiful and swift1 has reached its highest conceptions in the mind of the poet1 not in the speculations of the scientist4 ,what a mingled yarn1 spun from many-colored yet invisible threads1 is it in the creative mind of a ,shakespeare1 and how it looms up into a dome of many-colored glass1 staining the white radiance of eternity1 under the magic touch of a ,shelley6 ,and yet how is it dwarfed down to a contemptible piece of molecular machinery by the scientist--one so utterly contemptible in its manifestations that it is ordered to take a back seat in this universe of all-potential matter and motion6 ,dr4 ,cooke1 in his ,handbook of ,british ,fungi1 virtually concedes that the spores of the large puff-ball 7,lycoperdon giganteum71 as well as those of mushrooms1 truffles1 and other edible fungi 7those with whose methods of propagation man is best acquainted71 may be produced artificially4 ,but the process by which their production is thus effected1 is more properly a natural than an artificial one4 ,in speaking of truffle-grounds1 he says 7quoting from ,broome7 that whenever a plantation of beech1 or beech and fir1 is made in the chalky districts of ,salisbury ,plain1 after the lapse of a few years truffles are produced1 and that the plantations continue productive for a period of from ten to fifteen years1 after which they cease to be so4 ,no truffle spores were planted in these cases1 but the conditions of the soil1 interlaced by the roots and shaded by the branches of the young beech trees1 or the beech and fir1 became favorable for the development of truffle germs1 and they made their appearance just as mushrooms do in caves and other places1 where artificial beds are made and chemically balanced for their development and growth4 ,and the reason why they disappeared1 after a period of ten or fifteen years1 was simply because the proper nutriment of the soil was exhausted1 and not in consequence of its being too deeply shaded by the growing trees4 ,one uniform rule would seem to govern in the culture of this much-coveted fungus4 ,wherever the necessary environing conditions obtain1 they appear1 and wherever these conditions fail1 they disappear1 notwithstanding the most persistent efforts to save them by watering the soil with fresh infusions of the plant4 ,in proof of this1 one form of truffle 7,tuber stivum7 appears under beech trees1 another form 7,tuber macrosporum7 under oak trees1 and still a third form 7,tuber brumale7 under oaks and white poplars2 showing that so slight a change in soil conditions as that resulting from the presence of poplars among oaks1 produces a very material change in the character of the fungus--one amounting to a specific difference in variety4 ,the process of artificially producing mushroom spores is a very simple one1 and may be easily followed4 ,you have only to collect a quantity of horse-droppings1 mingle with them some common road sand1 place them under cover1 see that they are well beaten down in order to prevent over-heating--turning them occasionally for the same purpose--and in due time they will generate sufficient spores for a dozen mushroom beds of the ordinary size4 ,the reason for their appearance is the same as that governing truffle spores--they come whenever conditions favor1 that is1 whenever the soil is chemically balanced for their development and growth4 ,in other words1 they come because it is just as impossible for them not to come1 in their proper environing conditions1 as it is for the earth1 in its present cosmical relations1 not to respond to its axial rotation4 ,let the earth bring forth is just as much an outspoken law of nature1 and one as inexorably obeyed1 as that unerring force of gravity which led ,leverrier1 in the faith of his inductions1 to indicate the precise point in the heavens where the far-off planet1 now bearing his name1 might be seen by the required telescope4 ,dr4 ,cooke1 quoting ,mr4 ,cuthill's directions for producing mushroom spores1 says3 ,these little collections of horse-droppings and road sand1 if kept dry in shed1 hole1 or corner1 under cover1 will1 in a short time1 generate plenty of spawn1 and will be ready to spread on the surface of the bed in early autumn4 ,the collections should1 of course1 be made in the early summer4 ,but it is no part of our object to indicate1 in this connection1 the process of truffle or mushroom culture4 ,we merely refer to the methods to show that the vital units1 or germinal principles of life1 in the case of fungi1 are just as dependent on conditions for their development1 as were the primordial germs of the gigantic cryptogams of the carboniferous era4 ,these primordial germs1 or the ,,zra of the ,bible genesis1 must have preceded the first fungous growth1 as they preceded the first spore-bearing cryptogam4 ,m4 ,gasparin1 in his report on the production of truffles1 made to the great ,paris ,exposition of #ahee1 refers to the natural truffle-grounds at ,vaucluse1 where the common oak produces truffles like the evergreen oak2 although1 in other localities1 owing no doubt to the different conditions of the soil1 those gathered at the base of the one species of oak differ very materially from those gathered at the base of the other4 ,all these experimental results1 and many others we might give in connection with the culture of edible fungi1 point to the conditions of the soil1 produced by natural rather than artificial means1 as all-essential for the propagation of fungus spores1 as well as their development into full-sized plants4 ,the cultivation of other and minuter fungi1 for scientific purposes1 need not be referred to in this connection4 ,the same general observations will be found to apply in the case of all the experiments tried1 although some very curious and remarkable modifications occur where pseudospores are to be found in the micelium of different plants4 ,nearly all these fungi have their own parasites1 originating undoubtedly in the diseased conditions of the plant from which they derive their nutriment4 ,indeed1 all fungi1 whether parasitic or non-parasitic1 have their origin1 more or less definitely occurring1 in decay4 ,it is no more true that death is a necessity of life1 than that life is an equal necessity of death4 ,as out of the dead past springs the eternally living present1 so from the muddy vesture of decay spring all the marvellous powers of reproduction with which nature was endowed from the beginning4 ,but it is unnecessary to dwell longer on the spores of fungi4 ,as with the seeds of plants and trees1 these spores never had an existence1 and never could have had one1 before the first independent fungus appeared to produce them4 ,the fungus before the spore is the inevitable induction4 ,no distinction between necessary and contingent truth can ever take a stronger hold than this on the human mind4 ,whence1 then1 the first fungus8 or whence1 rather1 all those colonies1 families1 orders1 divisions1 and countless distinct individuals1 extant everywhere1 in the mycological world8 ,the answer we shall give will be anticipated from what we have already so confidently affirmed4 ,life comes from ,life1 as spirit comes from ,god4 ,and when the spirit of ,god moved upon the face of the depths--upon the face of all the earth--at whatever stage in the progress of our planet1 from its original form to its present myriad-thronged condition of life1 that transcendent event occurred1 ,nature1 as we half-idolatrously worship her1 received her first baptism of life1 and her solemn consecration as the vicar of ,god4 ,no wonder1 then1 that at that ecstatic moment1 when the ineffably bright mantle1 fringed with the white radiance of eternity1 fell upon her1 the morning stars sang together and all the sons of ,god shouted for joy4 ,and nature has been true to both her baptism and her consecration4 ,she claims no worship1 no adoration1 no idolatrous homage from man1 but continually sends up her eternal chant and choral anthem of praise to the great ,giver of life4 ,every flower of the field1 every blade of grass1 every stream that mirrors the heavens above her1 every mountain top from which she points an index finger1 every breeze in which she whispers1 and every cataract in which she speaks1 all proclaim the power1 the wisdom1 the goodness of ,god--the source of all life in the universe1 from the minutest spore to all-inventive1 soul-endowed man4 ,chapter ,v4 ,plant ,migration and ,interglacial ,periods4 ,among the leading propositions laid down by ,arthur ,renfrey1 ,esq41 ,f4,r4,s4 etc41 etc41 in the able article prepared by him for ,the ,physical ,atlas of ,natural ,phenomena1 by ,alexander ,keith ,johnston1 ,edinburg ,edition1 #ahef1 on ,the ,geographical ,distribution of the most ,important ,plants ,yielding ,food1 are the following3-- #a4 ,the primary condition of the existence of any species of plant1 is its absolute creation1 of which we know nothing4 #b4 ,but we assume each species to have been created but once in time and in place1 and that its present diffusion is the result of its own law of reproduction under the favorable or restrictive influences of laws external to it4#ad #c4 ,the most important of external laws are those relating to climate1 since any species can flourish only within narrower or wider1 but always fixed limits1 of temperature1 humidity etc41 #d4 ,the climate depends primarily on latitude1 since this indicates distance from the source of heat1 and the degree of obliquity of the heating rays4 ,there are other governing conditions1 of course1 such as the average rain-fall1 distance from the equator1 the elevation above the sea level in the various mountain systems of vegetation1 etc41 including the hygrometric1 thermometric1 telluric1 and other conditions1 of the several localities in which the different species of vegetation make their appearance4 ,but why should this distinguished naturalist insist upon the specific creation of either plants or animals8 ,no scientific work of any paramount value confines the creative power of the universe to such narrow and restricted limits4 ,nor is there a particle of evidence to be drawn from the ,bible that either plants or animals primarily originated in pairs4 ,let the earth bring forth is a command without limitation1 or restriction1 as to time1 place1 or number2 and there is no reason to doubt that myriads of living forms swarmed everywhere1 at first as now1 in nature4 ,the idea1 as expressed by ,mr4 ,renfrey1 that they were specifically created at one time and place only1 whether in pairs1 tens1 twenties1 or hundreds1 is neither a rational one1 nor has it any experience-argument or scientific authority on which to stand4 ,take1 for instance1 an experience-argument directly in point3--,when the salt wells were first bored at ,syracuse1 ,n4,y41 and the salt water was suffered to flow in waste over the low grounds about the salt-works1 the small saline plants peculiar to salt-marshes in the warm temperate zone made their appearance1 not in pairs1 tens or hundreds1 but in thousands rather1 and have nourished there ever since4 ,they came because conditions favored2 because a salt-marsh had been artificially produced hundreds of miles away from the sea coast4 ,this is only one of a large number of cases--more than we have room to specify in this connection--showing that wherever man1 artificially or otherwise1 produces the necessary conditions of plant-life1 nature responds to the germinal law precisely as she did millions of years ago when the first salt-marsh favored the appearance of these saline plants--such as grow under no other conditions or circumstances4 ,but this idea of plants coming primarily from a single pair of progenitors1 and each primordial pair branching off into diversified offspring1 as in the case of the cabbage1 assumed to be the original ancestor of all the turnips and ruta-bagas1 may be an article of botanical faith1 but never of experimental proof4 ,entia non sunt multiplicanda prter necessitatem is an old and well-approved maxim1 applicable alike to the countless myriads of living organisms1 as to the innumerable crystalline forms to be found everywhere in nature4 ,nothing is produced without the necessary conditions on which its production depends4 ,necessity1 in its primitive signification1 is a term of the very widest meaning1 and most universal application4 ,it applies as well to the course of nature as to the course of human events--to the laws of vegetable and animal growth as to the inevitable march and order of celestial movements4 ,as applied to any form of life-manifestation it implies a law of development and growth1 as well as the physiological conditions without which vital manifestations are impossible4 ,for law1 in a physiological sense1 is that mode of vital action by which effects are invariably and inevitably produced4#ae ,and this law is just as dependent on necessary vital conditions as vital manifestations are dependent on a physiological law4 ,there must always be this reciprocal dependence and relationship between conditioning causes and effects4 ,whenever and wherever the necessary vital conditions exist1 the physiological law takes effect1 and the requisite vital manifestation is witnessed4 ,and this is no doubt as true of animal as of vegetable life4 ,the earth's surface has been divided into eight separate zones1 each of which is distinguished by its peculiar or characteristic fauna and flora4 ,their order1 measured from the geographical equator1 is as follows2 #a4 ,the ,equatorial ,zone1 extending from #j to #ae4 #b4 ,tropical #ae #bc4 #c4 ,sub-tropical #bc #cd4 #d4 ,warm ,temperate #cd #de4 #e4 ,cold #de #eh4 #f4 ,sub-arctic #eh #ff4 #g4 ,arctic #ff #gb4 #h4 ,polar #gb #hb4 ,these several zones become sixteen in number when considered with reference to both the northern and southern hemispheres4 ,and a like division of isothermals is made in the case of all our mountain systems1 extending in both directions from the equator4 ,in ascending our equatorial1 tropical1 and sub-tropical mountains1 we find1 of course1 at their several bases1 the temperature of the zones in which they respectively lie2 from two thousand to three thousand feet1 we reach the next higher zone1 and so on1 at about the same ratio of altitude1 until we ascend to the polar zone or the line of perpetual ice and snow4 ,the peak of ,teneriffe1 for instance1 lies in the sub-tropical zone1 but1 at the elevation named1 we meet with the vegetation which characterizes the warm temperate zone4 ,and this holds true of all our mountain systems1 in all latitudes1 and at all altitudes1 in all parts of the globe4 ,they all present the same or strikingly similar characteristics in plant life1 with such variations and modifications only as might be accounted for1 were all the influencing conditions and surrounding circumstances1 modifying geographical distribution1 known to us4 ,from the lowest to the highest regions in which vegetation flourishes1 this rule1 with slight exceptions only1 will be found to obtain1 and it is in this direction that the observations of the scientific1 as well as practical botanist1 should hereafter be extended4 ,humboldt noticed this characteristic feature of the earth's vegetation quite early in his explorations1 and accordingly divided the tropical mountains1 as the earth's surface was then divided1 into three separate zones1 the tropical1 the temperate1 and the frigid4 ,but a closer classification now distinguishes them into the same number of zones as are marked1 in approximate isotherms1 on the earth's surface4 ,mr4 ,renfrey gives us further statistics of great value respecting these several plant zones of the globe1 all of which fit so admirably into our theory of plant-distribution1 that we can hardly see how the most prejudiced mind can resist the force of its application4 ,among the most important of these statistical facts are tables giving the comparative rain-falls in the different plant zones of the old and new worlds1 and the classes of vegetation peculiar to each of them4 ,the ,equatorial zone1 for instance1 is characterized by extreme luxuriance in growth1 owing no doubt to the great heat and abundant moisture therein1 and exhibits a vegetation which is peculiar to itself1 and which could only thrive under the hygrometric1 thermometric1 telluric1 and other conditions of that extensive zone4 ,the ,tropical zones 7those north and south of the equator7 are characterized by a more abundant and diversified underwood1 and1 while retaining some of the equatorial forms1 present fewer parasites and less rapid and luxuriant growths4 ,they contain many plants and trees which are peculiar to their own limits1 and these are generally the hardiest and most abundant4 ,all equatorial forms disappear in these zones1 that is do not pass into the sub-tropical zones4 ,and these characteristics obtain in both the northern and southern tropical zones1 as well as in the mountain systems within the equatorial regions4 ,the ,sub-tropical zones1 while retaining some of the more marked forms and general features of the tropical zones1 such as palms1 bananas1 etc41 exhibit the most striking characteristics of their own1 consisting of a greater abundance of forest trees1 especially those having broad1 leathery and shining leaves1 like the magnolias1 the different species of laurels1 and plants of the myrtle family4 ,the tropical forms all disappear in these zones1 as the equatorial do in the tropical zones4 ,the ,warm ,temperate zones exhibit the same disposition to retain some of the hardier and more abundant sub-tropical forms that characterize the other zones1 in respect to their adjoining isotherms4 ,but the trees and plants peculiar to this zone north1 7and the same is no doubt true of the corresponding zone south71 are more numerous1 and embrace a wider range of deciduous1 as well as evergreen growths4 ,evergreen shrubs1 heaths1 cistusses1 and leguminous plants are everywhere more abundant4 ,the marked characteristic of these zones is that the trees1 plants1 and arborescent grasses differ more widely in their general character1 as well as run more extensively into varieties4 ,the ,cold ,temperate zones retain many of the deciduous trees of the warm temperate1 but with less conspicuous blossoms1 while a stronger tendency is shown toward social conifers1 and the trunks of the deciduous trees are more profusely overrun with mosses1 lichens1 etc4 ,these zones are also abundant in grasses4 ,the ,sub-arctic zone north largely retains its hold upon the social conifers1 giving place1 northward1 on this continent1 as well as in ,europe and ,asia1 to birch and alder1 alternating with willows where the soil is sufficiently moist4 ,green pastures are still abundant1 and showy flowering herbs abound during the brief spring1 summer1 and autumn months4 ,the ,arctic zone retains few of the sub-arctic forms and its vegetation generally corresponds to what we call alpine shrubs1 grasses1 etc4 ,the ,north ,polar zone shows few signs of vegetation and is thought to be entirely devoid of shrubs4 ,a few small herbacious perennials of the most extreme dwarf habit1 with a few lichens and mosses1 constitute its entire vegetation4 ,there are some seeming exceptions to these general statements respecting plant-distribution1 but they are hardly exceptions when we consider the elevation at which any one species1 as the birches for instance1 may appear1 as they frequently do1 in three several zones4 ,from these facts1 gathered from the highest authorities1 and well-attested on all hands1 what general conclusions1 if any1 are to be drawn8 ,before answering this inquiry1 let us proceed to state what conclusions have been drawn4 ,according to all the authorities we have examined on the distribution of plant life2 on the migration of plants and animals2 on climate and time as affecting the transference of isothermal and isochimenal lines2 on glacial and inter-glacial periods 7with one important exception only71 the assumption maintained is substantially that of ,mr4 ,renfrey1 that each species of plant and animal was created but once in time and place1 and that its present diffusion is the result of its own law of reproduction under the favorable or restrictive influences of laws external to it4 ,in other words1 they insist upon original plant-centres1 without definitely stating when or where they occurred1 and that from these centres both plants and animals have migrated to all parts of the globe where they now appear1 even crossing the equatorial zones where they could not live for a single day4 ,this migration theory they attempt to explain in a way that is altogether more ingenious than satisfactory4 ,the important exception to which we refer is that of ,professor ,agassiz1 as reported by his associate professor of ,harvard ,university1 ,mr4 ,asa ,gray1 in his ,essays and ,reviews ,pertaining to ,darwinism4 ,in this work ,professor ,gray says of his late distinguished associate1 that so far as he was aware1 ,professor ,agassiz was the only leading naturalist who did not take into his very conception of a species1 explicitly or by implication1 the notion of a material connection resulting from the descent of the individuals composing it from a common stock1 of a local origin4 ,and ,professor ,gray adds this further testimony to the closeness of his associate's observations1 in considering the very point here under consideration3 ,agassiz wholly eliminates community of descent from his idea of species1 and even conceives a species to have been as numerous in individuals1 and as widely spread over space1 or as segregated in discontinuous spaces1 from the first to the later periods4 ,and this view is undoubtedly the correct one4 ,at all events1 it entirely harmonizes with the facts of the biblical genesis1 and obviates the necessity of accounting for the appearance of the same genera and species of plants or animals in the southern as in the northern hemispheres2 in fact1 their appearance in all parts of the globe1 in corresponding isotherms1 and under similar conditions of moisture and soil-constituents4 ,wherever the hygrometric1 thermometric1 telluric1 and other conditions favor1 the class of vegetation indicated by the presence of these conditions makes its appearance1 just as the fire-weed makes its appearance in our warm temperate zone1 not from the presence of seed1 but simply the presence of conditions--the provision of man harmonizing with the prevision of nature4 ,in the same way the ,japan clover made its appearance1 as ,professor ,thurber states1 all over the southern states during the late civil war1 not from the migration of plants1 but the presence of natural conditions4#af ,the numerous facts we have already given1 and many others that might be arrayed in advocacy of our position1 taken in connection with the general facts here presented in regard to plant-distribution1 all point directly to climatal and soil conditions as the real cause of dissemination1 and not to their migration from continent to continent1 and across vast intervening seas and oceans1 as the theory of ,professor ,gray and others would require us to believe4 ,take the case of the ,schizoea pusilla of the ,new ,jersey pine barrens1 to which we have already referred1 growing in similar barrens in ,new ,zealand1 and how are we to account for their antipodal appearance upon the globe8 ,professor ,thurber refers to this plant as a purely local fern of ,new ,jersey1 and says it was for a long time supposed to be peculiar to that state until it was ascertained that it grew in ,new ,zealand4 ,whether this plant travelled from ,new ,zealand to ,new ,jersey1 or journeyed in the opposite direction1 none of these specific-centre gentlemen can well inform us4 ,professor ,agassiz would have said that it might have appeared1 in numerous individuals1 in both localities at the same time1 or at different times1 as conditions favored2 and this would have been an exact scientific statement1 no doubt1 of the fact4 ,mr4 ,arthur ,renfrey1 and those who accept his scientific formul1 must insist that this most beautiful of all our ferns was such a favorite child of nature that she condescended to create it twice in time and place1 instead of only once4 ,it is a poor rule1 they may say1 that has no exceptions in phenomenal manifestation4 ,professor ,gray may insist that such a phenomenon as this requires belief in the supernatural1 and that migration by ocean-currents is the more rational theory of the two4 ,but ,m4 ,alphonse de ,candolle--quite as high authority as we can quote--has come to the conclusion that marine currents1 and all other suggested means of distant transportation1 have played only a very small part in the actual dispersion of species1 even across narrow channels and the near arms of seas4 ,but why should the appearance of this fern at opposite points of the globe1 with thousands of miles of ocean and continent intervening1 be any more supernatural than the presence of ,bacteria or ,torul#ag in different organic infusions8 ,if the vital units of these infusori1 are present in experimental infusion1 as ,professor ,bastian virtually admits1 why may not the vital germs or units of this ,schizoea pusilla have made their appearance1 in developmental forms1 both in ,new ,zealand and ,new ,jersey1 at the same or different periods of time8 ,if ,professor ,gray regards the microscopical forms in organic infusions1 or the statical forms in inorganic solutions1 as supernatural1 or as above the powers of nature1 then we have no exceptions to make to his position4 ,first1 prove that these vital manifestations of nature are above the powers with which she has been endowed1 or was originally endowed and we will concede the question of supernaturalness1 and drop all exceptions to his line of argument4 ,whenever a dynamic law1 or a statical1 is found to be uniformly operative under a given set of conditions1 we had supposed the operation not to be above the powers of nature1 but in entire accord with them1 and hence not supernatural4 ,but let us see into what an inextricable labyrinth of difficulty we are led by this theory of plant-migration from the equatorial to the sub-arctic zone1 and vice-versa1 and even beyond the equator to the sub-antarctic zone1 and still vice versa4 ,before proceeding to consider the probable duration of the several geographical epochs1 called glacial periods1 on which their theory of plant-migration depends1 or considering the evidence touching these glacial periods1 we will state their position in regard to these possible migrations as briefly and concisely as we know how4 ,mr4 ,darwin's solution of this problem is the generally accepted one of the evolutionists1 as well as most of the present scientific world4 ,as the truth1 or rather the falsity1 of his pet theory of evolution depended on the satisfactory solution of this vexed problem1 it became necessary for him to give his best and entire mental energies to the gigantic task which was1 by universal consent1 assigned him4 ,the reader shall see how admirably the thermal equator is crossed by ,mr4 ,darwin1 with his vast swarms of flies1 mosquitoes1 insectivorous and other plants1 forest trees1 anthropoid apes1 and general menagerie of wild animals1 such as would gladden the heart of the great ,american showman beyond the most extravagant comparison4 ,the question1 bear in mind1 which he was specially called upon to solve1 was how the temperate forms north--those1 for instance1 of the warm and cold temperate zones--managed to cross the thermal equator1 and invade the corresponding zones in the southern hemisphere2 just as though there was any more necessity of determining this question than the opposite one1 of how the southern forms came to invade the northern hemisphere4 ,we will give his solution of this problem in his own language1 that we may not be charged with misrepresentation4 ,he says1 in speaking of the glacial periods3 ,as the cold became more and more intense1 we know that arctic forms invaded the temperate regions2 and1 from the facts just given1 there can hardly be a doubt that some of the more vigorous1 dominant1 and widest-spread temperate forms invaded the equatorial lowlands4 ,the inhabitants 7flora and fauna7 of these hot lowlands would at the same time have migrated to the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the south2 for the southern hemisphere was at this period warmer4 ,on the decline of the glacial period1 as both hemispheres gradually recovered their former temperatures1 the northern forms living on the lowlands under the equator would have been driven to their former homes or have been destroyed1 being replaced by the equatorial forms returning from the south4 ,some1 however1 of the northern temperate forms would almost certainly have ascended any adjoining highland1 where1 if sufficiently lofty1 they would have long survived1 like the arctic forms on the mountains of ,europe4 ,in the regular course of events the southern hemisphere would1 in its turn1 be subject to a severe glacial period1 with the northern hemisphere rendered warmer2 and then the southern temperate forms would invade the equatorial lowlands4 ,the northern forms which had before been left on the mountains would now descend and mingle with the southern forms4 ,these latter1 when the warmth returned1 would return to their former homes1 leaving some few species on the mountains1 and carrying southward with them some of the northern temperate forms1 which had descended from their mountain fastnesses4 ,thus we should have some few species identically the same in the northern and southern temperate zones1 and on the mountains of the intermediate tropical regions4 ,we are sorry to spoil so ingenious a theory as this to account for plant-migration from the temperate zones north to the corresponding zones south4 ,but in spite of all the great names which will frown down upon us in the attempt1 we are obliged to demolish this altitudiness structure1 even at the risk of its tumbling about our own ears4 ,but first let us lay down a few undeniable propositions1 on the strength of which this ingenious and purely speculative theory of ,mr4 ,darwin must rest3-- #a4 ,it is universally conceded by the scientific world that these glacial epochs1 however many of them there may have been in the past and however few there may be in the future1 depend1 for their occurrence1 upon the maxima of eccentricity in the earth's orbit about the sun4 #b4 ,the actual amount of heat which the earth annually receives from the sun is in no way affected by the eccentricity of its orbit4 ,it is a constant quantity1 and only unequally distributed on the earth's surface1 being neither increased nor diminished1 as our winters occur in aphelion or perihelion4 #c4 ,the actual amount of ice-cap accumulated about the two poles of the earth1 is also a constant quantity4 ,and to measure the severity of any glacial epoch1 we have only to determine the exact amount of ice 7not altogether an impossible problem7 about the two poles at any given time1 and then determine the effect of its entire transference from one pole to the other4 #d4 ,it is not probable that the present ice-cap of the south pole extends continuously and permanently much farther north than #hj or #ha4 ,mt4 ,erebus1 in ,victoria ,land1 lies in about this latitude1 and it was only a few years since that the coast line of that island or continent was traversed1 by ,english exploring vessels1 from ,mt4 ,erebus to a point some ten or twelve degrees further north4 #ah #e4 ,but if we estimate the southern cap as extending continuously to #ge1 what would be the effect of its transference at once to the ice-cap of the north pole8 ,would it extend it1 after assuming its proper glacial slope1 below #fj1 a point falling within the present subarctic zone8 ,the utmost limit to which ,mr4 ,croll1 in his great work on ,climate and ,time1 conceives it possible that it should extend1 in any glacial epoch1 is to #ee1 or about the northern boundary of ,england4 ,now unless the astronomers and physicists are all at sea about the causes of glaciation1 the warm temperate zone can never be pushed any further south than the tropical zone1 nor the cold temperate any further than the sub-tropical4 ,this would be the extreme limit4 ,mr4 ,croll says1 in speaking of these glacial periods2 ,it is1 of course1 absurd to suppose that an ice-cap could ever actually reach down to the equator4 ,it is probable that the last great ice-cap of the glacial epoch nowhere reached half way to the equator4 ,our cap 7that of ,europe7 must therefore1 terminate at a moderately high latitude4 ,and if the gulf stream flows southward during the glacial period north1 as he supposes probable1 the cap on this continent would probably terminate at the same moderately high latitude4 ,assuming that ,mr4 ,croll's estimate is the more probable one1 it would only push the cold temperate zone down to the line of the ,gulf ,states2 the warm temperate1 to the southern line of ,mexico2 the sub-tropical1 to the ,central ,american ,states1 and the tropical to the ,united ,states of ,columbia1 ,venezuela1 and ,guiana4 ,suppose1 then1 that some seven hundred thousand years ago1 more or less1 when the ,north ,pole had fully donned the earth's ice-cap1 with all the isothermal and isochimenal changes thereby effected1 what must have been the line of march taken by our northern vegetal and animal forms to escape the cataclysm of ice and snow then impending8 ,manifestly1 they would have flocked1 first to the ,gulf states1 then to ,mexico1 and afterwards to the ,central ,american states2 but none of them could ever have been crowded through the ,isthmus of ,panama1 since at the height of the last glaciation1 that portion of the continent must have been the tropical barrier to our northern forms1 as it is now the equatorial barrier4 ,for the sake of the argument1 however1 we will suppose the northern ice-cap to have been even more imperative in its demands than ,mr4 ,croll has deemed possible1 driving some of our warm and cold temperate forms down into the lowlands of ,columbia1 ,venezuela1 etc41 in the extreme northern portions of ,south ,america4 ,but how would these forms have managed1 even then1 to cross the thermal equator and secure a permanent habitat in the present warm and cold temperate zones of that continent8 ,manifestly1 this question has never been practically solved1 nor is it ever likely to be in our day or generation4 ,it is nevertheless susceptible of solution1 as ,mr4 ,darwin thinks1 by easy mental processes4 ,we have only to take a bird's eye view of the situation1 and mentally follow these forms in their long geographical tramp from the northern to the southern hemisphere4 ,they must have started1 of course1 some twenty thousand years or more before the earth reached its last superior limit of eccentricity4 ,at that distant epoch the sub-arctic breezes must have been blowing pretty stiffly in our present temperate latitudes1 and these forms would have been constrained1 in due time1 to seek a more congenial isotherm4 ,they must accordingly have set out on their expedition1 at about the period indicated1 with the prospect of a long and tedious journey before them4 ,some twenty thousand years must have transpired before they reached the line of the present ,gulf states1 and it would have taken as many more years for them to deploy to the right and successfully enter the ,mexican states4 ,in another twenty thousand years or so they might have doubled ,vera ,cruz1 and headed1 in a southeasterly direction1 for the ,central ,american states4 ,the thermal equator would by this time have reached a point some thirty degrees south of the geographical equator1 while the northern ice-cap would have swept down upon the traditional hub of the universe1 or some ten or twelve degrees in excess of ,mr4 ,croll's calculations4 ,to have accomplished this grand glaciatorial feat the ,north ,pole must have donned some twenty times the amount of ice now about both poles of the earth1 and so changed the earth's centre of gravity as to have inundated every foot of land on its habitable surface4 ,but if this terrible catastrophy had been avoided1 and some of our extreme northern forms had forced their way through the ,isthmus into the lowlands of ,columbia1 they must have done so at their greatest possible peril1 even if they had reached the base of ,old ,mt4 ,tolima in advance of the thermal equator1 now fleeing in dismay before the southern ,ice-monarch1 with all his isochimenal hosts in mad pursuit of their invaders4 ,and if these adventurous northern forms had succeeded in ascending ,mt4 ,tolima1 they could never have got down again1 with the assistance of forty glaciations4 ,but we can imagine ,mr4 ,darwin promptly snatching his pen to show the stupidity of these northern forms in not climbing ,popocatepetl or some other lofty mountain in ,central ,america or ,mexico1 on their retreat before the still advancing thermal equator4 ,but how this would have helped them to cross the geographical equator1 we fail to see4 ,when ,mr4 ,darwin1 and the eminent corps of geologists and physicists accepting his solution of this vexed question1 can make a warm term south succeed a cold term north1 we shall have no difficulty in solving the problem ourself4 ,but1 unfortunately1 the two terms--the cold one north and the warm one south--are simultaneous in occurrence1 and the same causes which forced these northern invaders into the tropics1 when they followed after the thermal equator1 would have driven them ignominously back again before it4 ,the climbing of mountains would only have prolonged their disaster4 ,for after the glaciation north comes the glaciation south1 and unless our cold temperate zone were pushed down beyond the geographical equator1 none of its living forms could ever have reached the corresponding zone in the southern hemisphere4 ,but as this migration theory is one of paramount importance to modern science1 and especially to ,darwinism1 #ai distinctively so called1 let us1 at the risk of repetition and tediousness1 propose a scientific expedition for the better solution of this problem4 ,to do this1 we propose to cut loose from our stupid predecessors1 the plants and animals1 and invite ,mr4 ,darwin and some of his more distinguished ,european contemporaries1 not omitting ,professors ,gray1 ,winchell1 ,yeomans1 and some few other ,american admirers of his1 to accompany us on a fresh expedition from the warm and cold temperate zones north to the corresponding zones south1 purely in the interest of science4 ,to make it certain that the time fixed upon for this expedition to start1 will not escape their attention1 we will state what many of them already well know1 that the present eccentricity of the earth's orbit is very low1 being only #j4jafh1 and that1 in the year of our ,lord #hea1hjj1 it will reach its next superior limit1 with a few intervening oscillations of such minimum value as to render it hardly worth our while to start before that time4 ,we shall be obliged1 of course to invite our distinguished ,european party to join us on this side of the ,atlantic1 as their own narrow and contracted continent furnishes no proper field for determining the problem in question4 ,we shall insist upon one condition only3 ,that they shall never leave the warm temperate zone in which we shall set out on our expedition1 except to pass halfway into an adjoining zone as is the habit1 at times1 with plants and animals4 ,this condition will have to be rigidly observed1 otherwise our expedition would be of no scientific value to future generations4 ,as we shall have plenty of time to provide the necessary outfit1 we will appoint ,mr4 ,darwin purveyor-general of the party1 and hold him responsible for any misadventure4 ,we will arrange for the expedition to start in the early autumn of the year of our ,lord #hca1hjj1 or about twenty thousand years before the earth shall reach its next superior limit of eccentricity1--all of us eager1 of course1 to brave the climatic vicissitudes of the journey1 and to solve the great problem of the ages1 which is1 to determine how the gigantic elephantoids of the ,eocene period managed to cross the thermal equator1 and pass into the present arctic regions of our globe4 ,as the king never dies1 so the old southern ,ice-monarch will be succeeded by the young northern one1 at about the period named4 ,we shall then have a decided advantage over our predecessors1 the plants and animals1 in their journey southward1 since we shall know the exact route they took1 and need only follow it4 ,presumably they had no such information1 nor had they either chart or compass to guide them1--a circumstance which ,mr4 ,darwin has not sufficiently taken into account in predicating intelligence of his favorite pedestrians4 ,besides1 these vegetal and animal forms had one difficulty to encounter which we shall not experience4 ,with all the northern forms driven down into the ,central ,american states1 they must have been sadly crowded for room1 especially near the ,isthmus4 ,the social conifers must have monopolized all the more favored sites on the mountain sides and tops1 while the humbler denizens of the forest must have contented themselves with still more limited quarters4 ,the more impatient animals1 for lack of necessary forage1 must have crowded through the ,isthmus only to be driven back by the tropical heats to their proper isotherms4 ,but our warm temperate zone is now moving southward1 and our scientific expedition is moving with it4 ,the northern ,ice-monarch has resumed absolute sway1 and our aphelion distance from the sun has increased some tens millions of miles4 ,we have1 in the mean time1 moved down to the line of the ,gulf states1 and are deploying to the right in order to make a triumphant entry into ,mexico4 ,mr4 ,darwin is daily consulting the isochimenals1 and is confident that our northern ice-cap will equal ,mr4 ,croll's highest expectations4 ,the news finally reaches us that the ,gulf stream has turned its course southward1 and is now pouring its immense treasures of heat into the ,south ,atlantic1 if not turning the ,african horn and washing the far-off ,australian coast4 ,this fact greatly increases the enthusiasm of our ,european party1 and they hasten forward into the sub-tropical zone1 almost violating conditions in their haste to enter the tropics4 ,at length1 we crowd the narrow passages of the ,isthmus1 and the glory of a warm temperate climate bursts upon our view in the ,columbian states1 of ,south ,america4 ,the expedition promises to be an entire success4 ,at least1 ,mr4 ,darwin thinks so1 and he is now the ,sir ,oracle of our party4 ,we deliberately enter the lowlands of ,columbia1 and make ready to ascend the sub-tropical mountains--those formerly equatorial--where the great scientific problem of the ages is to be demonstrated4 ,but we are measuring time by almost ,sirius distances1 and vast geologic periods sweep by without apparent record4 ,the northern ice-cap has been a prodigious one1 crowding us nearly down to the geographical equator1 with the advantage we have of appropriating some five and half degrees of the sub-tropical zone4 ,but the year ,anno ,domini #hea1hjj finally rolls round1 and the maximum of the earth's ice-cap is reached4 ,old ,mt4 ,tolima looms up in the distance1 and we soon ascertain that its height is sufficient for all scientific purposes4 ,its summit displays a glittering ice-cap1 and we are certain to find the proper isotherm by climbing its umbrageous sides4 ,we accordingly make haste to reach its base1 and get there not a minute too soon2 for the young southern ,ice-monarch has stolen a march on the thermal equator1 and is driving it irresistibly back to its old quarters4 ,his march northward is a continuous triumph and ovation up to #ee1 and the heart of ,patagonia is made glad by his near approach4 ,true1 the white gates of commerce are closed about the ,horn2 but that is no concern of these wild ,patagonians4 ,the aggressive ,britton is driven out of ,new ,zealand1 and that is another source of joy to the savage breast4 ,tasmania would extend a gladder welcome than all to the ,ice-crowned monarch1 but alas1 not a drop of ,tasmanian blood runs in human veins6 ,cape ,good ,hope has now a sub-arctic climate1 and the heart of the wild ,kaffir and ,zulu rejoices that the sceptre of perfidious ,albion is broken4 ,the thermal equator at length reaches the base of ,mt4 ,tolima1 and hastens northward to the ,isthmus1 and thence to ,hondurus and ,new ,guatemala1 where1 by sheer force of exhaustion1 it comes to a halt4 ,but1 as the equatorial zone extends fifteen degrees both ways from the thermal equator1 its southern limit now rests on the geographical equator1 and accordingly encircles the base of our mount of refuge4 ,we are now up this mountain some sixteen thousand feet above the equatorial lowlands1 with the sub-tropical1 tropical1 and equatorial zones between us and the possibility of our further migration southward1 without violating the express conditions imposed at the outset of our expedition4 ,the fact soon stares us in the face that we have been no more successful1 in our efforts to cross the thermal equator and pass into high southern latitudes1 than the stupid plants and animals before us2 and ,mr ,darwin's faith in high mountains springing from equatorial lowlands1 disappears in jest and derision as we all good-humoredly agree to break conditions1 and find our way back to the centres of activity and trade in the ,old and ,new ,worlds1 leaving the great scientific problem of the ages to solve itself as best it may4 ,we accordingly descend from our mountain fastness1 hasten to the coast1 and take passage by steamer to ,manhattan1 the great commercial metropolis of the world4 ,here we find that the barometer of exchange was long ago taken down in ,london and hung up in ,new ,york4 ,the ,old ,antiquarian ,society rooms are the first object of interest sought by us4 ,on making our way thither we look for a copy of the ,herald1 of the date of our departure1 in which we find an account of the scientific expedition fitted out by us1 facetiously termed ,the ,great ,wild-,goose ,chase after the ,thermal ,equator--presenting one of the most humorous bits of sensational pleasantry ever given to the ,american public4 ,but an apology is due the staider reader for the seeming levity of this narrative adventure4 ,the exposition of ,mr4 ,darwin1 though widely accepted on both sides of the ,atlantic by the scientific world1 has seemed to us too trivial for serious reply4 ,if we have leaped over vast periods of time1 it makes no difference with the argument4 ,so long as the thermal equator1 or more properly the equatorial zone1 or any part of it1 lies between the warm or cold temperate forms1 whether plants or animals1 and their point of destination in the southern hemisphere1 they can never migrate thither1 any more than the right whale of the arctic seas can swim the equatorial oceans4 ,nothing is gained by going out of the way to climb mountains1 except to hopelessly retard the return of both plants and animals to their native zones4 ,if we have not demonstrated this fact to the reader's fullest comprehension1 it will be useless for him ever to write a ,q4,e4,d4 at the end of any proposition4 ,it is true that some eminent astronomers and physicists hesitate to accept the theory that these glacial epochs are due to the eccentricity of the earth's orbit4 ,but the argument favoring it is well fortified and ably advanced1 and if we add to the astronomical considerations involved1 the physical proofs of a change in the earth's centre of gravity1 caused by the excessive accumulation of ice about either pole1 and the probable shifting of the ,gulf stream to a southerly direction during the glacial period north1 it is difficult to resist the conviction that the real cause of glaciation has been suggested in this theory4 ,with all the ice now accumulated about the south pole transferred to the north pole1 it would make an ice-cap of over thirty miles in thickness at the pole1 and one sloping in all directions southward to about #fj4 ,this accumulation1 it is claimed1 would so change the earth's centre of gravity as to cause all the equatorial warm waters to flow southward instead of northward1 as they now do4 ,this would certainly seem to be a most wonderful provision of nature1 as well as one strongly calculated to impress the human mind with the belief that an ,infinite ,prevision lies behind all possible provision1 whether witnessed in the heavens or in the earth1 in astronomical or physical phenomena4 ,everywhere we see infinite perfection1 combined with infinite beneficence1 in the adaptation of means to ends4 ,nothing runs to waste--all things are conserved for use4 ,but in all the outspoken grandeur of the universe1 there is nothing so grand1 in exhibition at least1 as the simple faith of a child1 that ,he who watereth the hills from his chambers1 and causeth the day-spring to know his place1 will watch over the trustful little sleeper during the darkness and silence of the night4 ,chapter ,,vi4 ,the ,distribution and ,premanence of ,species4 ,professor ,gray1 in his address before the ,american ,association for the advancement of science1 delivered at ,dubuque 7,ia47 in #ahgb1 while remarking upon the wide extent of similar flora in the same plant zones1 says3 ,if we now compare1 as to their flora generally1 the ,atlantic ,united ,states with ,japan1 ,mantchooria and ,northern ,china1--i4e4 ,eastern ,north ,america with ,eastern ,north ,asia--half the earth's circumference apart1 we find an astonishing similarity4 ,but why astonishing8 ,had our distinguished botanical professors1 in this country and in ,europe1 thoroughly informed themselves as to the climatic conditions1 the general physical features1 geographical characteristics1 soil-constituents1 and other conditional incidences of this ,asiatic region1 in the light of all the physiological facts before them1 the circumstance of this great similarity of flora would have been anything but astonishing4 ,indeed1 the astonishment1 if any1 would have been expressed at the want of similarity1 had it been found to exist4 ,ever since #ahfb1 these distinguished professors have had the great plant-charts of ,mr4 ,arthur ,renfrey before them1 with the warm temperate zone north accurately laid down in its proper isotherms1 as well as the different classes of vegetation peculiar to the two regions referred to1 and some general conclusions of value to science might have been drawn therefrom4 ,besides1 the fact of these similar antipodal flora was well known to many of them before this chart was issued4 ,they also knew that all along the higher mountain ranges of this country1 as well as in ,europe1 the same alpine flora was to be found under the same or similar alpine conditions4 ,from ,mt4 ,st4 ,elias1 in ,alaska1 to the ,central ,american ,states1 and thence1 through the ,isthmus1 to the southern extremity of the ,andes in ,south ,patagonia1 there is one unbroken line of alpine vegetation pressing the sides or summits of the loftier mountain ranges1 at altitudes correspondingly varying with the latitudes in which they occur4 ,and the same is true of the ,alps in ,europe and the ,himalaya ranges in ,asia1 if not of all the mountain systems of the globe4 ,these1 and hundreds of other equally suggestive facts1 all pointing to geographical1 climatic1 and other influencing conditions1 as the real objective points of inquiry1 have been constantly before our botanical friends2 and yet they have been content with ,mr4 ,darwin's theory of climbing mountains to cross the geographical equator1 under the impression that an enormous ice-cap1 or rather prodigious ice-ulster1 would ultimately drift them into the southern hemisphere1 or enable them to coast their way thither with the greatest imaginable ease4 ,but why insist upon the migration of plants growing in the lowlands and about the bases and sides of mountains1 and not suggest some means of transport for the equally beautiful flora1 known as alpine1 on the mountain summits of the earth8 ,these are distributed1 as we have before shown1 over all our mountain systems1 in all latitudes and in all parts of the globe1 as well as in the higher regions of vegetation as we approach the north pole4 ,surely1 the delicate little harebells of these alpine regions should attract some interest1 if not sympathy1 from those who are constantly hunting up means of transport for the more hardy and robust plants that seem able to take care of themselves almost anywhere4 ,when the next great ice-cap shall sweep down from the north pole upon these beautiful alpine flowers they will have to travel somewhere4 ,there is manifestly as much necessity for them to get out of the way as for the rest of the flora4 ,how will they manage to get down the mountains into the lowlands1 and traverse uncongenial plains and deserts1 to find other and far-distant alpine homes8 ,they can never1 of course1 get very far away from the regions skirted by eternal frost1 for their cup of joy must be chaliced by the snow-flake1 or their beautiful life is soon ended4 ,but if all our alpine flora have traveled from one evolutional centre1 or have been created but once in time and place1 how have they managed to cross the thermal equator and spread themselves out over all the alpine regions of the globe8 ,we call upon ,mr4 ,darwin and ,professor ,gray to rise and explain4 ,not that we want any explanation1 but that their theory of plant-migration stands sadly in need of one4 ,the theory which the ,bible genesis suggests to us is fully adequate to the explanation wanted4 ,it explains not only why these alpine flora appear where they do1 but why they cannot appear anywhere else4 ,it also explains all the physiological facts to which we have referred in the foregoing chapters4 ,wherever the necessary alpine conditions exist the earth responds to the divine command1 and the beautiful little alpine harebell is cradled into life1 and rejoices in the bright embroidery it wears4 ,and so1 wherever streams are turned aside to flow through new meads and sheltered woods1 or over broken and swaly places where cowslips never grew before1 hardly a year will pass before this wan flower will hang therein its pensive head1 while all along the line of the stream the black alder will make its appearance in the lowlands1 no matter how far its current may be diverted from its original channel1 or how distant the supply of natural seeds4 ,for nature's sternest painter can only delineate her as instinct with music and the vital spark4 ,if our botanical professors would come forth into the true light of nature1 they should accept the position of pupil to her1 and not assert that of teacher4 ,so long as they continue to peep and botanize upon her grave1 or over ancient mounds and ,hadrianic tumuli1 they will never find out the cunning of her processes1 much less the means she employs to accomplish her perfected ends4 ,this modern idolatry of hypotheses1 with our chronic neglect of what nature does1 is the great scientific stumbling-block of the age in which we live4 ,our botanists all agree that certain plants and trees disappear--hopelessly die out--from the absence of necessary conditions2 when will they come to recognize the reverse of this undeniable proposition1 and agree that the presence of necessary conditions may cause the same plants and trees to make their appearance1 that is1 spring into life in obedience to some great primal law1 as unerringly obeyed by nature as the attractive force of the universe itself8 ,for nearly half a century the fact has been known that the geographical distribution of the ,european flora1 and especially that of the ,british ,islands1 was referable to latitude1 elevation1 and climatic conditions4 ,as early as #ahce1 ,mr4 ,hewett ,watson1 a well-known botanist of that day1 in his published ,remarks on the ,geographical ,distribution of ,plants1 in connection with ,latitude1 ,elevation1 and ,climate1 drew the attention of the botanical world to this remarkable feature of plant distribution2 while the late ,professor ,edward ,forbes pursued the same line of thought in his attempt to show how geographical changes had affected plant areas in ,great ,britain as far back as the last glacial drift4 ,and yet all our botanical writers have been steadily persisting on immense plant-migrations to account for their geographical distribution1 and have given us maps without number to show how the vegetal hosts have traversed vast continents1 swam multitudinous seas1 braved the fiery equator1 and scaled the summits of the loftiest ,andes4 ,in the mean time1 no botanist of any distinguished note1 except ,m4 ,de ,candolle1 has confidently ventured to question this migration theory1 so imposing and formidable has been the array of names which have frowned down1 like so many gigantic ghauts1 upon the audacious questioner4 ,but the present actual state of knowledge on this subject forbids us any longer to accept theories for facts1 premises for conclusions1 or fallacious reasoning for legitimate induction4 ,truth and daylight never meet in a corner1 and no one1 in our day1 need go to the bottom of a well in search of either4 ,we are forever stumbling over the truth without knowing it1 because our old traditional beliefs1 like so many superannuated grasshoppers1 are constantly springing up in our path and diverting our attention from her4 ,there are physiological facts enough daily obtruding themselves upon our attention1 if we would but notice them1 in the case of wayside plants1 garden and household weeds1 and the more aggressive vegetation of worn out pasture-lands1 to satisfy us of the truth of our theory1 were it not for the swarms of these old traditional grasshoppers continually rising into the air before us1 and shutting out the truth as it is in nature4 ,and the worst feature about this whole business is1 that we have come to regard these multitudinous insects as a delight instead of a burden4 ,but it is hardly necessary to pursue this subject further4 ,we have shown1 or shall show in the succeeding pages1 that all crystalline forms come from necessary or favoring statical conditions2 that all infusorial forms come in the same way1 only their conditions may be said to be dynamical rather than statical2 that all mycological forms 7fungi7 are dependent1 for their primary manifestation1 on conditions of moisture and decay2 that all plant-life1 from the lowest cryptogam to the lordliest conifer1 is dependent on some similar incidence of conditions2 that the mastodon1 now only known by his fossil remains1 must have wallowed forth from his necessary mire 7plasmic conditions7 in the ,eocene period2 and that all animal life must have come from some underlying law of primordial conditions1 as impressed upon matter1 in harmony with the ,divine ,intendment from the beginning2 and that this law is still operative in the production of new forms of life whenever and wherever the same may appear4 ,we shall also show that all living organisms1 such as seeds1 fungus-spores1 morphological cells1 etc41 perish at a temperature of about #ajj ,c41 and that ,bacteria1 ,torul1 and other infusorial forms1 making their appearance in super-heated flasks1 originate not from morphological cells1 plastide particles1 bioplasts1 or any other vital organism1 but from indestructible vital units1 which are everywhere present in the organic matter of our globe1 and ready to burgeon forth into life whenever the necessary vital conditions exist1 and the proper incidences of environment occur4 ,we have also shown that the earth still obeys the divine command to bring forth1 or--if objection be made to this form of statement as unscientific--still obeys some inexorable underlying law tantamount to such command1 and can no more help bringing forth1 when the necessary telluric conditions favor1 than the cold can help coming out of the north1 or the clouds dropping rain1 when the necessary meteorological conditions occur4 ,give the future ,american botanist the physical geography of a country--its average rain-fall1 temperature1 etc41 and the plant zone in which it lies1 and1 whether explored or unexplored1 he will give us the general character of its vegetation1 and name most of the plants and trees peculiar to its soil4 ,and he will do this1 not because he has any faith in the present theories of plant-migration1 nor in the necessary distribution of seeds1 but because he will study his favorite science with reference to latitude1 elevation1 climate1 physical characteristics1 rain-fall1 soil-constituents1 and other influencing conditions of plant-life4 ,but we will now proceed to consider the duration of vegetable species1 for the purpose of showing that the evolutional changes they are undergoing1 if any1 must cover infinitely vaster periods of time than we have any data for determining1 to say nothing of the unverified theories the evolutionists have been spinning for us4 ,our geologic and paleontologic records are becoming richer in materials1 more interesting in details1 and more authentic in character1 every year4 ,we are turning back page after page of these lithographic records1 only to find the domain of science widened and deepened in interest as we advance1 or as our rocks are being excavated1 our mountains tunneled1 our vast mines explored1 and the beds of our rivers and arms of seas thoroughfared and traversed by the iron rail4 ,meanwhile1 science exhibits signs of becoming less devoted to new-fangled theories1 more exacting in her demands upon her votaries1 and more eager to extend the domain of facts as the only true basis on which to rest her claims for future recognition4 ,she is less dogmatic to-day than she was a year ago1 and is likely to become less so a year hence than now4 ,and this is largely due to her methods of research and inquiry4 ,she is now everywhere sending out her hardier and more enthusiastic sons into new fields of exploration1 to return laden with ampler materials to build1 and richer treasures to adorn1 a temple worthy of her name4 ,in the field of the fossilized fauna and flora1 these treasures are of the highest value and interest1 all indicating not only wide areas of distribution1 but immense periods of time1 in which species have existed without any greater changes in character than the necessary shadings into varieties would seem to require4 ,for nature everywhere characterizes her methods of production and reproduction by a loving tendency to diversify and variously adorn her species1 as if to express the infinite conceptions of that power above her1 which spake and it was done1 which commanded and it was brought forth4 ,from the fossilized plants of ,atanekerdluk--a flora rich in species and wonderfully preserved in type--and the ,miocene flora of ,spitzenburg1 to the southernmost limits of vegetation on the globe1 science has reached out her hands for materials1 and gathered them with as much success as avidity4 ,and all scientific botanists agree in referring these fossilized forms from the high northern latitudes1 to the ,miocene period--one so remote that we can form no adequate conception of it1 except as time may be measured by geologic periods4 ,and these materials show that varieties of the ,sequoia1 the tulip-tree1 oaks1 beeches1 walnuts1 firs1 poplars1 hazelnuts1 etc41 etc41 all flourished in these sub-arctic regions during the far-distant period we have named4 ,many of them must have grown on the spot where their trunks are now to be found1 as their roots remain undisturbed in the soil1 as well as at a time when these regions enjoyed a warm or cold temperate climate4 ,many of these fossilized and carbonized forms are identical with the living species of to-day1 conclusively showing that neither natural variation1 nor any secondary causes1 have worked out any changes capable of being scientifically expressed in genetic value4 ,there is also abundant evidence to show that many of the present tropical forms flourished in central and southern ,europe as far back as the warm inter-glacial epoch in the ,eocene period4 ,and if these inter-glacial periods occurred at the lowest minimum limits of eccentricity in the earth's orbit1 as calculated by ,leverrier's formul1 we can have no conception whatever of the length of time actually intervening the period named and our present era4 ,mr4 ,croll has given us the limits of highest glaciation covering the last three million years1 and shows that there have been but two periods of superior eccentricity in that time1 and can be only one in the next million years1 with but two or three intervening maxima and minima that may1 or may not have been1 of any special value4 ,it is true that he assigns importance to these maxima1 as affecting possible glaciations1 but there are other eminent astronomers and physicists who differ from him1 and really attach little or no importance to these of any other intervening periods of eccentricity4 ,if ,mr4 ,croll is correct in his theory and estimates1 we must separate these superior glacial epochs by an interval of not less than one million seven hundred thousand years2 and nearly three of these periods must have intervened since some of the present tropical forms flourished in ,europe4 ,and if these forms have undergone no specific change in all this time1 how many years will it require to work out even one of ,mr4 ,darwin's many evolutional changes8 ,the kinship between some of these arctic and sub-arctic fossilized flora and the living forms of to-day1 is so near that they cannot be distinguished by a single difference4 ,this is true of some of the varieties of the ,sequoia family1 the oaks1 beeches1 firs1 hazelnuts1 etc41 while others are so nearly identical that it would be difficult to classify them as separate varieties4 ,at all events1 if they cannot be placed in the list of identical species1 they cannot be ruled out of representative types4 ,but why should our speculative botanists insist upon these evolutional changes in plant-life--these derivative forms of which they are constantly speaking8 ,paleontological botany has given us the very highest antiquity of species1 and the most that can be claimed is that nature was just as prolific of diversified forms millions of years ago as now4 ,because we1 by forcing nature into unnatural1 if not repugnant1 alliances1 can produce --,streak'd gillyflowers1 ,which some call nature's bastards4 it is no evidence that she commits any such offence against herself4 ,her alliances are all loving ones4 ,she indulges in no forced methods of propagation4 ,if she produced the ,sequoia gigantea1 or the great redwood tree of our ,california ,sierra1 as far back as the ,crustaceous period1 she has propagated it ever since according to her own loving methods1 and it is idle to talk of the ,sequoia ,langsdorfii as being the original ancestor of this tree1 or any other distinguished branch of the sequoias4 ,how much more rational the suggestion of ,professor ,agassiz that these trees--the entire family of sequoias--were quite as numerous in individual varieties at first as now1 and that the fruit of the one can never bear the fruit of the other4 ,again1 take the still hardier and more numerous branches of the ,quercus or oak family4 ,m4 ,de ,candolle has expended a vast deal of ingenuity to show that the various members of this old and ancestrally-knotty family have all descended from two or three of the hardier varieties4 ,he arrives at this conclusion from a geographical survey of what he would call the whole field of distribution1 and the probable historical connection between these congeneric species4 ,but science should deal with as few probabilities as possible1 especially where experience furnishes no guide to certainty1 and only the remotest clue to likelihood4 ,we should never predicate probabilities except on some degree of actual evidence1 or some likelihood of occurrence1 falling within the limits1 analogically or otherwise1 of human observation and experience4 ,in no other way can we determine whether an event is probable or not4 ,but here we have not so much as a probable experience to guide us4 ,geographical distribution in the past is hardly a safe criterion to go by1 because we can never be absolutely certain that we have the requisite data on which to form a determinate judgment4 ,the ,quercus robur may furnish the maximum test to-day1 but a few concealed pockets of nature may bring some other variety of the congeneric species to the front to-morrow1 requiring ,m4 ,de ,candolle to correct his classification4 ,there are no less than twenty-eight varieties of this one species of oak1 all of them conceded to be spontaneous in origin1 and it has been on the earth quite as long as the more stately tribe of ,sequoias4 ,besides1 not more than one twenty-thousandth part of the earth's surface has been dug over to determine the extent to which any one of its varieties has flourished in the past4 ,since these several varieties are only one degree removed from each other1 ,m4 ,de ,candolle supposes divergence to be the natural law which has governed their growth1 and not hereditary fixity4 ,but here again he has only remote probabilities to work upon1 no absolute data4 ,we are still speaking of his fossilized herbaria1 not his modern specimens4 ,these may show a large number of genetically-connected individuals1 or those claimed to be so connected4 ,and yet no naturalist can be certain that1 because they exhibit similarly marked characteristics1 the one ever descended from the other2 for the universal experience-rule still holds good that like engenders like1 and we search in vain for anything more than a similarity of idea1 or logical connection1 which justifies a recognition of the individuorum similium in ,jessieu's definition of species4 ,but similarity must not be mistaken for absolute likeness1 which nowhere exists in nature4 ,infinite diversity is the law1 absolute identity the rarest possible exception4 ,no two oak leaves1 for instance1 in a million will be found actually alike1 although taken from the same tree1 or trees of the same variety2 and the same may be said of the segmentation and branching of their limbs1 as well as the striatures of their corticated covering1 ,et sic de similibus everywhere1 and with respect to every thing4 ,nature is more solicitous of diversity and beauty1 than of similarity and tameness of effect1 in all her landscape pictures2 and the ,platonic conception that contraries spring from contraries1 may be only a supplementary truth to that of de similibus4 ,in the eye of the soul all objective existences are discerned in their logical order1 or as consecutive thoughts of the ,divine mind1 as outspoken in the material universe4 ,to insist upon cutting down these transcendental forms#bj into the smallest possible number of similar or identical forms1 may be all well enough to accomplish scientific classification2 but the productive power of nature can never be limited by these mental processes of our own4 ,the oak family can be traced back to the ,miocene period1 and consequently enjoys quite as high an antiquity as the sequoias4 ,professor ,gray1 in speaking of the ,quercus robur and its probable origin1 says that it is traceable in ,europe up to the commencement of the present epoch1 looks eastward1 and far into the past on far-distant shores4 ,by far-distant shores1 he undoubtedly means ,northwest ,america1 where its remotest descendants still flourish4 ,but that these trees should have waded the ,pacific1 or sent their acorns on a voyage of discovery after new habitats on the ,asiatic coast1 is hardly more probable than ,jason's voyage after the golden fleece1 in any other than a highly figurative sense4 ,the spontaneous appearance of a forest of oaks on the eastern shores of ,asia was just as probable1 under favoring conditions--though occurring subsequently to the time of their appearance on this continent--as that of the miniature forests of samphire1 or small saline plants1 which spontaneously made their appearance about the salt-works of ,syracuse1 when conditions actually favored4 ,the high antiquity of the oak makes no difference in respect to the principle of dispersion1 since geographical conditions are what govern1 and not the theoretical considerations of the speculative botanist4 ,mr4 ,a4 ,r4 ,wallace's formula concerning the origin of species1 that they have come into existence coincident both in time and place with prexisting closely-allied species1 may or may not be true so far as individual localization is concerned4 ,but it proves nothing in the way of original progeny1 nor can we1 by any actual data before us1 satisfactorily determine1 under this formula1 which of the two closely-allied species preceded the other4 ,if they came coincidently1 both in time and place1 their existence must have been concurrent1 not separated by prexistence4 ,the formula may be true to this extent1 that the conditions favoring the appearance of one species may have equally favored what we call a closely-allied species4 ,but even in this case1 the material sequence is lost1 and we have nothing to express a relationship as from parent to progeny4 ,for1 however restricted as to localization1 each species preserves its own characteristics1 the similarities always being less than the dissimilarities4 ,these1 and other equally conclusive facts of observation1 led ,professor ,agassiz to question any necessary genetic connection between the different species1 or between even the same species1 in widely-separated localities2 his idea being precisely that advanced by us in connection with the ,bible genesis1 that localization depended on geographical conditions1 not on the migration of plants or the dispersion of seeds4 ,the actual geographical distribution of species--any species--does not depend solely on lines of ancestry1 however great their persistence of specific characters2 nor on any principle of natural selection1 nor on the possibility of fertile monstrosities1 but on the simple incidence of conditions2 and ,m4 ,de ,candolle1 in his ,geographie ,botanique1 virtually concedes this1 while treating of geographical considerations in connection with distribution4 ,he in fact says1 in so many words1 that the actual distribution of species in the past seems to have been a consequence of preceding conditions4 #ba ,and he is forced to this conclusion by his virtual abandonment of plant-migration1 and the alleged means of seed-distribution4 ,the question after all1 says ,professor ,gray1 is not how plants and animals originated1 but how they came to exist where they are1 and what they are4 ,on only one of these points--that of favoring conditions--can any satisfactory answer be given1 except as we defer to the ,bible genesis1 which explains all4 ,and the reason is1 that we can never determine what forms are specific without tracing them back to their origin1 and this is impossible4 ,orders1 genera1 species1 etc41 are only so many lines of thought on which we arrange our classifications1 just as the parallel wires of an abacus1 with their sliding balls1 are the lines on which we make our mathematical computations4 ,agassiz would not allow that varieties existed in nature1 except as man's agency effected them1 that is1 as they were brought about by artificial processes4 ,these artificial processes are quite numerous1 and many of them have been practised from remote antiquity4 ,but they seem to have no counterpart in nature1 except as insects may contribute to modifications by the distribution of pollen4 ,but all modifications of this character tend towards infertility1 while few plants accept any fertilizing aid from other and different species4 ,any break in their hereditary tendencies1 resulting in a metamorphosis that involves the integrity of their stamens and pistils1 is stoutly resisted by nature4 ,in considering the question of species1 therefore1 we should confine our observations to those produced by natural1 not artificial1 methods2 to plants as propagated by the loving tendencies of nature1 not by the arbitrary and exacting methods of man--those looking to his gratification only4 ,all these fall into the category1 of nature's bastards1 as ,shakespeare happily defines them4 ,in view of these considerations1 and the new methods of classification1 such as grouping genera into families or orders1 and these into sub-orders1 tribes1 sub-tribes1 etc41 we can readily understand why the great ,harvard ,professor should have wholly eliminated community of descent from his idea of species1 or hesitated to regard varieties otherwise than as the result of man's agency4 ,indeed1 the whole question of species1 as well as varieties1 is likely to undergo material modifications in the future4 ,on some points the botanists and zoologists differ widely already1 many making likeness among individuals a secondary consideration1 and genealogical succession the absolute test of species4 ,others1 on the contrary1 make resemblance the fundamental rule1 and look upon habitual fecundity within hereditary limits as provisional1 or answering to temporary needs only4 ,these differences of opinion would seem to be the more tenaciously held as the question of new varieties presses for solution at the hands of nature1 rather than by the agency of man4 ,all these varieties tend less to new races than to cluster about type-centres1 and can go no further than certain fixed limits of variation1 beyond which all oscillations cease4 ,but none of these questions touch the real marrow of the controversy as to origin1 or aid us in determining the duration of species4 ,the presence of the two great families of trees--the sequoias and the oaks--as far back as the ,miocene period1 if not extending through the ,eocene into the ,cretacious1 is conclusive of the point we would make1 that no great evolutional changes have taken place in the last two or three million years1 and none are likely to take place in the next million years1 except that the ,sequoia gigantea may drop out1 from the vandalism of man or the next glacial drift4 ,m4 ,ch4 ,martins1 in his ,voyage ,botanique n ,norwege1 says that each species of the vegetable kingdom is a kind of thermometer which has its own zero4 ,it may also be said to have its hygrometric and telluric gauges1 or instruments to determine the necessary conditions of moisture and soil-constituents4 ,when the temperature is below zero1 the physiological functions of the plant are suspended1 either in temporary hybernation or death4 ,and so when the hygrometric gauge falls below the point of actual sustentation1 the plant shrinks and dies2 while1 without the necessary conditions1 it would never have made its appearance4 ,there was nothing more imperative in the command for the earth to bring forth than the necessary conditions on which plant-life depended in the first instance1 and still depends1 as we have endeavored to show4 ,dr4 ,j4,g4 ,cooper1 in an interesting article prepared by him at the expense of the ,smithsonian ,institute1 on the distribution of the forests and trees of ,north ,america1 with notes and observations on the physical geography1 climate1 etc41 of the country1 after classifying1 arranging1 and tabulating the results of the various observations forwarded to that institution1 indulges in the following general observations3 ,we have with a tropical summer a tropical variety of trees1 but chiefly of northern forms4 ,again1 with our arctic winters1 we have a group of trees1 which1 though of tropical forms1 are so adapted to the climate as to lose their leaves1 like the northern forms1 in winter4 ,but1 here1 it must be distinctly understood1 is no alteration produced by climate4 ,trees are made for and not by climate1 and they keep their characteristics throughout their whole range1 which with some extends through a great variety of climate4 ,the italics are the authors1 and we suppose he means by tropical and arctic1 the sub-tropical and sub-arctic4 ,in making his general observations1 he had before him large collections of the leaves1 fruits1 bark1 and wood of trees from all parts of the ,united ,states1 including portions of ,mexico1 the ,canadas and ,alaska1 and extending from the ,atlantic to the ,pacific4 ,but one of the most important elements--in fact1 the most important--is wanting in the tables before us1 and that is1 the elevation at which these thousands of specimens were obtained4 ,so great an oversight as this should not have occurred1 although it may not have been entirely ,dr4 ,cooper's fault4 ,he had his materials to work upon1 and may have done the best that any one could with them4 ,and yet it is just as important to know at what elevation a particular tree grows in its own plant zone1 as to know whether it comes from a sub-arctic or sub-tropical region4 ,but this was not the comment we designed to make4 ,dr4 ,cooper labors1 with most professional botanists1 under the delusion that all our plants and trees originated in some one centre of creation1 at some period or other in time and place1 and have been steadily spreading themselves outward from that centre until they occupy their present areas of distribution4 ,we have no objection to his clinging to this superannuated faith and belief1 if he derives any pleasure in flushing up these traditional grasshoppers4 ,but we have a right to insist that he shall be logical4 ,he wants it distinctly understood that trees are made for1 and not by1 climate4 ,then his centre of creation should be everywhere1 not a localized one4 ,for he insists that no alteration can be produced by climate1 but that the characteristics of each specific form are preserved throughout its entire range of distribution4 ,but if these nomadic and migratory forms have wandered thus far from their centres of creation1 it would seem that the trees had either adapted themselves to the climate1 or the climate to the trees4 ,but our ,smithsonian systematizer will allow us neither horn of this dilemma4 ,he insists that the trees were made for the climate1 and that they have preserved their characteristic features during their entire ambulation upon the earth's surface4 ,with the change of a single monosyllabic predicate1 this proposition is undoubtedly true4 ,we have never heard that plants or trees were made4 ,they were ordered to grow1 or rather the earth was commanded to bring them forth1 which is an equivalent induction4 ,and the fact that they grow now1 renders it absolutely certain that they grew at first1 when out of the ground made the ,lord ,god to grow every plant of the field1 and every tree that is pleasant to the sight4 ,we accept this genesis for the want of a better4 ,and if ,dr4 ,cooper will add to his climatic conditions1 the hygrometric and other conditions necessary for the development and growth of his plants and trees1 we will agree with him to the fullest extent of his novel position--that trees neither adapt themselves to the climate1 nor the climate to the trees2 although it is true that trees modify climate quite as much as they are modified by it4 ,the true physiological formula is undoubtedly this3--,trees make their appearance in climatic and other environing conditions1 and flourish1 without material change in characteristics1 so long as these conditions favor4 ,why they make their appearance is not a debatable question1 except as we assume a prexisting vital principle1 and apply to its elucidation our subtlest dialectical methods4 ,we are told that ,god commanded the earth to bring them forth1 after his spirit 7the animating soul of life7 had moved upon the face of the depths--the chaotic and formless mass of the earth in the beginning4 ,plato has uttered no profounder or more comprehensive truth than this1 with all his conceptions of ,deity and the perfect archetypal world after which he conceived our own to be modeled4 ,our preference for the ,bible genesis over the ,platonic conception is1 that it is vastly simpler and constitutes a more objective reality to the human soul4 ,besides1 we find it true in fact1 since the earth is constantly teeming with life1 as if in obedience to some great primal law impressed upon matter by an infinitely superior intelligence to our own4-- ,if this faith fail1 ,the pillar'd firmament is rottenness1 ,and earth's base built on stubble4 ,chapter ,,vii4 ,what ,is ,life8 ,its ,various ,theories4 ,the question1 ,what is life8 does not lie within the province of human reason1 the science of logic1 or the intuitions of consciousness1 to determine4 ,it furnishes no objective datum on which to predicate attributes that are either congruent or diverse4 ,it can only be defined as the coordination of the vis vitae in nature1 which is an undisguised form of reasoning in a circle4 ,we can ascribe to it only such attributes as are utterly inconceivable in any other concept or object of thought4 ,it admits of but one attribution1 and that embracing an identical proposition4 ,to say of life that it is a cordination of action1 might be true as a partial judgment1 but not as a comprehensive one2 otherwise1 crystallization would fall under its category1 which is manifestly an illicit induction4 ,it allows1 therefore1 of no possible explication1 analysis1 or separate logical predicament4 ,it stands absolutely alone and apart by itself--a positive1 self-subsistent vital principle1 or process of action1 which all physiologists agree1 for the sake of convenience and uniformity of expression1 in designating as a power1 property1 force1 etc41 in nature4 ,whenever questioned as to its origin the subtlest and profoundest intellects1 in all ages of the world1 have returned but one answer3 ,i know no possible origin but ,god--the great primal source of all life in the universe4 ,among the ancients we find an almost equivalent induction in the phrases1 borrowed by them from the highest antiquity1 ,jupiter est genitor1 ,jupiter est quodcunque vivit1 etc41 which1 although uninspired utterances1 strike their roots deeply into the terra incognita of consciousness1 wherein we ascribe to ,god the issues of life as a paramount theological conception4 ,when the ingenious and learned ,frenchman defined life as the sum of all the functions by which death is resisted1 he was as conclusively indulging in the argumentum in circulo as if he had said1 ,life is the antithesis of what is not life4 ,this would be as luminous a definition as that which should make ,theism the opposite of ,anti-theism1 or the ,algebraic statement x-y the antithesis of xy--one of no definitional value so long as there is no known quantity expressed in the formula4 ,to begin with begging the question1 and then adroitly whipping the argument about a pivotal point1 as a boy would whip a top1 may be amusing enough to the childish mind1 but is manifestly making no more progress in logic than to substitute an ingenious paraphrase of a term for its real definition4 ,it is a mere verbal feat at best1 without the possibility of reaching any determinate judgment4 ,it is like some of the half-circular phrases we are likely to meet with in the categories of modern materialistic science1 such as the correlated correlates of motion1 the potentiated potentialities of sky-mist1 the undifferentiated differentialities of life-stuff1 called1 by special condescension on the part of the materialists1 life4 ,all of which is an easy logic1 but a whimsical enough way of putting it4 ,according to ,leibnitz1 everything that exists is replete with life1 full of vital activity1 if not an actual mass of living individualities4 ,but this daring hypothesis has ceased to attract the attention it once received4 ,there are states and conditions of matter in respect to which it is idle to predicate the vis vitae4 ,for the great bulk of our globe is made up of the highly crystallized and non-fossiliferous rocks1 which neither contain any elementary principle of life1 nor exhibit the slightest trace of vital organism1 even to the minutest living speck or plastid4 ,during all those vast periods of uncomputed time1 covering the world's primeval history1 there was an utter absence of life until the chief upheavals of the outer strata of our globe1 now constituting the principal mountain chains of its well-defined continents1 occurred4 ,in whatever atomic or molecular theories1 therefore1 we may indulge1 in respect to the original formation of the earth1 the utmost stretch of empirical science can go no further1 in the solution of vital problems1 than to touch the threshold of inorganic matter1 where1 in our backward survey of nature1 vegetable life begins and animal life ends4 ,all beyond this point must be given up to other correlates of motion than those to which the materialists specifically assign the beginnings of life4 ,the theory of panspermism1 originating with the ,abb ,spallanzani in modern times1 and still stoutly advocated by ,m4 ,pasteur and some few others1 is manifestly defective in this1--that it goes beyond the inorganic limit in assigning vital units to all matter1 even to its elemental principles4 ,it is true that they speak of pre-existing germs--primordial forms of life--that are many million times smaller than the smallest visible insect4 ,but their assumptions go far beyond the construction we give to the ,bible genesis1 which merely asserts that the germinal principle of life--that of every living thing--is in the earth1 or in the waters and the earth1 which were alone commanded to bring forth4 ,some of the panspermists have gone so far as to assert that everything which exists is referable to the vis vit--to non-corporeal1 yet extended vital units1 mere metaphysical points--like ,professor ,beale's bioplasts in the finer nerve-reticulations--or living things endowed with a greater or less degree of perceptive power4 ,this was the assumption of the great ,german philosopher1 ,leibnitz1 who carried the panspermic theory so far as to accept the more fanciful one of monads--those invisible1 ideal1 and purely speculative units of ,plato1 which go to make up the entire universe1 extending even to the ultimate elements1 or elements of elements4 ,leibnitz says3 ,as it is with the human soul1 which sympathizes with all the varying states of nature--which mirrors the universe--so it is with the monads universally4 ,each--and they are infinitely numerous--is also a mirror1 a centre of the universe1 a microcosm3 everything that is1 or happens1 is reflected in each1 but by its own spontaneous power1 through which it holds ideally in itself1 as in a germ1 the totality of things4 ,but the specific germ theory advanced in the ,bible genesis1 is capable of being taken out of the purely speculative region in which panspermism landed the great ,german philosopher4 ,it is a simple averment that the animating principle of life is in the earth2 that the germs of all living things1 vegetal and animal alike1 are implanted therein1 and that they make their appearance1 in obedience to the divine command1 whenever and wherever the necessary environing conditions occur4 ,the fact that nature still obeys this command is proof that she has the power to do so--that this indestructible vital principle still animates her breast4 ,innumerable experiments1 as well as phenomenal facts1 attest the truth of this genesis of life1 while the researches of ,professor ,bastian and other eminent materialists1 made in infusorial and cryptogamic directions1 confirm rather than discredit it4 ,the fact that it appears for the first time in this ancient ,hebrew text can detract nothing from its value as a scientific statement4 ,granting that panspermism may rest upon a purely fanciful and unsubstantial basis1 it is but fair to concede that its great advocates have honestly attempted to explain by it all the vital phenomena occurring in nature1 as ,m4 ,pasteur is conclusively attempting to do now4 ,it is certain that the materialists1 who are resolutely antagonizing the panspermic1 as well as all other vital theories1 have not yet gone so deeply into elementary substance as to shut off all further investigation in these directions4#bb ,neither the lowest primordial cell1 nor the least conceivable molecule1 has yet been reached by the aid of the microscope1 any more than the outermost circle of the heavens has been penetrated by the aid of the telescope4 ,we must stop somewhere1 and when we find a scientifically formulated statement which embraces all vital phenomena1 and satisfactorily accounts for them all1 whether it originally came from ,aristotle1 from ,plato1 or from ,moses1 is a matter of comparatively slight moment1 so far as the scientific world is concerned4 ,at least1 it would seem so to us4 ,but to talk of the de novo origin of living matter as the result of the dynamic force of molecules--themselves concessively dead matter--is to indulge in quite as fanciful a speculation as the advocates of the panspermic hypothesis have ever ventured to suggest4 ,professor ,bastian is forced to go back of his infusorial forms and fungus-germs to a microscopical pellicle1 from which he admits they are evolved4 ,but why evolved8 ,does not the principle of vitality lie back of the pellicle1 as well as the fungus-germ8 ,how absolutely certain is he that the extremest verge of microscopic investigation has been attained1 in what he is pleased to designate primary organic forms8 ,evolution is a very potential word1 and no one may yet know what boundless stores of absurd theory and metaphysical nonsense are locked up in it6#bc ,he admits that evolution1 as embracing the idea of natural selection1 can have nothing to do with the vast assemblage of infusorial and cryptogamic organisms1 until they assume definitely recurring forms1 that is1 rise into species and breed true to nature4 ,then1 he agrees with ,mr4 ,darwin1 that the law of vital polarity or heredity1 as he calls it1 may come in and play its part towards effecting evolution1 or variability1 in both animal and vegetal organisms1 but not before4 ,why then should he lug in1 or attempt to lug in1 the diverse potentialities of this word evolution1 for the purpose of demonstrating the dynamic law governing the developmental stages of his microscopic pellicle8 ,this1 he will agree1 lies far below the point1 in primary organism1 where specific identity1 or the law of heredity1 asserts its full recognition4 ,all below this developmental point is inconstancy of specific forms1 with no line of ancestry to be traced anywhere4 ,this1 ,professor ,bastian readily concedes1 notwithstanding it cuts the ,darwinian plexus squarely in the middle4 ,he says3 ,both ,gruithuisen and ,trviranus agree that the infusoria met with have never presented similar characters when they have been encountered in different infusions2 nor have they been uniform in the same infusion1 when different portions of it have been exposed to the incidence of different conditions4 ,the slightest variations in the quality or quantity of the materials employed1 are invariably accompanied by the appearance of different organisms--these being oftentimes strange and peculiar1 and unaccompanied by any of the familiar forms4 ,other writers of equal eminence in this field of investigation have not only observed the same characteristics1 but encountered the same difficulties in classification1 from the very great diversity obtaining even in the nearest allied forms4 ,so great is this diversity1 and so multitudinous the different forms1 that little certainty or value can be attached to the classifications already made4 ,even ,professor ,o4,f4 ,mller1 after he had convinced himself that he had discovered not less than twelve different species belonging to a single genus1 was subjected to the mortification of seeing ,ehrenberg cut them all down to mere modifications of one and the same species4 ,we refer to these several statements of fact for the purpose of emphasizing the true genesis of life as supplemented by the incidence of different conditions1 on which all vital manifestations depend4 ,the presence of the germinal principles of life in the earth is emphatically averred in the ,bible genesis4 ,and we have only to connect the doctrine of conditional incidence with this averment1 to account for all the vital phenomena which so profoundly puzzle these gentlemen while prying into the mysteries of the ephemeromorphic world4 ,whatever may be the character of any infusion1 or to whatever incidence of conditions it may be subjected1 it will produce some form of life2 not because it contains this or that morphological cell1 destructible at a temperature of #ajj ,c--that to which it is experimentally subjected before microscopic examination1--but because every organic infusion1 whether undergoing the required heat-test or not1 contains vital units--those as indestructible by heat as by glacial drift--which burgeon forth into life whenever the proper conditions of environment obtain4 ,the slightest variation1 in either the quantity or quality of the material employed in the infusion1 is1 as these eminent microscopists agree1 invariably accompanied by the appearance of different forms of life1 just as the slightest change in soil-conditions1 such as that produced by the presence of one species of tree with another in natural truffle-grounds1 will result in the appearance of another and altogether different plant1 as well as truffle tuber4 ,but the theory which the vitalists are more particularly called upon to combat is that to which the non-vitalists most rigidly adhere2 and we refer to it1 in this connection1 that the reader may compare its complexity and involution of statement and idea with the extreme simplicity of the biblical genesis1 as heretofore presented4 ,we give it in the exact phraseology employed by ,professor ,bastian3 ,living matter is formed by1 or is the result of1 certain combinations and rearrangements that take place in invisible colloidal molecules--a process which is essentially similar to the mode by which higher organisms are derived from lower in the pellicle of an organic infusion4 ,this carefully-worded definition of life1 or the origin of living matter1 presents a hypothetical mode of reasoning which is eminently characteristic of all materialists4 ,in the stricter definitional sense of the word1 there is no such thing as living matter or dead matter1 as we have before claimed4 ,there are living organisms in multitudinous abundance--those resulting from1 not in1 the vis vit1 or the elementary principle of life in nature--as there are also dead organisms in abundance4 ,this materialistic definition of life1 which is not so much as a generic one even1 begins in an absurdity and ends in one4 ,it is agreed that the proligerous pellicle of ,m4 ,pouchet1 the plastide particle of ,professor ,bastian1 the monas of ,o4,f4 ,mller1 the bioplast of ,professor ,beale1 etc41 are essentially one and the same thing1 except in name4 ,they are mere moving specks1 or nearly spherical particles1 which exhibit the first active movements in organic solutions4 ,they vary in size from the one hundred-thousandth to the one twenty-thousandth of a second of an inch in diameter1 and appear at first hardly more than moving specks of semi-translucent mucus4 ,indeed1 ,burdach calls them primordial mucous layers4 ,but they move1 pulsate1 swarm into colonies1 and act as if they were guided1 not by separate intelligence1 but by some master-builder supervising the whole work of organic structure4 ,this master-builder is the one elementary unit of life1 which directs the movements of all the plastide particles1 constantly adding to their working force1 from the first primordial mucous layer of the superstructure to the majestic dome of thought 7in the case of man7 which crowns the temple of ,god on earth4#bd ,but this pellicle of ,professor ,bastian is not mere structureless matter1 any more than the bioplast of ,professor ,beale4 ,the fact that they move1 pulsate1 work in all directions1 shows that they have the necessary organs with which to work4 ,these organs may be invisible in the field of the microscope1 but that is no proof that they do not exist4 ,organs are as essential for locomotion in a plastide particle as in a mastodon or megatherium1 and if the microscope could only give back the proper response1 we should see them1 if not be filled with wonder at the marvellous perfection of their structure4 ,but into whatever divisions or classifications we may distinguish or generalize the properties of matter1 we can never predicate vitality of it1 any more than we can predicate intellectuality4 ,indeed1 intellectual matter presents no greater incongruity or invalidity of conception than vital matter4 ,these qualifying terms are applied to the known laws and forces of nature1 not to insensate matter4 ,to assert that life results from certain combinations and rearrangements of matter1 and not in them1 is utterly to confound cause and effect1 or so incongruously mingle them together that no logical distinction between the two can exist as an object of perception4 ,without the vis vit1 or some germinal principle of life1 lying back of these combinations and rearrangements of matter1 and determining the movements of their constituent molecules1 there could be no vital manifestation1 any more than there could be a correlate of a force without the actual existence of the force itself4 #be ,the materialists give the name of protoplasm to that primitive structureless mass of homogeneous matter in which the lowest living organisms make their appearance4 ,they claim that this generic substance is endowed with the property or power of producing life de novo1 or1 as ,professor ,bastian puts it1 of unfolding new-born specks of living matter which subsequently undergo certain evolutional changes2 but whether they die in their experimental flasks1 or rise into higher and more potentially endowed forms of life1 it is difficult for those following their diagnoses to determine4 ,they further claim that the same law of vital manifestation obtains in organic solutions as in the structureless mass they call protoplasm4 ,both are essentially endowed with the same potentiality of originating life independently of vital units1 or de novo1 as they more persistently phrase it4 ,but why speak of unfolding new-born specks of living matter8 ,to unfold means to open the folds of something--to turn them back1 get at the processes of their infoldment4 ,it implies a pre-existing something1 inwrapped as a germ in its environment4 ,if not a germ1 what is this pre-existing vital something which their language implies8 ,is our scientific technology so destitute of definitional accuracy that they cannot use half a dozen scientific terms without committing half that number of down-right scientific blunders8 ,new-born specks of living matter is language that a vitalist might possibly use by sheer inadvertence2 but no avowed materialist1 like ,professor ,bastian1 should trip in this definitional way4 ,living matter1 born of what8 ,certainly not of dead matter4 ,death quickens nothing into life1 not even the autonomous moulds of the grave4 ,it implies the absence of all vitality--a state or condition of matter in which all vital functions have been suspended1 have utterly ceased1 if1 indeed1 they ever existed4 ,it behooves the materialists to use language with more precision and accuracy than this4 ,dead matter1 whatever the phrase may imply1 can bear nothing1 produce nothing1 quicken nothing4 ,the pangs of death once past1 the pangs of life cease4 ,nor is there any birth from unquickened matter4 ,animals bear young1 trees bear fruit1 but force produces results4 ,what then quickens protoplasmic matter8 ,neither vital force1 nor vegetative force1 if we are to credit the materialists4 ,they would scorn to postulate such a theory1 or accept any such absurd remnant of the old vitalistic school4 ,it is rather molecular force--a physical1 not a vital unit--that gives us these new-born specks of living matter4 #bf ,this is what they would all assert at once1 in their enthusiasm to enlighten us on a new terminology4 ,but molecular force fails to give us any additional enlightenment on the subject we are investigating4 ,it is even less satisfactory than atomic force1 or elementary force--that which may be considered as inhering in the elementary particles from which both atoms and molecules are derived4 ,and since both the ultimate atom and the ultimate molecule lie beyond microscopic reach1 the assumption that vital phenomena are the result of either molecular force or atomic force1 rests upon no other basis than that of imaginary hypothesis4 ,to postulate any such theory of life1 is going beyond the limits of experimental research and inquiry1 and hence adopting an unscientific method4 ,at what point the smallest living organism is launched into existence--started on its life-journey--no one is confident enough to assert4 ,the materialist is just as dumb on this subject as the vitalist2 and the only advantage he can have over his antagonist is to stand on this extreme verge of attenuated matter1 and deny the existence of any force beyond it4 ,the postulation by him of molecular force at this point1 is virtually an abandonment of the whole controversy4 ,he ceases to be a materialist the moment he passes the visible boundaries of matter1 in search of anything like undifferentiated sky-mist beyond it4 ,all that we definitely know is that certain conditions of protoplasmic matter1 of organic solutions1 of soil-constituents1 etc41 produce certain forms of life2 and1 in the case of solutions1 certain low forms of life3 ,but whether the lower rise1 by any insensible gradations1 into the higher1 more complex1 and definitely expressed forms of life1 is altogether unknown4 ,that any such gradations can be traced from the lowest vital unit1 in the alleged collocations of molecules1 is not yet claimed4 ,these primordial collocations1 like the lowest living organisms1 lie beyond the microscopic aids to vision1 so that the ultimate genesis of life remains as much a mystery as ever--becomes1 in fact1 a mere speculative hypothesis4 ,and when it comes to this sort of speculation1 the materialist is just as much in the dark as the vitalist1 and neither can have any advantage over the other1 except as the one may adopt the analytic1 and the other the synthetic method4 ,this is the materialistic argument covering the de novo origin of living organisms3--,there is no greater microscopical evidence1 they assert1 that these organisms come from pre-existing invisible germs or vital units1 than that crystals are produced in a similar manner--that is1 come from pre-existing invisible germs of crystals4 ,but this is overlooking all generic distinction in respect to processes or modes of action4 ,crystals are inorganic matter which form1 do not grow4 ,they are mere symmetrical arrangements1 not organic growths2 and are produced by some law akin to chemical affinity1 acting on the molecules of their constituent mass4 ,they possess no vital function4 ,they show no beginning or cessation of life4 ,but1 once locked up in their geometric solids1 they remain permanently enduring forms--concessively inorganic1 not functionally-endowed1 matter4 ,to speak1 therefore1 of the germs of crystals1 is using language that has no appreciable significance to us4 ,germs are embryonic1 and imply a law of growth--a process of assimilation1 not of mere aggregation4 ,but1 at the risk of being tedious1 let us extend this argument of the materialists a little further3 ,the only difference1 they will still insist1 between the prexisting germs of crystals and plants--or the only difference essentially worth noticing--is that crystalline particles of matter are endowed with much less potentiality of undergoing diversified forms and structural changes than the more highly favored vital particles1 such as the proligerous pellicle1 the bioplast1 the plastide1 etc4 ,the one represents mere crystallizable matter1 the other the more complex colloidal or albuminoid substance1 or that capable of producing a much greater number of aggregates4 ,the analogies1 they concede1 end here4 ,but the difference is world-wide when we come to processes--the true experimental test in all classification4 ,crystallizable substances crystallize--that is all4 ,they pass into a fixed and immovable state1 and mostly into one as enduring as adamant2 while colloidal or albuminoid matter 7laboratory protoplasm7 takes on no fixed forms--only those that are ephemeral1 merely transitory4 ,this is so marked a feature1 in respect to all the primordial forms of life1 that ,professor ,bastian gives them the more distinctive name of ephemeromorphs1 in place of infusoria4 ,but all these primordial forms grow--develop into vital activity4 ,not so with a solitary crystal4 ,everywhere the statical unit forms1 the dynamical unit grows2 the one aggregates1 the other assimilates2 the one solidifies1 the other opens up into living tissue2 the one rests in the embrace of eternal silence1 the other breaks the adamantine doors1 and makes nature resonant with praise4 ,great stress is laid by the materialists on the changeability of certain microscopic forms1 and the startling metamorphoses they apparently undergo in different infusions1 especially those forms having developmental tendencies towards fungi and certain low forms of alg4 ,they attribute their different modes of branching1 articulation1 segmentation of filaments1 etc41 both to intrinsic tendencies and extrinsic causes1 the latter depending1 no doubt1 in a great measure upon the chemical changes constantly taking place in their respective infusions4 ,these intrinsic tendencies1 they would have us believe1 depend upon the dynamic force of molecules1 rather than any vital unit1 or even change in elementary conditions4 ,but ,dynamism simply implies that force inheres in1 or appertains to1 all material substance1 without specifically designating either the quantity or quality of the inhering force4 ,if these materialists1 therefore1 use the terms dynamic force1 in this connection1 in the sense in which we use vital force1 or in the sense in which they use statical force as applied to the formation of crystals1 in contradistinction from dynamical force as applied to living organisms1 we have no special objection to urge against this particular formula4 ,it presents no such formidable antagonism as the vitalists would expect to encounter from them4 ,m4 ,dutrochet is approvingly quoted by ,professor ,bastian1 as asserting that he could produce different genera of mouldiness 7low mycological forms7 at will1 by simply employing different infusions4 ,this is unquestionably true1 with certain limitations4 ,and the chief limitation is as to his 7,m4 ,dutrochet's7 will4 ,he might will1 for instance1 to plant one field with corn and another with potatoes1 but if the husbandman he employed to do the planting should happen to plant the one crop where he had willed to plant the other1 and corn should grow where potatoes were planted1 and vice versa1 then he might be said to have produced corn at will4 ,and so of his infusions4 ,no change in their conditions enabled him to produce one species1 much less a genus1 of mouldiness in preference to another1 by any change in the infusions employed by him4 ,the power which implants life in the mycological world1 implants it in every other world1 from that without beginning to that without end4 ,and this implanted life is quite as complete in one form as another1-- ,as full1 as perfect1 in vile man that mourns1 ,as the rapt seraph that adores and burns4 ,all that the materialists can claim respecting man's agency in the production of life is1 that he may take advantage of the uniform laws of nature1 so far as they are known to him1 planting seeds here1 changing chemical conditions there1 using different infusions in his experimental flasks1--organic or inorganic1 as he may choose--and then await the action of these uniform laws4 ,he will find them operative everywhere1 and if he studies them deeply enough1 he will find that they are not so much the laws of nature as they are the laws of nature's ,god4 ,professor ,bastian thinks he has conclusive evidence that what he calls new-born specks of living matter are produced de novo1 that is1 independently of any conceivable germ or germinal principle of life implanted in nature4 ,but he confounds this implanted principle of life with the living organism it produces4 ,his morphological cells1 as well as plastide particles1 are among these living organisms1 as is conclusively shown by his own experiments4 ,these all perish in his super-heated flasks4 ,but the vital principle that produced them--that which becomes germinal under the proper conditional incidences--he can no more destroy by experimentation than he can create a new world or annihilate the old one4 ,his flask experiments1 therefore1 prove nothing2 and all this talk about de novo production is the sheerest scientific delusion4 ,for1 were it possible to destroy every plant1 tree1 shrub1 blade of grass1 weed1 seed1 underground root1 nut1 and tuber to-day1 the earth would teem with just as diversified a vegetation as ever to-morrow4 ,a few trees1 like the gigantic conifers of the ,pacific slope1 might not make their appearance again1 and some plants might drop out of the local flora2 but the ,pater omnipotens ther of ,virgil1 would descend into the bosom of his joyous spouse 7the earth71 and1 great himself1 mingle with her great body1 in all the prodigality1 profusion1 and wealth of vegetation as before4#bg ,but these defiant challengers of the vitalists1 who refuse us even the right to assume the existence of a special vital force in nature1 are anything but consistent in their logical deductions4 ,for while they resolutely deny the invasion of vital germs in their experimental flasks1 they talk as flippantly of the germs of crystals1 and their presence in saline and other solutions1 as if there were no scientific formula more satisfactorily generalized than that establishing their existence4 ,even ,professor ,bastian speaks of germs1 in a general sense1 as if they thronged the earth1 air1 water1 and even the stratified rocks1 in countless and unlimited numbers4 ,but we fail to see that any of his accurately obtained results determine their exclusion from the experimental media employed by him for that purpose4 ,his unit of value is a morphological cell1 a derivative organism rather than a primary vital unit2 and all organisms are1 as we have before said1 destructible by heat4 ,professor ,agassiz is pretty good authority for doubting the existence of such a cell4 ,the difficulty of assigning to it any definitional value is1 that it lies too near the ultimate implications of matter--those shadowy and inexplicable confines not yet reached--to admit of any scientific explication necessarily resting on objective data4 ,if they mean by germs primary organic cells1 then none exist in their super-heated infusions1 and they are logical enough in rejecting the idea of their invasion4 ,but in assuming the cell to be the ultimate unit of value1 is where they trip in attribution1 and stumble upon a partial judgment only4 ,the only value attaching to their theory of crystalline germs is1 that it conclusively establishes the law of uniformity by which all structural forms are determined1 whether they originate in organic infusions or inorganic solutions--in protoplasm or protoprism4 ,the crystalline system presents no variability in types1 but a rigid adherence to specific forms of definitely determined value4 ,whatever geometrical figure any particular crystal assumed at first1 it has continued to assume ever since1 and will forever assume hereafter4 ,as a primary conception of the ,divine ,intendment 7to speak after the manner of ,leibnitz7 it can neither change itself1 nor become subject to any law of change1 or variability1 from eternally fixed types4 ,and this is as demonstrably true of all living types1 after reaching the point of heredity1 as of the countless crystalline forms that go to make up the principal bulk of our planet4 ,in this light1 and as affording this conclusive induction1 the crystalline argument of the materialists has its value4 ,the materialists should not too mincingly chop logic over the validity of their own reasoning4 ,if they force upon us their conclusions respecting statical aggregates1 or crystalline forms1 let them accept the inductions that inevitably follow in the case of dynamical aggregates1 or living organisms4 ,beggars of conditions should not be choosers of conditions1 nor should they be al lowed to dodge equivalent judgments where the validity of one proposition manifestly rests upon that of another4 ,if they insist upon the presence of a chemical unit1 or1 worse still1 a crystalline germ or unit1 in the case of statical aggregations1 they are effectually estopped from denying the presence of vital units in dynamical aggregations4 ,and if they further force upon us the conviction that the process of aggregation1 when once determined1 remains in the one case1 eternally fixed and certain1 they should not be permitted to turn round and insist that1 in the other case1 there is nothing fixed and certain1 but all is variability1 change1 uncertainty of specific forms4 ,if vital units have only a hypothetical existence1 then chemical units1 statical units1 and morphological units1 should fall into the same categories of judgment4 ,a great deal of needless ingenuity has been wasted1 both by the vitalists and materialists1 in formulating impossible definitions of life--in attempts to tell us what life is4 ,but ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer is believed1 by his many admirers1 to have hit upon the precise explanatory phrases necessary to convey its true definitional meaning4 ,he defines it as the continuous adjustment of internal relations to external relations4 ,this definition1 when first formulated1 was received by all the materialists of ,europe with the wildest enthusiasm4 ,it was absolutely perfect4 ,all the phenomenal facts of life fitted into it1 as one box1 in a nest of them1 fitted into another4 ,the universal world was challenged to show that any other phenomenal fact than the one of life would fit into this prodigious formula of ,mr4 ,spencer4 ,the ,london ,times tried its hand on it1 but only in a playful way4 ,it said3 ,all the world1 or at least all living things1 are nothing but large boxes containing an infinite number of little boxes1 one within the other1 and the least and tiniest box of all contains the germ1--the elementary principle of life4 ,but this was hardly a legitimate characterization4 ,a nest of boxes presents no idea of continuous adjustment1 nor are the internal relations of one box adjusted to the external relations of another4 ,the definition is really that of a piece of working machinery--any working machinery--and was designed to cover ,mr4 ,spencer's theory of molecular machinery as run by molecular force4 ,but the earth presents the most perfect adjustment of internal relations to those that are external1 and it continuously presents them4 ,even the upheaval of its fire-spitting mountains affords the highest demonstration of the adjustment of its inner terrestrial forces to those that are purely external2 and much more does it show the adjustment of its internal to its external relations4 ,there is a continuous adaptation of means to ends1 of causes to effects1 of adjustments to re-adjustments1 in respect to the characteristics of the earth's surface--its physical configuration1 the distribution of its fluids and solids1 its fauna and flora1 its hygrometric and thermometric conditions1 its ocean1 wind1 and electro-magnetic currents1 and even its meteorological manifestations--all showing a continuous adjustment of interior to exterior conditions or relations4 ,the earth should1 therefore1 fall under the category of life1 according to ,herbert ,spencer's definitional formula4 ,and so should an automatic dancing-jack that is made to run by internal adjustments to external movements or manifestations4 ,there are any number of ,professor ,bastian's ephemoromorphs that do not live half as long as one of these automatic dancing-jacks will run1 and so long as they run1 the adjustment of their internal to their external relations is continuous4 ,the success of ,mr4 ,spencer's definition of life encouraged ,professor ,bastian to try his hand at it1 with this definitional result3 ,life1 he says1 is an unstable collocation of ,matter 7with a big ,m71 capable of growing by selection and interstitial appropriation of new matter 7what new matter87 which then assumes similar qualities1 of continually varying in composition in response to variations of its ,medium 7another big ,m71 and which is capable of self-multiplication by the separation of portions of its own substance4 ,it shall not be our fault if the reader fails to understand this definition--to untwist this formidable formula of life4 ,and we can best aid him by grammatically analyzing its structure4 ,and1 #a4 ,life is capable of growing4 ,we are glad to know this4 ,as a vitalist it enables us to take a step towards the front--gets us off the back seat to which we were summarily ordered at the outset of this inquiry4 ,we let its unstable collocation pass for what it is worth1 and stick to our grammatical analysis4 #b4 ,life grows--is capable of doing something4 ,this assurance positively encourages us4 #c4 ,it grows by selection and interstitial appropriation4 ,this is still more encouraging4 ,it emboldens us to take a second step forward4 ,life1 we feel1 is increasing in potentiality4 #d4 ,by appropriation it enables new matter to assume similar qualities to old matter4 ,this makes us more confident than ever2 we take another step forward--are half disposed to take two of them4 ,life is getting to be almost a potentiated potentiality1 to adopt the style of materialistic phrases4 #e4 ,it causes matter to continually vary in composition4 ,bravo6 we unhesitatingly take two steps forward on the strength of this most comforting assurance4 ,life is assuredly getting the upperhand of ,matter 7with a big ,m47 ,it is no longer a mere undiscovered correlate of motion--a hypothetical slave to matter only4 ,it wrestles with it--throws it into the shade4 ,we involuntarily take several more steps forward4 #f4 ,life is capable of self-multiplication--has almost a creative faculty4 ,here we interject a perfect bravura of bravoes1 and1 stepping boldly up to the front1 demand of ,professor ,bastian to throw up the sponge1 take a back seat1 and there--formulate us a new definition of life4 ,but our ,london ,university materialist is not entirely satisfied with his own definition1 or at least with the moral effect of it4 ,he thinks that all these attempts to define life as a non-entity only1 tend to keep up the demoralizing idea that it is an actual entity4 ,we entirely agree with him in this conclusion4 ,the infelicity and entire inconclusiveness of the definition he has vouchsafed us can hardly have any other effect4 ,he sees this himself1 and hence this foot-note to his great work on ,ephemeromorphs3 ,inasmuch as no life can exist without an organism1 of which it is the phenomenal manifestation1 so it seems comparatively useless to attempt to define this phenomenal manifestation alone--and1 what is worse1 such attempts tend to keep up the idea that life is an independent entity4 ,it may be objected that our grammatical analysis of the professor's definition of life is unfair1 since he manifestly intended that it should cover a living thing1 and not life as an abstract1 term4 ,our reply to this is1 that he makes no distinction between the two4 ,life1 with him1 is simply a phenomenal manifestation4 ,the two are correlative terms2 so that his definition of the one must necessarily be the definition of the other1 either as an identical or partial judgment4 ,but let us take his definition entirely out of its abstract sense1 and run it into the concrete4 ,the able pathological anatomist of the ,london ,university college is a living thing4 ,he is1 therefore1 presumably a phenomenal manifestation4 ,he is capable of growing1 by selection and interstitial appropriation1 in reputation at least1 if not in the direction of an independent entity4 ,his work of twelve hundred pages1 covering his laborious delvings into the ephemeromorphic world1 is conclusive on this point4 ,as a phenomenal manifestation alone1 any attempt to define either him or his professional labors1 may be worse than useless1 since it would tend to keep up the idea that he is an actual ,london entity4 ,we are very confident that he is not a ,london non-entity1 but are willing to agree that he is either the one or the other4 ,the flaw that we are after lies in his interstitial logic1 not in the hallucination in which he indulges respecting nonentities4 ,his assumption that life cannot exist without an organism1 of which it is the phenomenal manifestation1 is what we propose to deal with4 ,now1 directly the reverse of this proposition is what is true4 ,an organism cannot exist without life or an independent vital principle in nature1 any more than celestial bodies can be held in their place independently of gravitation4 ,the vital principle that organizes must precede the thing organized or the living organism1 as the great formative principle of the universe 7call it the will of ,god1 gravitation or what you may7 must have existed before the first world-aggregation4 ,in logic1 we must either advance or fall back--insist upon precedence being given to cause over effect1 or deny their relative connection altogether4 ,the organism is the phenomenal manifestation1 not the vital principle which organizes it4 ,to say that there can be no manifestation of life without an organism is true2 but to assume that the vital principle which organizes is dependent on its own organism for its manifestation is absurd4 ,it would be the lesser fallacy to deny the phenomenal fact altogether1 and insist that cause and effect are mere intellectual aberrations1 or such absurd mental processes as find no correlative expression in nature1 as that embodying the idea of either an antecedent or a consequent4 ,plato lived4 ,he ate1 he drank1 he talked divinely4 ,he was the occupant of an admirably constructed life-mansion2 one that ,st4 ,paul would have looked upon as the temple of ,god1 and all the world would have recognized as a god-like temple4 ,his head was a study for the ,greek chisel2 none was ever more perfectly modeled1 or artistically executed4 ,all agreed in this4 ,and yet it was not the habitat but the habitant that attracted the admiration of the ,greek mind2 enkindled its highest enthusiasm2 drew all the schools of philosophy1 about him at once4 ,it was the lordly occupant of the temple1 the indwelling ,archeus1 presiding over all the organic phenomena and directing all the dynamic powers therein1 which was so profoundly present in the living ,plato4 ,even ,professor ,haeckel1 of the famous ,university of ,jena1 would not deny this1 with all that his new terms ontogeny and phylogeny may imply4 ,when potential life passed over into actual life in the individual ,plato1 it was not the pabulum that assimilated the man1 but the man the pabulum4 ,if this were not so1 then the mere potentiality of growing1 as in the case of plants and animals1 would be all there is to distinguish the phenomenal manifestation of a ,plato from that of a mole or a cabbage-stalk4 ,in other words1 if the animating principle of life--or1 as the ,bible has it1 the animating soul of life--is not what manifests itself in material embodiment1 but the reverse1 what can ,professor ,haeckel mean by his new term phylogeny1 which ought to cover the lines of descent in all organic beings8 ,if it be a question of mere pabulum1 it is altogether mal pos4 ,pabulum is nothing without a prexisting something to dispose of it4 ,it is not so much as a jelly-mass breakfast for one of ,professor ,haeckel's protamoeb2 for if it were served up in advance1 there would be none of his little non-nucleated jelly-eaters to partake of it1 much less any of his protogenes4 ,as the famous ,mrs4 ,glass would say1 in her hand-book of cookery1 if you want a delightful curry1 first catch your hare4 ,but our ingenious professor of ,jena dispenses with both the hare and the curry1 in serving up his pabulum to the protamoeb4 ,the improvident pabulum evolves its own eaters1 and then1 spider-like1 is eviscerated by them1 as was ,actaeon by his own hounds4 ,as ,life1 therefore1 begins in the tragedy of ,mount ,cithron1 it is to be hoped it will end in the delights of ,artemis and her bathing nymphs4 ,chapter ,,viii4 ,materialistic ,theories of ,life ,refuted4 ,the methods by which the advocates of a purely physical origin of life seek to establish the correctness of their conclusions1 are unfortunately not always attended by uniform results in experimentation4 ,they subject their solutions of organic matter to a very high temperature by means of super-heated flasks1 the tubes to which are so packed in red-hot materials that whatever air may enter them shall encounter a much greater degree of heat than that indicated by boiling water4 ,at this temperature 7#ajj ,c--#bab ,f7 they assume that all living organisms perish1 especially when the solutions containing them have been kept1 for the space of fifteen or twenty minutes1 at this standard point of heat4 ,but1 in the light of all the experiments which have been made in this direction1 there is some doubt as to the entire correctness of their assumption4 ,that many1 if not most living organisms1 perish at a temperature of #ajj ,c1 there is little or no doubt2 but that there are some which are much more tenacious of life1 that is1 possess greater vital resistance to heat1 is equally unquestionable4 ,m4 ,pasteur1 for instance1 mentions the spores of certain fungi which are capable of germinating after an exposure of some minutes to a temperature of #abj to #abe ,c4 7#bdh-beg ,f71 while the same spores entirely lose their germinating power after an exposure for half an hour or more to a slightly higher temperature4 ,dr4 ,grace-,calvert1 in a paper on ,the ,action of ,heat on ,protoplasmic ,life1 recently published in the proceedings of the ,royal ,society1 asserts that certain black vibrios are capable of resisting the action of fluids at a temperature as high as #cjj ,f1 although exposed therein for half an hour or more4 ,but none of these crucial tests1 however diverse in experimental results1 really touch the all-important question in controversy4 ,they all relate either to living organisms1 or to the seeds and spores of vegetation1 not to living indestructible germs--invisible vital units--declared to be in the earth itself4 ,we use the term vital unit in the same restricted sense in which the materialists speak of chemical units1 morphological units1 etc41 which they admit are invisible in the microscopic field1 and hence they can have no positive information as to their destructibility or indestructibility by heat4 ,that this vital unit lies1 in its true functional tendencies1 between the chemical and morphological units--manifesting itself in the conditions of the one and resulting in the structural development of the other--is no new or startling theory1 but one that has been more or less obscurely hinted at by ,leibnitz1 and even acknowledged as possible by ,herbert ,spencer4 ,it is this vital unit that assimilates or aggregates protoplasmic matter into the morphological cell1 or the initial organism in a vital structure1 or an approach towards structural form4 ,morphological cells are not therefore units1 considered as the least of any given whole1 nor are they mere structureless matter1 or any more homogeneous in character than in substance4 ,different chemical solutions give rise to different morphological cells1 as differently constituted soils produce different vegetal growths4 ,change the chemical conditions in any solution or infusion1 and you change the entire morphological character of the infusoria appearing therein4#bh ,the cells are living organisms springing from vital units1 and can no more manifest themselves independently of these units than life can manifest itself independently of an actual organism4 ,and they make their appearance in the proper environing conditions1 just as the oak comes from its primordial germ or vital unit in the chemically changed conditions of the soil4 ,everywhere the vital germ or unit precedes the vital growth as the plant or tree precedes the natural seeds it bears4 ,this is not only the logical order1 but the exact scientific method of vital manifestation and growth4 ,in this truth lies the whole mystery of vegetal and animal life as hitherto manifested on our globe1 with the single exception of man whose crowning distinction it was to receive a living soul4 ,this may be rejected as a scientific statement1 but its verification will appear in the very act of its rejection4 ,pry as deeply as we may into the arcana of nature in search of exact scientific truth1 and we shall ultimately land in one or the other of these propositions1--either that nature was originally endowed with some occult and unknown power to bring forth1 which power is either continuously inherent or continuously imparted1 or else specific creation was the predetermined plan and purpose1 with no higher or more specialized animal or vegetal forms than were specifically created in the beginning4 ,otherwise1 we are inevitably forced back1 by our mental processes1 which we cannot resist1 upon an effect without a cause--a physical law of the universe without any conceivable law-giver--an all-pervading1 all-energizing principle of matter which must have existed as a cause infinitely anterior to its first effect4 ,and this is forcing language into such crazy and paralytic conclusions as to utterly destroy its efficiency as a vehicle of thought4 ,to conceive of the existence of the universe1 or of any possible law that may be operative therein1 without an adequate antecedent cause1 is as metaphysically impossible as to conceive of substance without form1 space without extension1 or a ,god who has been superceded in the universe by the operation of his own laws4 ,for if the world-ordaining and world-arranging intelligence of the universe has ceased to ordain and arrange1--if all things therein have been left to the operation of fixed and eternally unchangeable laws--then no further supervisional direction is required on the part of either an infinite or a finite intelligence1 and our idea of a ,god must disappear in the paramount induction of a universe which has successfully risen up in insurrection against its own maker and lawgiver1 if it has not remorselessly consigned him to some inconceivable limbo outside of the universe itself4 ,but this ,titanic1 and worse than satanic1 insurrection on the part of a universe of matter and motion1 is only the conjectural coinage of the human brain--the wild supposition hazarded by the materialistic mind--and fortunately has no conceivable counterpart outside of it4 ,but the palpable blunder1 in materialistic science1 consists in its overlooking the necessary outgrowth of theological ideas in the human mind--as conclusively a phenomenal fact of nature as the invariable uniformity of astronomical movements1 the ebb and flow of the tides1 or the electro-magnetic waves of the earth itself4 ,and nature furnishes no greater clue to the one set of phenomena than the other4 ,for when we say that bodies act one upon another by the force of gravity1 we are no nearer an explication of the force itself1 than we should be were we to allege any corresponding manifestation on the part of the human mind4 ,kant says2 ,we cannot conceive of the existence of matter without the forces of attraction and repulsion--the conflict of two elementary forces in the universe2 much less can we have any conception of the elementary forces themselves4 ,science can1 therefore1 assign no more conclusive reason for overlooking psychical manifestations than physical phenomena4 ,nor is the one set of phenomena any more marvellous in its manifestations than the other4 ,they may both furnish food for speculative thought and inquiry1 and yet the nearer we get to the ultimate implications of either1 the more completely are we lost in ,professor ,tyndall's primordial haze1 from which he assumes that the universe1 and all the phenomenal manifestations therein1 originally came4 ,but however rapidly these materialistic theories may disappear in the scientific waste-basket of the future1 there is one sublime verity that will stand the test of all time1 and that is1 that the moral universe of ,god is no less complete1 in the ,divine ,intendment1 than the physical universe1 while the latter is so inter-correlated and inter-tissued with the former1 in all its conceivable relations1 that it can no more exist independently of its correlative1 than matter can exist independently of space1 or time independently of eternity4 #bi ,according to this view of ,leibnitz1 all living organisms have their own essence1 or essential qualities and characteristics4 ,they have been from all eternity in the ,divine ,intendment1 and can undergo no changes or modifications which shall make them essentially different from what they were in the beginning1 or are now4 ,this is not only true of the germs that are in themselves upon the earth1 but of every living thing1 whether lying within or beyond the telescopic or microscopic limits4 ,as a law of causation1 as well as of consecutive thought1 there must be in the order of life 7all life7 a continuous chain of ideas linking the past to the present1 the present to the future1 and the future to eternity4 ,but that this continuous chain is dependent on mere physical changes or manifestations1 is a logical induction utterly incapable of being exhibited in scientific formul4 ,the higher and more satisfactory induction is that which places cause before effect1 the ,maker before the made1 the ,creator before the creature1 and so on1 in the analogical order1 till the smallest conceivable vital unit is reached in the universe of organic matter4 ,to begin1 therefore1 with microscopic observation1 at a point in the ephemeromorphic world where that optical instrument fails to give back any intelligible answer1 and synthetically follow this chain of causation upward and outward to ,dr4 ,tyndall's fiery cloud of mist1 in which it is assumed that all the diversified possibilities and potentialities of the universe once lay latent1 may answer the logical necessities of the ,evolution theory1 but will never satisfy the inductive processes of a ,plato1 a ,leibnitz1 or a ,newton4 ,professor ,tyndall1 in speaking of his fiery-cloud theory1 says3 ,many who hold the hypothesis of natural evolution would probably assent to the position 7his position7 that at the present moment all our philosophy1 all our poetry1 all our science1 all our art1--,plato1 ,shakespeare1 ,newton1 and a ,da ,vinci--are potential in the fires of the sun4 ,but1 to be consistent in their inductions1 they should proclaim themselves sun-worshippers at once1 and ascribe to that transcendent luminary all the potentialities of a universe ,fresh-teeming from the hand of ,god4 ,but what possible advantage1 we would ask1 can this physical hypothesis of life have over that which ascribes to ,god the issues of all life in the universe1 from the highest to the lowest living organism8 ,we can positively conceive of none but that of placing the cosmological cart before the horse1 and so harnessing cause and effect in tandem1 that the latter shall uniformly precede the former in the chain of logical induction4 ,as a dialectical feat1 in exhibiting the higher possibilities of logic1 it may have its advantages in subordinating the facts of science to the higher illuminations of fancy1 and thus resting the basis of reality on the ever-changing and ever-shifting assumptions of the human mind4 ,for the materialistic theories of to-day are not those of yesterday1 nor is there any certainty that they will be those of to-morrow4 ,they are almost as fantastic and variable as the forms of the kaleidoscope1 although1 as a general rule1 they lack the symmetrical arrangements and proportions of that scientific toy4 ,professor ,bastian1 in considering the heterogenetic phenomena of living matter1 is obliged to fall back1 near the end of his great work1 on the countless myriads of living units which have been evolved 787 in the different ages of the world's history4 ,but by what process a vital unit can be evolved1 he does not condescend to tell us4 ,he has no primordial formless fog to fall back upon as has ,professor ,tyndall1 nor can he imagine anything beyond the least of possible conceptions in a chemical1 morphological1 or vital unit4 ,a unit can neither be evolved nor involved2 it admits of no square1 no multiple1 no differentiation2 it is simply the ever-potent unit of organic polarity1 by which it multiplies effects1 but can never be multiplied itself4 ,the chief fault that we have to find with the ,london ,university professor is that he confounds a morphological cell with a morphological unit1 and insists upon drawing unwarrantable conclusions therefrom4 ,his countless myriads of living units are all well enough in their way4 ,that they exist in the earth1 and are constantly developed into innumerable multitudes of living organisms1 of almost inconceivable variety1 in both the animal and vegetal world1 is true1 as he half-reluctantly admits in almost the identical language we here use4 ,and he also admits that morphological cells1 when once formed1 continue to grow by their own individual power or inherent tendency4 ,but before they can manifest any such inherent tendency1 they must be developed from the vital units that lie back of them1 and on which their manifestation unquestionably depends4 ,the only doubt that can possibly exist on this point is1 that the process of development cannot be determined by microscopic examination4 ,but we may as well assume the presence of vital units in the case of dynamical aggregates1 as for ,professor ,bastian to insist upon crystalline units in the case of statical aggregates or crystals4 ,both processes1 in their initial stages of development1 lie beyond the reach of human scrutiny1 and all that we know1 or possibly can know1 is1 that certain inorganic conditions are favorable for the development of crystals1 as certain organic conditions are favorable for the development of morphological cells4 ,beyond this ,professor ,bastian knows nothing--we know nothing4 ,professor ,beale1 in his recent work on the ,mystery of ,life--one that is now justly attracting very wide attention--says3 ,between the two sets of phenomena1 physical and vital1 not the faintest analogy can be shown to exist4 ,the idea of a particle of muscular or nerve tissue being formed by a process akin to crystallization1 appears ridiculous to any one who has studied the two classes of phenomena1 or is acquainted with the structure of these tissues4 ,and he quietly1 yet effectively1 ridicules the idea that the ultimate molecules of matter--substantially the same matter1 in fact--have the power to arrange themselves1 independently of vital tendency1 alternately into a dog-cell or a man-cell1 according to the specific direction they may take1 or the incidence of conditions they may undergo1 in their primary movement4 ,and for the benefit of ,professor ,beale1 behind whose bioplasts1 we place the vital unit--not a variable but a constant unit--we would have him bear in mind 7what he so well knows7 that the finest fibres that go to make up these tissues lie quite beyond the microscopic limit in their interlaced and spirally-coiled reticulations1 so that nothing can be predicated of their ultimate contexture1 any more than of the ultimate distribution of matter itself4 ,he has himself traced these wonderfully minute nerve-ramifications under glasses of the highest magnifying power1 and knows that their ultimate distribution cannot be reached4 ,let him come out then1 as the ablest vitalist now living1 and boldly assert the presence of the man-unit and the dog-unit1 instead of falling back on his bioplastic spinners and weavers of tissue1 which are only the servants and willing workers of the one integral unit1 or life-directing force1 within4 ,it is far more rational1 and1 at the same time1 more accordant with strict scientific methods1 to attribute these muscular and nerve reticulations to a single direct cause1 than to a multitude of secondary causes4 ,there is a world-wide difference between the dog-ego and the man-ego2 but the physical differences are not by any means the greatest4 ,the bioplastic spinners and weavers work as obediently for the one master-ego as the other4 ,they never stop to inquire how far they shall differentiate this vital tissue or that1 or in what direction even they shall work4 ,not a thread is spun nor a shuttle thrown that is not directed by the one head-webster of vital tissue4 ,these obedient bioplasts determine nothing1 direct nothing4 ,each works in his own cell as obediently as a galley-slave4 ,all specific modifications1 all determinate movements1 all molecular arrangements1 all multiplications of bioplastic force1 are the work of the one vital webster1 or principle of life1 within--that which shapes all1 directs all1 determines all4 ,and this is true from the first or embryological inception of the dog-unit or germ1 until the real occupant of the dog-tenement dismisses his bioplastic weavers1 and lies down to die4 ,and so of all vital units4 ,each determines its own structural form1 and unchangeably retains it to the end1 even to the slightest impression of a scar inflicted years and years before4 ,the occupant of this dog-mansion has dismissed one set of bioplastic weavers after another2 has thrown aside this spun tissue and that warp and woof of woven texture1 time and time again1 so that the dog of to-day is not the same physical dog of a year ago2 and yet he has the same affection for his master1 carries with him the same scar received twenty years before in the chase1 gives the same glad bark of welcome as his owner nears home1 exhibits the same characteristic wag in his tail1 and1 lying down to sleep1 dreams of the once happy chase in which he is no longer able to engage4 ,this continuous presence of the same dog1 through all these twenty years of physical change--the old dog reappearing in the new1 a dozen times over--is what we mean by the constantly differentiating yet undifferentiated dog-unit4 ,those who attempt to bisect this vital unit1 divide it up into one fractional part after another1 until it shall represent a million bioplastic workers in as many different cells1 are committing the same sort of folly--in principle at least1 if not in practice--as that which led the simple-minded daughters of ,pelias to cut up their father1 in the expectation of boiling the old bioplasts into new1 and then1 by the cunning aid of ,medea1 who directed the operation1 reuniting them into the one ,peliastic-unit they so much delighted to honor4 ,but this first and only recorded attempt at differentiating a vital unit disastrously failed1 as the reader of ancient myths well knows1 although the experiment was conducted by the most careful and loving hands4 ,the necessary chemical re-agents to reproduce life1 as well as the necessary processes of producing it de novo have not yet been ascertained1 nor is it likely they ever will be4 ,and herein lies the most marked distinction between crystallizable matter and living substance4 ,and yet there is no evidence that the vital principle perishes in the destruction of its temporary organism4 ,it is not the material seed that germinates1 but the vital principle it contains1 bursting forth from its environment into newness of life4 ,all that can be alleged of either boiled or calcined seeds is1 that the material substances of which they were composed are so changed in their chemical constituents1 or molecular adjustment1 that they are no longer capable of developing1 or being developed1 into a living organism4 ,principles never die1 and this is as true of the vital principles in nature1 as those obtaining in ethics and morals4 ,were it possible to restore the exact chemical conditions and constituent particles of the boiled or calcined seed1 there is no more doubt that nature would respond to the environing conditions1 and give forth the proper expression of plant-life1 than there is that crystals of spar would make their appearance in an overcharged bath chemically prepared for that purpose4 ,it is not the albuminous substance enclosed in the seed1 but the vital principle therein--that continuously imparted to nature from the great vital fountain of the universe--which burgeons forth into life whenever and wherever the required conditions obtain4 ,in proof of this statement1 we might instance any number of cases where recently abandoned brick-yards and other clayey excavations1 were situated at considerable distances from any natural water-courses1 or fish-stocked ponds1 from which spawn could have been derived1 and yet these excavations have no sooner been filled with permanently standing rain water1 than certain small fishes of the ,cyprinidae and other families1 have made their appearance therein4#cj ,nobody has thought of stocking these standing pools of water with the fish in question1 nor has there been any surface overflow to account for their presence1 nor any other apparent means of transportation1 if we except the fish-catching birds1 and they generally swallow their food in the water or on the nearest tree to the point of capture4 ,any theory accounting for the presence of spawn is1 therefore1 out of the question4 ,this spawn must have traversed hard clay deposits for the distance of half a mile or more to make their appearance in these waters4 ,the only possible explanation of this class of phenomena1 and they are by no means infrequent1 is to be found in favoring conditions and the presence of vital units4 ,they are primordial manifestations of life1 and such as would have made their appearance in any corresponding latitude of the southern hemisphere1 under the same favoring conditions4 ,and this is true of all living organisms from the lowest morphological cell1 in the ichthyologic world1 to the highest and lordliest conifer that grows4 ,their spawn and seeds are perishable by heat1 but the vital principle that organizes them is as imperishable in one element as another4 ,no seven-times heated furnace1 much less the experimental flasks of the physicist1 will affect a vital principle of nature any more than a ,may-morning puff of the east wind would shake ,olympus4 ,and all the countless myriads of vital units in nature are now manifesting themselves in animal and vegetal forms1 under favoring conditions1 the same as in those far-distant epochs of the world's history when a more exuberant vegetation prevailed1 if not a more abounding animal life4 ,the same persistent1 ever-acting law of vital development and growth has been present1 in all conditions and circumstances of matter1 ever since the detritus of the silicious rocks felt the first influence of the rains1 the dews1 and the sunlight4 ,then the earth commenced to bring forth the grass1 the herb yielding seed1 and the fruit-trees yielding fruit1 after his kind2 and in their growth was laid the foundation of animal life4 ,whether there was any audible or inaudible command of ,god uttered at the time1 is not the question4 ,it is the fact of vital growth that we are after1 and not the command4 ,the geologic records attest the fact1 as well as the ever-acting vital law2 and it is enough for us to know1 with sturdy old ,richard ,hooker1 that all law--and especially all vital law--has her seat in the bosom of ,god1 and her voice is the harmony of the world4 ,professor ,beale1 while resolutely combating the physical hypothesis of life1 is not a little unfortunate in his use of scientific terms4 ,he is constantly using those of living matter and dead matter1 as if they contained no fatal concession to the materialists1 with which to completely overthrow his own ultimate conclusions as to life4 ,for he gains nothing by merely substituting bioplasm and bioplasts for protoplasm and plastide particles4 ,the essential plasma in both cases is the same1 and behind each lies the vital unit or principle therein manifested--the invisible1 indestructible germ or ,,zra of the ,bible genesis4 ,living organisms come1 of course1 from this essential plasma1 but without an elementary principle or vital unit therein1 there would be no bioplasts1 in the sense in which ,professor ,beale uses this term4 ,these bioplasts are living organisms which take up nutrient matter and convert it by assimilation into tissues1 nerves1 fibres1 bones1 etc4--into the higher and more complex organs that go to make up living structure4 ,this mysterious transmutation of one thing into another1 as organic matter into living organisms1 is due to a vitally implanted principle1 not to these little bioplasts1 or mere epithelial and other tools with which the vital principle works4 ,to apply the term living matter to the tools with which a living structure is built up1 is to lose sight of the master-mechanic using them for an apparently intelligent purpose4 ,the microscope may demonstrate that these little bioplasts throb--have life2 but there is no intelligent purpose manifested by them except as they are moved by an unseen hand that conclusively directs the whole structural work--builds up the one complete symmetrical structure1 not its thousand independent parts having no relation to a general plan4 ,the future lord and occupant of the mansion is presumably present1 and if he uses tools that throb and have life1 it is because everything he touches is quickened into life that it may be the more obedient to his will4 ,if this structure be the soul-endowed one of man1 the vital principle imparted is that which fashions the epithelial tools1 and uses them1 as well in laying the embryological foundation1 as in crowning its work with that many-colored dome of thought flashing the white radiance of eternity4 ,mr4 ,joseph ,cook1 who enthusiastically follows ,professor ,beale in his theory of life1 in one of his ,boston ,monday ,lectures1 says2 ,it is beyond contradiction that we know that these little points 7'bioplasts'7 of structureless matter spin the threads1 and weave the warp and woof1 of organisms4 ,with all due respect to this distinguished lecturer1 we must except to not less than three points in as many lines of his over-confident statement4 ,in the first place1 we know nothing respecting the beginnings of life1 which may not be contradicted with some show of reason4 ,take his own definition of bioplasts1 as copied from ,professor ,beale1 coupled with what they both term nutrient matter and germinal matter1 or bioplasm1 and this confident assertion of his will land him at once where the highest powers of the microscope fail to give back any intelligible answer1 or where neither assertion nor contradiction avails anything4 ,a bioplast1 they tell us1 is a germinal point in germinal matter or bioplasm4 ,it is also assumed that the central portion of every cell in an organic tissue is a bioplast4 ,here this wonderful little weaver of tissue sits spinning his threads and weaving them into the warp and woof of formed matter--that which1 according to ,professor ,beale1 becomes dead matter as soon as it is woven6 ,but it is admitted that the nerve fibres constitute an uninterrupted network which admits of no endings--that is1 whose ultimate reticulations lie beyond the microscopic limit4 ,but there is a cell in every hundredth part of an inch of these ultimate reticulations1 in each of which one of these bioplastic weavers sits plying his threads into the warp and woof of nerve tissue1 if not of nerve force4 ,what is known of these little weavers1 either by ,mr4 ,joseph ,cook or ,professor ,lionel ,s4 ,beale8 ,manifestly nothing1 unless they have been specially favored with microscopes of over #b1hjj diameters--the highest yet made1--and have fathomed the ultimate implications of nerve force2 an assumption on the part of the ,boston lecturer to which we are bound to except4 ,nor are these bioplasts mere structureless matter1 however minute they may be as little points4 ,they differ only from morphological cells1 in the definitional language employed by different theorists1 and lack the all-essential accuracy of distinction necessary to scientific classification4 ,to define a bioplast as a germinal point in germinal matter1 or bioplasm1 is to draw no satisfactory line of distinction between the two1 except that the one is a mere aggregation of the other4 ,a germinal mass is only made up of germinal points--those considered as the least of any given whole--however infinitesimal they may be in theoretical statement4 ,if any germinal point in germinal matter1 therefore1 be a bioplast1 then every germinal point1 to the extent of making up its entire mass1 must be a bioplast2 and the distinction between the two becomes merely verbal1 and without generic signification4 ,but every morphological cell is conceded to be an organism1 whether it lie within or beyond the microscopic limit4 ,and it invariably exhibits a greater or less amount of cellular activity at its centre4 ,it grows rather than spins2 it builds up tissue1 rather than weaves it into warp and woof2 it assimilates nutritive matter rather than plies a loom in any conceivable sense in which we may view that industrial machine4 ,no matter what we may call this point of vital activity in a cell--whether it be a bioplast1 a plastid1 a physiological unit1 or a granule of elementary life-stuff--it simply performs the one single function of life to which it is specifically assigned in the process of building up any one identical individual of a species1 whether it be a man1 an ape1 a tree1 or a parasitic fungus4 ,the very admission that the bioplast spins1 makes it an organism1 and not mere structureless matter4 ,for the first thread it spins is manifestly for its own covering or the ornamentation of its own cell-walls4 ,and to speak of these as structureless matter is to confound all scientific sense1 as well as meaning4 ,the third objection to ,mr4 ,cook's statement is1 that if bioplasts spin1 it is as dependent1 and not as independent machines or agencies4 ,there are millions of these bioplasts--taking the word in the sense in which ,professor ,beale uses it--in every living organism considered as a biological whole4 ,in the case of man1 there are millions of them within a comparatively small compass2 and each has its own cell to which its specific work is assigned4 ,now1 these germinal points1 or bioplasts1 in each of these myriads of cells1 work1 not separately and independently1 like so many oysters in their respective shells1 but harmoniously and together1 as if under the supervisional direction of one supreme architect and builder4 ,this builder is that one elementary principle of life1 appertaining to each specific individual as a species1 with which nature was endowed from the beginning1 and which1 in the case of man1 was a direct emanation from ,deity4 ,it is this vital principle manifesting itself in all living organisms1 not from them2 directing ,professor ,beale's bioplastic weavers1 not directed by them2 availing itself of necessary plasmic conditions1 if not giving rise to them in the first instance2 observing no developmental processes by which one form of life laps over upon another1 and following no order but that of universal harmony in the ,divine intendment4 ,there is struggle and rivalry for existence1 even among the same classes1 orders1 genera1 and species1 and the smallest and weakest must give place to the largest and strongest everywhere1 and vice versa1 as ,time1 the greatest of all rodents1 gnaws away at the mystical tree of life4 ,but in every living organism1 from the lowest and simplest to the highest and most complex1 all bioplastic spinners of filamentous tissue1 all plastide weavers of membranous or spun matter1 all epithelial bobbin-runners1 and other anatomical helpers and workers1 perform their respective tasks under the special supervision we have named1 that is1 under the higher unit of life4 ,they all work for the advancement and well-being of the higher organism of which they form a component and necessarily subordinate part4 ,the fact that ,professor ,beale has discovered that what he calls bioplasm and germinal points or bioplasts may take on a distinct and separate color from tissue1 when subjected to a solution of carmine in ammonia1 is no evidence that he has penetrated the adytum of this sacred temple of ,life1 wherein lies the mystery of mysteries4 ,it is an important discovery so far as tracing tissue is concerned1 but it admits him into no higher mystery within the temple built by ,god than another may attain to by the accidental discovery that the tissues may take on the same color in some other solution--by no means an improbable discovery4 ,carmine in ammonia is not the only solution that may aid science in the investigations now being carried forward by the vitalists and non-vitalists with so much bitterness and asperity of feeling between them2 and now that ,professor ,beale has made his happy discovery1 it is by no means certain that some other equally persistent worker in this interesting field of inquiry may not hit upon quite as happy a discovery in the same or some equivalent direction--one that shall throw the bioplasmic theory as far into the shade as ,mr4 ,cook thinks the bioplasts have already thrown the cells4 ,but decidedly the most objectionable statement of ,professor ,beale1 although one confidently re-affirmed by our ,boston ,monday ,lecturer1 is that which makes bioplasm and bioplasts the only living matter4 ,we have already referred to the phrases living matter and non-living matter as altogether objectionable in biological statement1 since they are more than half-way concessions to the materialists1 who contemptuously order the vitalists to take a back seat in the discussions now going forward as to the true origin of life4 ,but the objection we here make is less technical1 and touches a far more vital point in the inquiry4 ,it is true that ,professor ,beale speaks of formed matter1 as if it were a peculiar something--a sort of tertium quid--between living and non-living matter4 ,but he distinctly avers that the substance which turns red in his carmine solutions is the only living matter1 and hence asserts1 inferentially at least1 that all other matter1 in any and every living organism1 is dead matter4 ,but we may just as confidently aver that no matter is living in any vital organism which has not been assimilated and built up into living membranous tissue capable of responding 7in the case of man7 to his will1 as well as performing the autonomous functions of plants and the lower animals4 ,for all these membranous tissues are innumerably thronged with bioplasts or plastide particles1 not for the purposes of obedience to man's will1 or of performing any autonomous function1 but simply to supply the tissues with the necessary nutrient matter to make up for the constant waste that is going on in a healthy living organ4 ,this waste is very much greater than has heretofore been supposed1 so that the man or animal of to-day may be an entirely distinct and separate one1 considered materially1 from that of a year or more ago4 ,and this averment would have a decided advantage over ,professor ,beale's1 since1 in meeting a friend1 we might be certain that four-fifths of him at least was alive1 while the other one-fifth was industriously at work to keep him alive1 instead of a stalking corpse1 as he would otherwise be1 upon the street4 ,besides1 it would obviate the necessity1 on the part of the vitalists1 of giving themselves four-fifths away to the materialists1 as ,professor ,beale virtually does in the argument4 ,the too rude touch of a child's hand will rob the canary bird of its life--stifle its musical throat1 hush its most ecstatic note1 still its exquisite song1 and render forever mute and silent its voice4 ,but where are ,professor ,beale's bioplasts which1 but a moment before1 were not only weaving the nerves1 tissues1 muscles1 bones1 and even the wonderful plumage of this canary bird1 but plying the invisible threads of song--throwing off its chirps1 carols1 trills1 quavers1 airs1 overtures and brilliant roulades1 as if the little vocalist had caught its inspiration from the very skies8 ,where1 we repeat1 are these bioplasts now8 ,they are all quietly and industriously at work as before4 ,the occupant of the song-mansion is gone1 but not one of these bioplasts has dropped a clew1 thrown down a shuttle1 abandoned a loom1 or fled in dismay to the core of its cell4 ,they still pulsate1 throb1 throw off tissue4 ,no chemical change has yet intervened to break down their cell-walls1 or interfere with the occupations assigned them4 ,the machinery that ran their looms is stopped--that is all4 ,the invisible shuttles have ceased to ply--the meshes of their tangled webs are broken--the more delicate threads of song are snapped in sunder1 but the bioplastic spinners and weavers are all there4 ,not one of them has been displaced from its seat1 nor in any way disturbed or molested in its work4 ,if they are conscious of any danger1 it is that the occupant of this little song-mansion has suddenly stepped out--is no longer present to direct their tasks4 ,the icy hand of decay and death will soon be upon them--these poor bioplastic weavers of tissue--but the vocal spark1 the bright gem instinct with music1 is beyond the reach of these dusky messengers4 ,where it is1 not man1 but the ,giver of all life knows4 ,we only know1 when our faith is uplifted by inspiration1 that-- ,the soul of music never dies1 ,nor slumbers in its shell2 ',tis sphere-descended from the skies1 ,and thence returns to dwell4 ,chapter ,,ix4 ,force-,correlation1 ,differentiation and ,other ,life ,theories4 ,among the more startling1 if not decidedly brilliant1 vital theories which have been advanced within the last few years1 is that which makes life an undiscovered correlative of force4 ,those who have the reputation of being the profoundest thinkers and delvers in the newly-discovered realm of ,force-correlation in ,europe1 and who have more or less modestly contributed to that reputation themselves1 have evidently thought to eclipse1 if not to entirely throw into the shade1 the great exploit of ,leverrier1 in pointing out the exact place in their empirical heavens where the superior optics of some future observer shall behold1 in all its glory1 this undiscovered correlative of force1 which they have indicated as lying within the higher possibilities and potentialities of matter4 ,precisely what they mean by this undiscovered correlate1 is what puzzles us quite as much to determine as it does the materialists to explain4 ,were they to define life as an undiscovered force simply1 their definition would manifestly lack in brilliancy what it would conclusively make up in precision and accuracy of definitional statement4 ,but such a poor metaphrastic and half-circular exposition of vital force would never answer the necessities of that profounder profundity required for the success of modern scientific treatises4 ,hence the interpolation of this correlative of theirs4 ,let us ascertain1 if we can1 what it means1 since they are so chary of informing us themselves4 ,a correlate of a thing--any thing--simply implies the reciprocal relation it bears to some other thing4 ,as a cognate term it expresses nothing1 can express nothing1 but reciprocity of relationship1 such as father to son1 brother to sister1 uncle to aunt1 nephews to nieces1 etc4 ,as applied to vital force1 it means nothing more nor less than that this particular force stands in some sort of relationship to the other forces of nature1 or1 as they would have us believe1 the material forces of nature4 ,and the simple strength or potentiality of this relationship is what makes all the difference between the severally related forces of the universe1 since it would be as impossible to differentiate a fixed relationship as to change the nature of vital units4 ,but whether vital force1 as a distinct correlate1 is paternal or filial1 brotherly or sisterly1 avuncular or amital in its relationship1 is not stated4 ,the scientific formula1 however1 may be stated thus3 ,as ,a 7chemical force7 is to ,b 7molecular force7 so is ,c 7a third known force7 to x 7the vital or unknown force72 so that1 by multiplying the antecedents and consequents together1 and eliminating the value of x1 we may mathematically obtain the value of vital force4 ,but to eliminate the value of x is what troubles them4 ,herbert ,spencer has tried his hand at it1 but failed to express life under any higher correlation than molecular force2 nor can he definitely inform us whether either force is third or fourth cousin to the other4 ,but he manifestly regards their relationship as constituting either a very attractive or highly repulsive force4 ,in his vexation at not finding the value of x1 he is driven from mathematical to mechanical biology1 and gives us this new definitional value of life--that singularly contumacious quantity which so persistently refuses to be eliminated in scientific equations3 ,life is molecular machinery worked by molecular force4 ,but as ,professor ,beale has utterly demoralized1 if not demolished1 this machinery1 in his recent treatise on ,the ,mystery of ,life1 we will spare it any further blows1 and proceed to the consideration of molecular force4 ,before we proceed however1 to the consideration of this force1 let us definitely understand the meaning of the terms we shall be called upon to use4 ,we can have no difficulty in understanding the meaning of molecular attraction1 or that force acting immediately on the integrant molecules or particles of a body1 as distinguished from the attraction of gravitation which acts at unlimited distances4 ,but when it comes to ascribing other and higher manifestations of power to molecules1 such as have not been scientifically shown to exist1 we must feel our way with caution1 and demand of these pretentious molecules1 or rather of their materialistic backers1 a reason for the faith1 or rather force1 that is in them4 ,it is agreed by all physicists1 as well as chemists1 that a molecule is the smallest conceivable quantity of a simple or compound substance1 as an atom is the smallest conceivable quantity of an element which enters into combination with other elements to form material substance4 ,for instance1 the smallest conceivable quantity of water is a molecule1 while the smallest conceivable quantity of either of the two elements of which water is composed1 is an atom4 ,in every molecule of water1 therefore1 there are three elementary atoms1 two of hydrogen and one of oxygen4 ,and since a molecule1 as a general rule1 contains two or more atoms1 and may contain many of them1 why not predicate dynamic force of the atoms1 which lie one step nearer the elementary forces of nature8 ,for the mightiest forces of nature lie in these elements1 when forced into unnatural alliances1 or chained up in durance vile4 ,it is in the elements of matter1 and not in its molecules1 that this tremendous dynamic force resides4 ,man1 knowing this1 harnesses them into his service1 first by forcing them into unnatural alliances1 as in the case of charcoal1 sulphur and saltpetre1 and then successfully pitting them in conflict against the rocks and the general inertia of matter4 ,to charge all the destructive work they do on the innocent and harmless molecules1 which are two steps removed from the actual force expended1 is drawing conclusions from the sheerest hypothetical data4 ,it is the office of molecular force1 if there is any meaning to the term beyond what is expressed by molecular attraction1 to conserve matter--bind rocks together1 not rend them in sunder4 ,if the dynamic forces of nature lie pent up in the molecules1 then man must array molecular force against molecular force in order to rend rocks and tear mountains in sunder4 ,this theory of molecular force1 as extended to vital physics in the force-doctrine of life1 is irreconcilably at war with the principal phenomena of life1 and should be classed with the other undiscovered correlates of force1 which ,professor ,beale speaks of as the fictions of a mechanical imagination4 ,the truth is that these much abused and much slandered molecules are the most innocent and harmless things in nature4 ,they never become destructive unless some other force than that inhering in themselves drags them into its service and hurls them along a devastating path4 ,of themselves1 they are the very quintessence of quiessence in the universe1 and1 when formed in nature's laboratory1 at once seek quiet and loving companionship with kindred molecules1 and retain it forever afterwards4 ,the idea that they should break away from their loving molecular embrace1 and1 by any process of differentiation or constructive agency of their own1 seek an alliance with some living dog-germ in order to be built up into living dog-tissue1 presents about as perverse and wayward an impulse on the part of matter as can well be imagined by the scientific mind4 ,that the dog-germ should seek to get hold of1 and differentiate them1 we can well understand4 ,the ,circean witchery and enticement is all on the part of the dog-germ1 not in the inclination of the molecules4 ,if there is any truth in this molecular-force-theory of life1 it is about time for us to discard some of the old categories respecting matter1 motion1 and life1 and substitute new ones in their place4 ,in the multiplicity of new scientific terms constantly springing up for recognition in these days1 there ought to be no difficulty in expressing the true categories1 and assigning to them their proper definitional value4 ,to include physical force1 chemical force1 molecular force1 and vital force all under one and the same category1 and then interpret their several modes of action on any theory of force-correlation1 is not emancipating language from the gross thraldom into which their molecular machinery has driven it4 ,besides1 there is moral force1 mental force1 the force of will1 the force of reason1 the force of honesty1 the force of fraud1 etc41 and any number of other forces1 all possessing more or less impetus or momentum1 and capable of binding or coercing persons and things1 in all their diversified relations1 correlations1 incidences1 coincidences1 affinities1 antagonisms1 and so on through an interminable chapter of interchangeable predications4 ,all these different expressions of force are to be tethered together--definitionally bound hand and foot--under the one explanatory head of force-correlation4 ,we protest against the labor of thus unifying all the natural forces of the universe1 even if it were practicable under scientific methods4 ,but ,professor ,tyndall denies that molecular groupings and molecular motions explain anything--account for anything--in the way of explicating life-manifestations1 or determining what life is4#ca ,and it would be difficult to cite a stronger and more determined materialist as authority on the point we are considering4 ,he says3 ,if love were known to be associated with a right-handed spiral motion of the molecules of the brain1 and hate with the left-handed1 we should remain as ignorant as before1 as to the cause of motion4 ,but there is no proof that the molecules of the brain manifest any other motions than those necessary for keeping up the normal condition of health and vital activity in the brain itself4 ,no one can be certain that he has seen these molecules in a state of mental activity2 for where portions of the human brain have been exposed to microscopic examination1 even in perfect states of consciousness on the part of those whose brains have been laid bare1 there can be no certainty that the molecular action1 if any1 is referable to one set of movements more than another4 ,and even in the case of animalcules1 as seen in the object glass of the microscope1 there is no absolute certainty that their quick1 darting or jerking movements are due to any life-manifestation1 as heretofore assumed4 ,some quite as well defined forms are entirely motionless1 and if all were so1 it would be idle to predicate vitality of them4#cb ,these infinitessimal and constantly varying forms1 many of them not the one hundred-thousandth part of an inch in length1 to say nothing of their other dimensions1 may owe their oscillations1 wave movements1 darting and other manifestations1 and even their molecular arrangements and rearrangements1 to other causes than those strictly vital4 ,and it should be borne in mind that their actual movements are just as much exaggerated under the microscope as their real dimensions4 ,but as they make their appearance in organic infusions only1 they are presumably vital organisms rather than fomentative or mere filamentous yeast-manifestations4 ,professor ,huxley1 while conceding that molecular changes may take place under environing life-conditions1 or in protoplasmic matter1 denies that the primordial cells possesses in any degree the characteristics of a machine1 nor can they undergo any differentiating process by which the character of their manifestations can be changed4 ,and he even denies to them the poor right to originate or in any way modify their own plasma4 ,he says3 ,they are no more the producers of vital phenomena1 than the shells scattered in orderly line along the sea-beach are the instruments by which the gravitative force of the moon acts upon the ocean4 ,like these1 the cells mark only where the vital tides have been1 and how they have acted4 ,this is undoubtedly true of all cells in which the vital or functional office has ceased1 as in the case of ,professor ,beale's formed matter4 ,the cells are the result of the vital principle that lies behind them1 and simply indicate where life exists1 or has manifestly ceased to exist4 ,where the vital currents have ceased to flow1 the wreck of primordial cells is quite as wide and disastrous as where millions of sea-shells have been strewn along a desolated and storm-swept sea-beach4 ,they all come1 both the cells and shells1 from the prexisting vital units1 or determinate germs1 that fall into their own incidences of movement1 without any concurrence of physical conditions beyond their own inherent tendency to development4 ,for conditions do not determine life2 they only favor its manifestation4 ,but some of the materialists claim that what we call vital units1 or invisible1 indestructible germs1#cc are at best only physical relations2 that they have nothing more than a hypothetical existence1 without any independent recognizable quality justifying our conclusions respecting them4 ,but may not this identical language be retortively suggested in the case of their correlates of force8 ,what more than a hypothetical existence have they8 ,certainly their enthusiasm to get rid of all vital conditions or manifestations1 is quite as marked a feature in their speculations respecting life as any enthusiasm we have shown in the verification of vital phenomena1 on the established law of cause and effect4 ,they insist upon this law in the case of statical aggregates1 and even assign absolute identity of attributes2 but when it comes to dynamical aggregates1 they fall back on partial identity only1 and deny the presence of the law altogether4 ,nor are they any more felicitous in their treatment of other points in controversy4 ,in speaking of his plastide particles1 ,professor ,bastian1 the most defiant challenger of vitalistic propositions now living1 says3 ,certain of these particles1 through default of necessary conditions1 never actually develop into higher modes of being4 ,here he makes the absence of necessary conditions the cause of non-development1 while he stoutly denies that the presence of such conditions give rise to the development of a pre-existing vital unit4 ,and yet1 strange to say1 he speaks of the elemental origin of living matter as having probably taken place on the surface of our globe since the far-remote period when such matter was first engendered4 ,but how his sum-total of external conditions1 acting upon dead matter1 can engender living matter1 is one of those related heterogenetic phenomena which he does not condescend to explain4 ,it is by this sort of scientific verbiage that he gets rid of the pre-existing vital principle1 or germinal principle of life1 which the biblical genesis declares to be in the earth itself4 ,to be entirely consistent with himself1 he should deny the existence of this germinal principle in the seeds of plants themselves1 and insist upon the sum-total of external conditions as the cause of all life-manifestations1 in the vegetal as in the animal world4 ,there can be no inherent tendency1 he should insist1 in the seed itself towards structural development1 but only external conditions acting upon dead matter1 in heterogentic directions4 ,the shooting down of the radicle or undeveloped root1 and the springing up of the plumule or undeveloped stalk1 is accordingly due to no vital principle in the seed1 but to the complexity or entanglement of the molecules wrapped up in their integumentary environment4 ,and this1 or some similar fortuitous entanglement of molecules1 should account for all life-manifestations1 as well as all life-tendencies1 in nature4 ,these molecular entanglements should1 therefore1 be infinite in number1 as well as in fortuitous complexity1 to account for all the myriad forms of life engendered from dead matter in the material universe4 ,for if there is any one thing that the materialists insist upon more resolutely than another1 it is the fortuitousness of nature--the happening by chance of whatever she does4 ,formerly it used to be the fortuitous concourse of atoms2 now it is the fortuitous aggregate of molecules4 ,by what accidental or fortuitous happening the atoms have dropped out of their scientific categories1 and the molecules have been advanced to their commanding place in absolute accidentalness1 is one of those unassignable causes in which they apparently so much delight4 ,we can only account for it on the supposition that they have all become worshippers of that blind and accidental ,greek goddess1 who bore the horn of ,amalthea and plentifully endowed her followers with a wealth of language and other much-coveted gifts1 but not with the most desirable knack at disposing of them4 ,the true cause of vital phenomena manifestly depends on these two conditions--the presence of the specific vital unit1 and the necessary environing plasma1 or nutrient matter1 for its primary development4 ,without the presence of both of these conditions1 or conditioning incidences1 there can be no life-manifestation anywhere4 ,and we do not see that anything is gained1 even in the matter of scientific nomenclature1 by merely substituting molecular force for vital force1 in the explication of vital phenomena4 ,even granting that molecular changes do take place during the development of the vital units in their necessary plasmic environment2 it by no means follows that these changes are not dependent on the vital principle as it acts1 rather than on the molecules as they act1#cd ,the higher force should always subordinate the lower in all metamorphic1 as well as other processes1 of nature4 ,it is the vital principle that differentiates matter--the aggregate of molecules--not matter differentiating the vital principle4 ,no molcules organiques can ever differentiate an ape-unit into a man-unit1 any more than ,professor ,tyndall can fetch a ,plato out of mere sky-mist4 ,once an ape-unit1 always an ape-unit2 once a man-unit1 eternally a man-unit4 ,let the vitalists stick to this proposition--this eternally fixed unit as une ide dans l'entendement de ,dieu1 7to use a better ,french expression than ,english7--and they can fight the materialists off their own ground anywhere4 ,the one sublime verity of the universe is that life exists1 and that it has existed from all eternity as possible in the ,divine mind1 and in the ,divine mind alone4 ,if materialistic science is disposed to butt its head against this impregnable proposition1 it can do so4 ,the proposition will stand1 whatever may happen to the inconsiderate head4 ,for science may press her devotees into as many different pursuits as there are starting-points to an azimuth circle1 and command them to search and find out the ultimate causes of things in the universe1 but the forever narrowing circle in one direction1 and the forever widening one in the other1 would utterly baffle all their attempted research4 ,whether they descended into the microscopic world1 with its myriad-thronged conditions of life1 or passed upward and outward1 in ,sirius-distances1 to the irresolvable nebul1 where other and perhaps brighter stars might burst upon their view--gleaming coldly and silently down the still enormous fissures and chasms in the heavens--the result would be the same4 ,wider and wider fields of observation might open upon their view1 as the stellar swarms thickened and the power of human vision failed1 but the uranological expedition would return no wiser than when it started1 and ,science would still be confronted with the same illimitability of space1 the same infinitude of matter1 and the same incomprehensibility of the world-arranging intelligence that lies beyond4 ,for ,he who hath garnished the heavens by his spirit--who divideth the sea with his power1 and hangeth the earth upon nothing--holdeth back the face of his throne and spreadeth his cloud upon it4 ,what if1 in one direction1 we should find those inconceivably small specks1 or mere bioplastic points1 which we call living matter1 or1 in the other direction1 those inconceivably vast world-forming masses which we call dead matter1 who shall say that the secret places of the ,most ,high are not hidden from us1 or that when the spirit of ,god first moved through these vast fissures and chasms in the heavens upon the face of all matter1 there was not imparted to it that animating principle of life of which the biblical genesis speaks1 and which we everywhere see manifesting itself in nature8 ,surely this inquiry is not one to be superciliously set aside by the materialists1 after the failure of their uranological expedition1 on the ground that it does not furnish food enough for scientific contemplation1 without such physiological fancies as their specialists have been giving us in the shape of force-correlations and molecular theories of life4 ,but speaking of the higher forces as subordinating the lower1 suggests that there should be something more definitely explained regarding the hypothesis of differentiation1 on which ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer hangs so much of his mathematical faith in the true explication of vital phenomena4 ,the term differentiation is not so formidable as it might seem to the general reader at first sight4 ,as applied to physiological problems it should have the same determinate value1 in expressing functional differences1 as in the higher operations of mathematics4 ,nothing can1 of course1 differentiate itself1 nor can any two things differentiate each other1 even when functionally allied4 ,the actual cofficient sought is the difference effected1 in functional value1 in one of two independent variables4 ,for all formul in differentiation are constructed on the hypothesis that only one of two variables suffers change4 ,the differential cofficient has yet to be determined which shall express the developmental changes in two variables at once4 ,when1 therefore1 we attempt to extend the formul of differentiation to plant and animal life1 we are confronted by a very formidable difficulty at the outset--the impossibility of determining an invariable cofficient for any two variables4 ,besides1 all attempts at differentiating an ape-unit into anything else than an ape-unit would be as impossible as to multiply or divide cabbages by turnips1 or sparrows by sparrowhawks4 ,such divisions would give us no quotients1 any more than their differentiations would give us a cofficient4 ,physiological differentiation will1 therefore1 never help us out of fixed species or nearly allied types4 ,we can bridge no specific differences by it4 ,in the differentiation of the horse and the ass for instance1 the superior blood will predominate in the preservation of types1 and even the mule will kick against further differentiation4 ,nature would so utterly abhor the practice as resolutely to slam the door in ,mr4 ,spencer's face1 if the obstinacy of the mule did not kick it off its hinges4 ,and nature would be quite as intractable in the case of force-correlation1 another of ,mr4 ,spencer's redoubtable phrases4 ,this term is quite recent in its application to animate objects1 nor has it been long applied to inanimate4 ,it is claimed to be a recently discovered force1 and is one that the materialists have seized upon as the ,herculean club with which to smite all vital theories to the earth4 ,its meaning1 so far as it has any1 is not difficult to get at4 ,the simplest way to explain it1 however1 is the best4 ,the reader is to understand that when he rubs two flat sticks together1 the heat thereby engendered is not the result of friction1 as all the world has heretofore supposed1 but that the amount of force expended in rubbing the right-hand stick against the left-hand stick1 is1 by some law of versability1 not over-well defined1 transferred to the two sticks1 and gets so entangled between their surfaces that it can only reappear in another and altogether different kind of force4 ,when it leaves the hands and passes into the two sticks1 it is1 as the materialists assert1 vital force4 ,but as no force can be annihilated1 the conclusive assumption is that it still exists somewhere4 ,all of it1 in the first place1 went into the two flat sticks1 and1 when there1 ceased to be vital force4 ,some of it disappeared1 of course1 in overcoming the inertia of the sticks1 but the bulk of it became entangled with the superficial molecules of the two sticks1 and reappeared as heat--another name for molecular force4 ,this is what is meant by the differentiation of vital force into molecular force1 and vice versa4 ,but by what process of rubbing1 under this law of versability1 molecular force can be reversed1 or differentiated back into vital force1 ,mr4 ,spencer has not condescended to inform us4 ,the simple truth is1 and the materialists will be forced to admit it in the end1 that there is no verification of this theory beyond that of mere force-equivalence4 ,for instance1 it has been experimentally determined that a certain amount of fuel expended in heat is equivalent to a certain amount of mechanical force1 not mechanical work1 as ,m4 ,carnot puts it4 ,for force is not expended in work until it is actually generated1 and the amount generated1 not that expended in work1 is the real equivalence of the heat produced from fuel4 ,another problem is presented when it comes to determining the amount of generated force necessary to run a piece of machinery which shall accomplish a given amount of mechanical work4 ,a far better phrase to express this equivalence of force has been suggested and used by several writers in what is called the ,transmutation of ,force4 ,for there is no correlation1 or reciprocal relation1 between heat as originally produced by the consumption of fuel and the force as engendered in steam before it is transmuted into work4 ,nor is there any real equivalence as between the two forces after its transmutation4 ,a very large per centage of heat is lost in its transmutation from a latent form in fuel to an active or available form in steam1 and a still greater loss in its transmission into work by machinery4 ,theoretically1 there may be such an equivalence as that named1 but practically it is impossible to realize it4 ,and a theory that is impossible of realization is of no practical utility in itself1 and of little value as the basis of further theory4 ,if1 then1 the theory of force equivalence is a failure in practical application1 it furnishes a very poor basis on which to predicate force-correlation1 or the doctrine of reciprocal forces4 ,it is estimated1 for instance1 that a pound weight falling seven hundred and seventy-two feet1 will1 in striking the earth1 impart to it a degree of heat equivalent to raising one pound of water #a ,f4 ,but the heat thus imparted can never be so utilized as to raise a pound weight seven hundred and seventy-two feet into the air4 ,this shows that there is no actual reciprocity of relationship between the force as originally engendered and finally expended in work4 ,nor can it be shown that the original force is transmuted or changed into another and different kind of force by the operation4 ,the force generated and the force expended are essentially one and the same1 as much so as that transmitted from the power to the weight by means of a rope and pulley4 ,and the quality of the force is not changed1 whether the weight be lifted by machinery or the human hand4 ,force1 in its mechanical sense1 is that power which produces motion1 or an alteration in the direction of motion1 and is incapable of being specialized1 except in a highly figurative sense1 into a thousand and one correlates of motion4 ,but these miscellaneous and figurative forces are not what we are considering4 ,the doctrine of force-correlation takes no such wide and comprehensive sweep4 ,it embraces neither the force of wit1 nor the force of folly2 but mechanical force and its equivalents4 ,the force exercised by the human hand in lifting a weight either with or without rope and pulley is1 in every definitional sense of the word1 mechanical force4 ,for the arm and hand are only the implements1 or mechanical contrivances of nature1 by which the will-power transmutes itself into work1 or1 more properly speaking1 transmits itself from the point of force-generation to that of force-expenditure4 ,and this is precisely the office performed by all mechanical contrivances for the transmission--not transmutation--of force4 ,and the most perfect machine is that which transmits the engendered force1 with the least possible waste or abandonment1 to its point of ultimate expenditure in work4 ,all these hypothetical correlates of force1 therefore1 predicated upon the doctrine of force-transmutation1 have no foundation in fact1 since the force transmitted from the point of generation to the point of expenditure undergoes no change but that of direction1 in its passage along rope1 wire1 belt1 pulley1 shafting1 etc4 ,a man whose limbs have been paralyzed1 may still will to remove mountains4 ,the will-power is the same1 but the mechanical contrivances for its transmission are wanting4 ,of the actual point or centre of this force-generation1 in the case of the will-power1 we know nothing2 but the moment the power is started on its way towards the point of force-expenditure1 whether it traverses the nerves and tissues of the brain1 or the right arm or the left1 or a crowbar or pickaxe1 it is in no sense distinguishable from the force that traverses a rope and pulley4 ,nor is there any evidence that it undergoes molecular changes1 or becomes modified or conditioned by any nearly or remotely related force1 as it darts along the nerves1 runs through the contracted tissues1 electrifies the crowbar1 or flashes into work from the point of a pickaxe4 ,whatever produces1 or tends to produce1 motion1 or an alteration in its direction1 is mechanical force1 no matter from what force-centre it may start4 ,when we can definitely determine the centre of vital force1 as exercised in building up vital structure1 not in wielding pickaxes1 it is to be hoped we shall be able to distinguish1 by the proper correlates1 vital force from that which is mechanical4 ,but the task is manifestly a hopeless one with the materialists4 ,professor ,beale positively denies that there are any such physical force-relations as those claimed by the materialists1 and asserts that vital force bears no relation1 or correlation1 to either chemical or physical force2 that the one is a distinct and separate factor from the other1 and cannot be interpreted in the same force-formul4 ,he says3 ,the idea of motion1 or heat1 or light1 or electricity forming or building up1 or constructing any texture capable of fulfilling a definite purpose1 seems absurd1 and opposed to all that is known1 and yet is the notion continually forced upon us1 that vitality1 which does construct1 is but a correlate of ordinary energy or motion4 ,but after devoting so much time to force-correlation1 and force-differentiation1 the advocates of molecular-machinery may feel themselves neglected if we dismiss their favorite hobby without further notice4 ,the precise parentage of this term is disputed1 but it has any number of putative fathers4 ,we have spoken of the size of the molecules themselves1 and the numbers of them that might be huddled together on the point of a cambric needle without jostling4 ,let us now consider the size of a molecular machine4 ,for each molecule runs its own machine1 and is provident enough to see that they do not jostle4 ,in fact1 it is a very nice question in physics1 whether the machines do not run the molecules1 instead of the prevailing opposite opinion that the molecules run the machines4 ,unfortunately1 the question is one that can never be determined4 ,the requisite scientific data will forever be wanting4 ,but ,professor ,james ,c4 ,maxwell1 now1 or quite recently1 filling the chair of experimental physics in the ,university of ,cambridge1 ,england1 has furnished us with approximate calculations4 ,on the strength of his approximations we will proceed to consider the dimensions of these wonderful little machines4 ,and first1 it may be axiomatically laid down that these molecular machines1 which either run the molecules or are run by them1 can never exceed the size of their respective molecules4 ,conceding1 then1 that each one of these machines exactly fits into its own molecule1 so as to present identically the same dimensions--as well as their largest possible dimensions--it would require two millions of them1 placed in a row1 to make one millimetre1 or the one three hundred and ninety-four thousandths of an inch in length1 or seven hundred and eighty-eight billions of them to make one inch6 ,who will ever be staggered at ,sirius-distances1 after this8 ,and who will deny that an infinite world lies below the point of our microscopic vision1 if not an ,infinite kingdom and throne beyond our telescopic glance8 ,but1 following the same high authority in experimental physics1 let us consider the aggregate weight of these molecular machines4 ,we will not marshal their aggregate numbers in a row1 for an array of forty billions of them would make too insignificant a figure for inspection2 but simply give their actual weight as computed under the ,french or metric system4 ,take1 then1 a million million million million of these machines1 throwing in molecules and all1 and they will weigh1 if there is no indiscreet kicking of the beam1 just a fraction between four and five grammes1 or--to differentiate the weights--a small fraction over one-tenth of an ounce6 ,but why not get down to the atoms1 of which the molecules are only the theoretical congeries1 and marshal the atomic forces into line8 ,these embryonic atoms are much the braver warriors1 and1 when summoned to do battle1 spring1 lithe and light-armed1 against the elemental foe4 ,they are no cowardly molecules1 these atoms1 but make war against ,titans1 as well as ,titanic thrones and powers4 ,the elements recognize them as their body guardsmen1 their corps of invincible lancers1 their bravest and best soldiers in fight4 ,and they are wholly indifferent as to the legions of molecules arrayed against them1 and would as soon hurl a mountain of them into the sea as to sport with a zephyr or caper with the east wind4 ,why not summon these countless myriads of bright and invincible spearmen1 to batter down the walls of this ,cretan labyrinth of ,life8 ,an army of these would be worth all the molecules that ,professor ,maxwell could array in line1 in a thousand years4 ,no life-problem need remain unsolved with their bright spears to drive the tenebrious mists before them4 ,even ,professor ,tyndall's fog-banks of primordial haze would be ignominiously scattered in flight before these atomic legions4 ,let our materialistic friends summon them1 then1 to their aid4 ,the field of controversy will never be won by their molecular ,hessians4 ,the ineffably bright lancers that stand guard over the elemental hosts are the light brigade with which to rout the vitalistic enemy4 ,advance them then to the front1 and1 beneath the shadowy wing of pestilence or some other appalling ensign of destruction1 the abashed vital squadrons will flee in dismay4 ,but let us pass from scientific speculations to alleged scientific facts4 ,in a paper read by ,dr4 ,hughes ,bennett before the ,royal ,society of ,edinburgh1 in #ahfa1 its author says3 ,the first step1 in the process of organic formation1 is the production of an organic fluid2 the second1 the precipitation of organic molecules1 from which1 according to the molecular law of growth1 all other textures are derived either directly or indirectly4 ,here again the molecules1 and not the elementary atoms1 are advanced to the front1 and not a little anxiety is shown1 in a definitional way1 to identify vital processes of growth with crystalline processes of formation4 ,but ,dr4 ,bennett entirely mistakes1 as well as misstates1 the process of vital development1 if he does not overlook the law governing the formation of crystals4 ,there can be no symmetrically arranged solids in an inorganic fluid without the presence of some law1 or principle1 definitely determining1 not the precipitation1 but the formation1 of crystals4 ,the inorganic particles are not precipitated or thrown downward1 any more than they are sublevated or thrown upward4 ,the process is one of formation1 not precipitation4 ,every crystallographer1 not hampered by materialistic views and anti-vital theories1 admits the presence of a fixed and determinate law governing each crystalline system1 whatever may be the homologous parts or the unequal axes it represents4 ,and so of the equally undeviating law of vital growth4 ,life comes from no mere precipitation of organic molecules1 as ,dr4 ,bennett would have us believe4 ,if so1 what is it that precipitates the molecules8 ,they can hardly be said to precipitate themselves4 ,to precipitate1 in a chemical sense1 is to be thrown down1 or caused to be thrown down1 as a substance from its solution4 ,what1 then1 causes the molecules to be thus precipitously thrown down from a fluid to a solid1 or a semi-solid1 state8 ,it cannot be from any blind or inconsiderate haste on the part of the molecules themselves4 ,there must be some independent principle1 or law of nature--one presupposing an intelligent law-giver--to effect the precipitating process1 if any such really exists4 ,but it does not exist4 ,the first step is one of development and growth--the manifestation of functional activity--the building up of organic or cellular tissue4 ,the exact process1 in the case of seed-bearing plants and trees1 is well known4 ,all those familiar with the characteristic differences of seeds1 their chemical constituents1 their tegumentary coverings1 rudimentary parts1 etc41 thoroughly understand the process in its outward manifestation4 ,there is no precipitation of molecules as in an organic fluid1 unless the albumen lying between the embryo and testa of the seeds1 and constituting the nutriment on which the plant feeds during its primary stages of growth1 can be called a fluid4 ,it throws none of its characteristic ingredients downward any more than upward4 ,indeed the greater tendency of its molecules is upward rather than downward1 in the molecular processes 7vital ones7 by which the embryonic cell is started upon its career of plant-life4 ,the celebrated ,dr4 ,liebig says of this albuminous environment3 ,it is the foundation1 the starting-point1 of the whole series of peculiar tissues which constitute those organs which are the seat of all vital actions4 ,in the case of animal life1 this albumen abounds in the serum of the blood1 enters largely into the chyle and lymph1 goes to build up the tissues and muscles1 and is the chief ingredient of the nerves1 glands1 and even the brain itself4 ,and in all these developmental stages1 its tendency is to coagulate rather than precipitate4 ,in its coagulated condition1 it dries to a hard1 partially translucent and friable state1 and is more or less insoluble in water1 and entirely so at a temperature from #adj to #afj ,f4 ,when the seed is planted or placed in water1 it first commences to swell from the absorption of the water or moisture of the ground by the pores of its external covering1 the favorable temperature being from #fj to #hj ,f4 ,it gradually expands until its outer membranes burst1 and its initial rootlets clasp their hold upon the earth4 ,from this point its several stages of development are well known to the ordinary observer4 ,here the first step is absorption and expansion1 not precipitation4 ,there is also a change in chemical conditions1 the water at least being decomposed4 ,for it would seem to be a law of vegetal growth that reproduction should begin in decomposition and decay4 ,the ,apostle's description of the death of the grain1 as symbolizing the death of man1 in his first ,epistle to the ,corinthians1 points conclusively in this direction4 ,it is in the decomposition and decay of the grain that the implanted germ is quickened into life--ascends into the bright light1 the warm sunshine1 the refreshing presence of showers and dews4 ,in this way it fulfils its providential purpose of yielding to the sower the more munificent life which he is forever seeking to attain4 ,its germination is the springing up of the inner living principle of the grain1 not its outer envelope or dead husk4 ,this disappears in decay1 except the small nutrient portion within which the germinal principle of life would seem to reside1 and which undergoes a thorough chemical change in the process of passing from death unto life1 or being assimilated and taken up into the new living structure4 ,the ,apostle's comparison distinctly marks these several changes as the one process of passing from death unto life4 ,he saw in this wonderful provision of nature1 the still more wonderful prevision of ,god4 ,to his mind it was over the debris of the dead past that the living present is constantly marching towards a higher and more perfect life--the ultimate fruition and joy of an eternal home in the skies6 ,and he saw that the two grand instrumentalities and co-accessory agencies to this end1 were ,life and ,death1 both equally constant and active1 like all the other instrumentalities and governing agencies of the universe4 ,life is forever unlocking the portals of the present to youth and vigor2 ,death is forever closing them to age and decrepitude4 ,this divine prevision thus becomes the wisest and most beneficent provision4 ,without life there would be no such thing as death1 and without death no such thing as this grand succession and march of life--this passing from out the ,shadow into the ,day4 ,chapter ,x4 ,darwinism ,considered from a ,vitalistic ,stand-,point4 ,granting that the assumption of ,darwinism rests1 as claimed1 on the fixed and inflexible adaptation of means to ends1 in the diversified yet measurably specialized processes of nature1 there is no logical deduction to be drawn therefrom but that which traces the representatives of all the great types of the animal kingdom to one single source1 and that not the ,sovereign ,intelligence of the ,universe1 but a mere ovule in protoplasm1 or what may be defined1 in its unaggregated form1 as an inconceivably small whirligig1 having motion on a central axis1 but whether an independent motion of its own1 or one derived from an ,infinite ,intelligence1 the ,darwinian systematizers are not bold enough to aver4 ,they have too many a priori scruples either to assert the one proposition or to deny the other4 ,what set this little whirligig in motion is a mystery that lies beyond the purview of science1 so called1 and into the depths of this infinitessimal and most mysterious little chamber they refuse to go4 ,they search not for the evidence of an ,infinite ,intelligence in the outermost circle of the heavens where the highest is to be found1 and where a bound is set that we may not pass1 but shutting their eyes to all the grander evidences of such an ,intelligence1 they dive down into the infinitessimal realm of nature and assume to dig out the sublimer secrets of the universe there4 ,and this is their grand discovery3 ,that this infinitessimal whirligig of theirs has not only whirled man into existence1 but the entire circle of the heavens1 with the innumerable host of stars that march therein1 and all the boundless systems of worlds that roll in space4 ,with this subordination of the ,infinite to the infinitessimal1 of intelligence to insensate matter1 of divine energy1 so to speak1 to blind molecular force1 they are satisfied2 and1 like the mole in the fable1 conceive their little molecule to be the only possible creator of a stupendous universe4 ,scrutinize my propositions closely1 and see if ,i am guilty of misstating theirs4 ,their new theory is only a slight modification of an old one1 or the old adage1 omne vivum ex ovo--all life is from an egg4 ,for they assert that every living thing primordially proceeds from an ovule in protoplasm1 the essential part of the protoplasmic egg1 so to speak1 being this little ovum or cellule1 from which have issued all possible organisms in both the vegetable and animal kingdoms4 ,nor is this theory essentially confined to organic matter4 ,a scientific cordination of its several known parts1 or alleged functions1 extends the operations of this infinitessimal whirligig to the plastic or uniformly diffused state of all matter1 from which has been evolved1 in an infinite duration of past time1 not only life in its highest manifestations1 but a universe so stupendously grand that no amount of human intelligence can grasp the first conception of it4 ,mr4 ,emerson--our ,ralph ,waldo--virtually accepts this theory of development1 substituting1 however1 a stomach for an ovule1 and the reverse of the ,darwinian proposition1 in what he is pleased to call the incessant opposition of nature to everything hurtful4 ,it is not the selection of the fittest but the rejection of the unfit1 by which a beneficent necessity 7,i use his language7 is always bringing things right4 ,it is in the stomach of plants1 he says1 that development begins1 and ends in the circles of the universe4 ',tis a long way1 he admits1 from the gorilla to the gentleman--from the gorilla to ,plato1 ,newton1 ,shakespeare--to the sanctities of religion1 the refinements of legislation1 the summits of science1 art1 poetry4 ,few persons1 ,i take it1 will dispute this proposition4 ,the road is a long one and beset with all sorts of thorns and briars1 such as ,mr4 ,emerson's philosophy will hardly eradicate from the wayside4 ,even the most refined empiricism will find it difficult to stomach his stomachic theory of the universe1 which lands all atomic or corpuscular philosophy in a digestive sac1 such as ,jack ,falstaff bore about him with its measureless capacity for potations and ,eastcheap fare4 ,it is a road too in which ,mr4 ,emerson's philosophy will get many sharp raps from an external world of phenomena1 in the futility of both his and the ,darwinian hypothesis to explain away the independent origination of certain species of plants and animals--new varieties still springing into existence1 under favorable conditions1 in obedience to the divine fiat1 ,let the earth bring forth4 ,in laying the foundations of this new science1 if science it shall be called1 we must insist that the course of nature is uniform1 and that1 however extended our generalizations in any one of her lines of uniformity1 all intermediate1 as well as ultimate propositions1 must not only be stated with the utmost scientific accuracy1 but the logical deductions therefrom must also be uniform1 or lie in the path of uniformity4 ,the earliest and latest inductions must either coincide or approximate the same end4 ,no links must be broken1 no chasms bridged1 in the scientific series4 ,there must be a distinct and separate link connecting each preceding and each succeeding one in the chain4 ,the lowest known mammal must be found in immediate relationship with his higher congener or brother1 not in any remote cousinship4 ,there must be no saltatory progress--no leaping over intermediate steps or degrees4 ,the heights of science are not to be scaled per saltum1 except as degrees may sometimes be conferred by our universities4#ce ,there are some fish-like animals1 say our ,darwinian systematizers1 like the ,lepidosirens and their congeners1 with the characteristics of amphibians2 and hence they infer that by successive deviations and improvements the lower order has risen into the higher4 ,but out of what page in the volume of nature1 in the countless leaves we have turned back1 has the immediate congener dropped1 that we are obliged to look for the relationship in thirty-fourth cousins8 ,we might as well say that some of the ,infusoria possess the same or similar characteristics1 and predicate relationship between them and the amphibians2 for giants sometimes spring from dwarfs and dwarfs from giants4 ,at all events1 our diagnoses must be freed from these intermediate breaks or failures in the chain of continuity1 or the doctrine of descent must tumble with the imaginary foundations on which it is built4 ,and bear in mind that the most enthusiastic ,darwinist is forced to admit that there are still rigid partitions between the lower and higher organisms that have not been pierced by the light of scientific truth1 but they assume that future discoveries and investigations will solve the difficulty4 ,but science1 inflexible as she is1 or ought to be1 in her demands1 admits of no assumptions1 much less sanctions such exceptions and deviations as we constantly find in the ,darwinian path of continuity4 ,the eye of imagination can supply nothing to her vision4 ,she is eagle-eyed1 and soars into the bright empyrean--does not dive into quagmires and the slime of creation after truth4 ,but let us see how ,mr4 ,darwin bridges one of the very first chasms he meets with in constructing his chain of generation4 ,he goes back to the first link1 or to what he calls primordial generation4 ,here the leap is from inorganic matter to the lowest form of organic life--from inanimate to animate dust4 ,the chasm is immense1 as all will agree4 ,but he bridges it by falling back on his infinitessimal whirligig--his primum mobile--or on the motions of elements as yet inaccessible1 except to the eye of imagination4 ,for even ,plato's monad1 or ultimate atom1 was not matter itself1 being indivisible1 but rather a formal unit or primary constituent of matter1 which1 like ,mr4 ,darwin's whirligig in its unaggregated form1 admits of neither a maximum nor a minimum of comprehension2 but rests entirely on imaginary hypothesis4 ,and we may here add that a system which begins in imaginary hypotheses and ends in them--as that of bridging the chasmal difference between a gorilla and a ,plato--can be dignified into a science only by a still greater stretch of the imagination--that of bridging the difference between the ,darwinian zero and his ninety degrees of development in a ,darwin himself6 ,bear in mind1 as we proceed1 that the function of an argument in philosophy1 as in logic1 is to prove that a certain relation exists between two concepts or objects of thought1 when that relation is not self-evident4 ,in the ,darwinian chain we have1 as the first link1 organic life springing from inorganic matter1 without the slightest relation existing between the two1 except what may be universally predicated of matter itself1 whether animate or inanimate1 organic or inorganic2 and there is no other affirmative premise1 expressing their agreement as extremes1 that can possibly admit of an affirmative conclusion4 ,the parts are so separated in thought that no metaphysical or ideal distinction exists to coordinate them in classification4 ,we are simply forced back1 in our attempt at classification1 upon the intuitions of consciousness1 where reason manifestly ceases to enforce its inductions4 ,and here the human mind intuitively springs an objection which is at once aimed at the very citadel of ,darwinism4 ,on what rests the validity of these intuitions except it be that breath of life1 which1 as we have before said1 was breathed into man when he became a living soul8 ,if we follow the divine record1 instead of these blind systematizers leading the blind1 we shall have no difficulty in establishing the validity of these intuitions--the highest potential factors this side of ,deity to be found anywhere in the universe4 ,for if our intuitions are not to be relied upon--if their objects and perceptions are to be discarded as unreliable--then there can be no agreement or disagreement between any two ideas presented1 objectively or subjectively1 to the human mind4 ,no processes of mental analysis or ratiocination1 like those pursued in the elementary methods of ,euclid1 can present the basis of an intellectual judgment1 or lay the foundation of the slightest faith or belief in the world4 ,to deny the primary perception of truth by intuition is as fatal to ,evolution as to the sublimer teachings of the ,bible ,genesis4 ,but from the very nature of our being1 as well as the primary datum of consciousness itself1 we must rest the validity of these intuitions on something1 and that1 something more than a finite intelligence2 and since science1 with all her knowledge methodically digested and arranged1 furnishes no clue to the mystery1 we are left to the higher sources of inspiration to reach it4 ,and this inspiration1 however it may be derived1 necessarily becomes a part of our intuitions1 since it addresses itself to the strongest possible cravings of the human soul1 and is accepted as its inseparable companion and guest4 ,shall we build our faith then on the ,divine ,word1--on the ,word that was in the beginning with ,god1 and1 when incarnate1 was ,god1--or on ,mr4 ,darwin's little whirligig that originally set everything in motion1 and has only to go on ad infinitum to whirl us out a ,god1 as it has already whirled us out a ,darwinian universe without one4 ,for if this ovulistic whirligig has bridged the chasmal difference between protoplasm and man1 since the transition from inorganic matter to organic life1 the process has only to be indefinitely extended to bridge the chasm between man and ,deity1 or between finite and infinite intelligence4 ,this gives us nature evolving a ,god1 instead of the doctrine of the old ,theogonies1 of a ,god presiding from all eternity over nature2 one who laid the foundations of the earth that it should not be removed forever2 who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain2 who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters2 who maketh his angels spirits2 his ministers a flaming fire4 ,these evolutionists manifestly get the cart before the horse in their category of cosmological events4 ,it is not inert matter organizing itself into life1 nor any mode of physical or chemical action1 nor any mere manifestation of motion or of heat1 nor any other conceivable correlation of natural forces4 ,none of these has enabled us to penetrate the mysterious inner-chamber of life itself4 ,for reasons obviously connected with our own welfare1 ,he1 from whom alone are the issues of life1 seems to have ordained that we should fathom the depths of both physical and chemical force1 and beneficently wield and direct them to our own uses4 ,but this vital force2 this something that stands apart from and is essentially different from all other kinds of force1 is of a nature that baffles all our efforts to approach4 ,the power to grasp it1 or even to penetrate in the slightest degree its mysteries1 is delegated to none4 ,all attempts to lay bare this principle of vitality1 or level the barriers that separate it from physical or chemical action1 have utterly failed4 ,we know no more of its essence now than was known a thousand years ago1 and know no less than will be known a thousand years hence4 ,to become masters of the mystery1 we must enter the impenetrable veil within which the ,infinite ,intelligence of the universe presides1--who1 we are told1 sendeth forth his spirit1 and we are created1 who taketh away our breath1 we die and return to our dust4 #cf ,we are just as much bewildered in respect to this vital principle in our classifications of the myriads of little creatures careering over the field of the microscope1 as when we turn to the most marked formations of genera and species in geological distribution4 ,the great trouble with ,mr4 ,darwin's vinculum is1 that its weakest links are precisely where the strongest should be found1 and vice versa4 ,with a candor rarely displayed by a writer who is spinning a theory1 he admits this4 ,the geological record is not what he would have it to be4 ,whole chapters are gone where they are most needed1 and nature's lithography seems constantly at fault4 ,independent species are now and then springing up where derivatives should be looked for1 while derivatives are everywhere disappearing in non-derivatives4 ,many of the middle ,tertiary molusca1 and a large proportion of the later ,tertiary period1 are specifically identical with the living species1 of to-day4 ,what has natural selection been doing for this family in the last million years or more8 ,manifestly nothing1 and less than nothing1 for some of the species have dropped out altogether4 ,these facts1 and hundreds of others like them1 are constantly obtruding themselves upon our attention to show1 in harmony with the ,bible ,genesis1 the immutability of species--the absolute fixity of types--rather than their variability1 as claimed4 ,if nature abhors anything more than a vacuum1 it is manifestly any marked transition from fixed types1 and she thunders her edicts against it in the non-fertility of all hybrids4 ,the doctrine of variation lacks the all-essential element of continuity1 and is oftener at war with the theory of the selection of the fittest1 than it is with the selection of the unfit4 ,the leap from ,lepidosirens to ,amphibians is no greater than the interval between any two species of animals or plants yet discovered1 either fossil or living4 ,the intervals are as numerous as the species themselves1 and everywhere constitute great and sudden leaps1 or such transitional changes as natural selection could not have effected independently of intervening forms--those that nowhere exist in nature1 and never have existed1 if we are to credit geologic and paleontologic records4 ,there is everywhere similarity of structure1 but not identity2 and the nearer we approach to identity of structure the wider the divergence in similarity of characteristics4 ,a bird may be taught to talk and sing snatches of music4 ,but no monkey has ever been able to articulate human sounds1 much less give them rhythmical utterance4 ,take the case of the wild pigeon1 a subject that especially delights ,mr4 ,darwin4 ,most of the deviations are confined to the domesticated breeds1 and none of these rank in strength1 hardiness1 capability of flight1 or symmetry of structure1 with the wild or typical bird4 ,there are well-defined deviations1 but no sensible improvements1 except to the eye of the bird-fancier4 ,the deviations are simply entailed weaknesses1 or the very reverse of what should appear from the selection of the fittest4 ,the fact undeniably is1 that these variations are almost wholly abnormal--mere exaggerated characteristics1 induced in the first instance1 perhaps1 by high cultivation and close in-and-in breeding4 ,turn these abnormal varieties loose1 let them go back to the aboriginal stock1 and these characteristics will rapidly disappear2 that is1 they will ultimately lose themselves or melt away in the original type4 ,mr4 ,darwin admits that the tendency will be to reversion1 but he insists1 manifestly without any positive proof therefor1 that the greater tendency is to new centres of attraction1 and not necessarily the primitive one4 ,but this is mere assumption--sheer begging the question on his part1--since all the oscillations are incontestibly about the original or type centre4 ,the same may be said of the typical races of men1 like the negro and wild ,indian of our prairies4 ,you may lift them out of their primitive condition--temporarily suspend1 if you please so to put it1 their primordial attraction1--but1 left again to themselves1 they will go back to the original type2 that is1 their offspring will again infest the jungles and roam their native hunting-grounds4 ,the process here is the very reverse of the ,darwinian theory4 ,reversion1 as a rule1 follows the degeneracy of types1 instead of there being any favorable homogeneous result1 springing from a new centre of attraction4 ,the ,indian makes a splendid savage1 but a very poor white man4 ,think of ,red ,jacket taking the part of ,mercutio in the play or enacting the more valiant role of ,falstaff in ,king ,henry the ,fourth4 ,an infusion of white blood does not help the matter1 but rather makes it worse4 ,generally1 the meanest ,indian on the continent is your half-breed1 and among the negroes there is no term so expressive of the contempt of that race1 as that applied by them to a mulatto4 ,the present condition of ,mexico affords a striking exemplification of this law of reversion4 ,the inheritable characteristics or variations1 produced from an infusion of ,spanish blood1 are rapidly disappearing--the native blood whipping out the ,european4 ,the potency is in the inferior blood1 simply because it is the predominating one4 ,the result has been no homogeneous new race1 but a reversion1 now manifestly in progress1 to the type centre or aboriginal stock4 ,and the curse pronounced by ,ezekiel upon mongrel tribes--woe unto the mingled peoples may have a significance in this connection worth considering2 but it manifestly falls outside the scope of our present inquiry4 ,in considering the embryological structure of man1 and the homologies he therein presents to the lower animals1 ,mr4 ,darwin thus conclusively 7in his judgment7 remarks3 ,we thus learn that man is descended from a hairy quadruped1 furnished with a tail and pointed ears1 probably arboreal in his habits1 and an inhabitant of the ,old ,world4 ,but ,mr4 ,darwin's pronominal we1 in this connection1 admits of qualification4 ,he can hardly speak for all the scientific world at once4 ,the philosophical maxim of ,sir ,isaac ,newton--hypotheses non fingo--,i build no hypotheses1 make no suppositions1 but adhere to facts--has a few followers still left4 ,but what are ,mr4 ,darwin's facts8 ,has he yet discovered the caudal man1 except as the ever-fertile ,mr4 ,stanley heard of one in ,africa8 ,and where is his monkey that first lost the prehensile power to climb trees8 ,for bear in mind that it was the loss of this prehensile power that resulted in the caudal atrophy of our monkey progenitors1 who became men simply because they were tailless monkeys6 ,they had lost their power to climb trees1 and accordingly had no longer any use for tails to let themselves down from the limbs4 ,a beneficent necessity therefore1 according to ,mr4 ,emerson1 dropped the tail as something decidedly unfit4 ,for the simplest tyro in ,darwinian philosophy will see that the loss of the ,catarrhine monkey's tail1 if it ever occurred1 could not have resulted from the selection of the fittest4 ,the deeper ,emersonian philosophy of the rejection of the unfit1 affords the only solution of the difficulty1 and then only on the assumption that the tail is an unfit appendage for the monkey4 ,with the loss of his tail1 in the light of this new genesis1 the monkey necessarily ceased to be arboreal in his habits4 ,he could no longer subsist on the fruits and nuts of trees1 or take refuge therein from his enemies4 ,he had to go to work and make weapons to defend himself--to construct tools--make and set traps1 live on his wits1 and not on his prehensile power to climb trees4 ,he soon discovered1 of course1 that the longest pole knocked the persimmon4 ,this was his first intellectual stride towards the future ,edison4 ,from the simplest sort of ,grahamitic philosopher he passed into the robust1 beef-eating ,englishman4 ,but this was not all4 ,as an arboreal gymnast1 he was manifestly on his way to more masterly feats of agility than ever1--those dependent1 not on muscular function1 but on the nervous action of the brain and spinal marrow4 ,necessity became with him the mother of invention1 and how admirably he improved under this maternal instructor we are left to infer from the paramount conclusion of ,mr4 ,darwin1 that the demoralized monkey became the incipient man6 ,but this conclusively accounts for only one of the many anatomical differences between man and his caudal progenitor4 ,for why should the loss of his tail have resulted in the changed chemistry of the monkey's brain8 or in the increased involutions of his brain even8 ,the specific differences between the present and ancestral types are very numerous and demand separate classification4 ,their variability runs through every bone1 muscle1 tissue1 fibre1 nerve4 ,their blood corpuscles are not the same4 ,the chemistry of their bones essentially differs4 ,the nerves are differently bundled and differently strung4 ,in intonations of voice--symmetry of arms1 legs1 chest--hairlessness of body1 and aquatic and land habits1 the frog is a much nearer approach to man than the monkey1 as all caricaturists1 delineating aldermanic proportions1 will agree4 ,and ,mr4 ,darwin might have immortalized himself by deriving the builders of the ancient pile-habitations and other primitive water-rats and croakers of the ,swiss lakes1 from this tailless batrachian4 ,for everybody knows1 or thinks he knows1 how the frog lost his tail4 ,if he didn't wag it off1 he certainly absorbed its waggishness as a distinguishing characteristic of the coming man--the future ,artemas ,wards and ,mark ,twains of the race4 ,this ancestral origin will also account for the otherwise unaccountable proclivity of all human juveniles to play at the game of leap-frog6 ,besides1 it would have relieved ,mr4 ,darwin from one of the greatest perplexities he has had to encounter4 ,as he derives man from a hairy quadruped1 the absence of hair on the human body1 is a phenomenal fact that gives him great trouble4 ,he agrees that it does not result from natural selection1 as he says the loss of hair is an inconvenience and probably an injury to man4 ,nor does he suppose it to result from what he calls correlated development4 ,he is more puzzled over this problem of divestiture than any other1 and finds the solution of it only in sexual selection4 ,that is1 he assumes that among our semi-human progenitors1 far back in the ,tertiary or some other period1 some female monkeys were less hirsute than others1 and that they naturally preferred males possessing similar characteristics4 ,these divergencies were thus commenced1 and1 by continuous sexual selection1 the infirmity 7for such he regards the loss of hair7 was propagated until the race was almost entirely denuded or bereft of this covering4 ,in the same way he accounts for nearly all the differentiations of the race1 among the various tribes now or formerly inhabiting the earth4 ,all have sprung from the same semi-human progenitors--apes that lost their capacity to subsist as apes1 and hence found it necessary to subsist as men6 ,the law of degeneracy has1 therefore1 had quite as much to do with human origins as that of progressive development4 ,in fact1 it is the paramount law from a ,darwinian stand-point4 ,for the loss of hair and of the prehensile power to climb trees are both conceded by ,mr4 ,darwin to be serious defects and drawbacks in the ape family4 ,but the law of sexual selection1 as treated by the evolutionists1 is not scientifically accurate1 nor is it true in fact4 ,the loving tendency of nature is to opposites1 not likes4 ,the positive and negative poles are those that play into each other with most marvellous effect4 ,each repels its like and rushes to the embrace of its opposite4 ,extremes lovingly meet everywhere4 ,a brunette selects a blonde and a blonde a brunette1 as a general rule in matrimony4 ,a tall man or woman1 with rare exceptions1 chooses a short companion for life4 ,dark eyes delight in those that are light1 and vice-versa4 ,everywhere nature seeks diversity1 not similitude4 ,the gayest and brightest feathered songster craves companionship in modest and unobtrusive colors4 ,diversity is the law of life1 as equality1 or versimilitude1 is that of death4 ,neither natural selection1 nor sexual selection1 runs counter to this law4 ,if ,mr4 ,darwin's theory were true1 that likes selected likes1 then the two marked extremes which should have characterized the race1 soon after its emergence from the semi-human state1 should have been giants and pigmies1 ,gargantuas and ,lilliputs4 ,otherwise sexual selection1 as treated by its author1 plays no intelligible part in the economy of nature1 except to counterbalance variability1 not to propagate it4 ,but the ,darwinian assumption that the primeval man1 or his immediate ape-like progenitor1 came through natural selection1 that is1 through the survival of the fittest1 is subject to one or two other objections which we shall briefly notice4 ,and the first objection is not altogether a technical one4 ,the term fittest1 as applied to a monkey1 has at once a definite and comprehensive significance to us4 ,it implies the presence of whatever is most perfect of its kind in the monkey as a monkey1 and not in the monkey as something else than a monkey4 ,they are all admirably adapted for climbing trees2 and it is this adaptation that secures them safety1 or complete immunity1 in shelter from their enemies4 ,to say that nature selects the fittest for them--for any species of monkey--by converting their forefeet into rudimentary hands1 with a loss of prehension and no corresponding advantages in locomotion1 is to use language without any appreciable significance to us4 ,we can only say that what is fittest for the monkey is ill-fitted for man1 and the reverse4 ,this is all we can definitely predicate of them1 from what we know of their anatomical structure1 and the diversified uses to which it may be put4 ,the fact is1 as the ,bible genesis shows1 that every living thing is perfect of its kind1 and whatever is perfect admits of no ,darwinian variations or improvements for the better4 ,and the simple statement of this undeniable proposition is1 we submit1 a complete refutation of ,darwinism4 ,when the waters and the earth were commanded to bring forth abundantly of every living creature and every living thing1 it was so1 and ,god saw that it was good1 that is1 everything perfect of its kind1 and in its kind4 ,with this single limitation as to kind1 a rattlesnake is no less perfect than a ,plato or a ,john ,howard4 ,when we consider man's upright position2 the firmness and steadiness with which he plants his foot upon the earth2 when we examine the mechanism of his hand1 and the wonderful and almost unlimited range it possesses for diversified use2 when we see how ill-fitted he is for climbing trees1 yet how express and admirable for climbing among the stars1 even to the outermost milky-way1 the idea that what is fittest for him is fit for the chattering monkey1 is too absurd to give us pause4 ,and yet how does ,mr4 ,darwin know that the monkey has been climbing up1 all these hundred thousand or million years1 into man1 as one of the congenital freaks of nature1 and not man shambling down into the monkey as a reverse congenital freak4 ,children have sometimes been born with a singular resemblance to the ape family1 but no ape has ever1 to ,mr4 ,darwin's knowledge1 produced issue more manlike than itself4 ,the divergencies run the wrong way to meet the conditions of the development theory4 ,we have had nearly five thousand years in which to mark these transitional changes1 and yet the monkey of to-day is identical with that painted on the walls of ancient ,meroe4 ,in all this time he has made no advance in the genetic relation2 and if we turn back the lithographic pages of nature for a hundred times five thousand years1 we shall find no essential departure from aboriginal types4 ,but the ,darwinian hypothesis admits of a more conclusive answer than we have yet given4 ,past time1 it will be conceded1 is theoretically if not actually infinite2 and in all past time1 nature has been tugging away at ,mr4 ,darwin's problem of the survival of the fittest4 ,it is no two hundred and fifty thousand years1 nor two hundred and fifty millions1 but an infinite duration of past time that covers the period in which she has been wrestling with this problem4 ,how successfully has she solved it8 ,in the ,darwinian sense of the term fittest1 she has not so much as stated her first equation or extracted the root of her first power4 ,she is manifestly as much puzzled over the problem as ,mr4 ,darwin himself4 ,he fails to see that the survival of the fittest1 necessarily implies1 or carries with it1 the correlative proposition1--the non-survival of the unfit4 ,and when such a law has been operative for an infinite duration of past time1 the unfit1 however infinitely distributed at first1 should have disappeared altogether1 many thousands1 if not millions1 of years ago4 ,if the evolutionists are dealing with vast problems1 and assigning to nature1 unlimited factors to express the totality of her unerring operations1 they must be careful to limit the time in which any one of her given labors is to be accomplished4 ,if she makes any progress at all1 an infinite duration of past time should enable her to complete her work just as effectually as an infinite duration of time to come4 ,but by what law of natural selection1 appertaining to a single pair of old world monkeys1 have their offspring advanced to this regal state of manhood1 while all other pairs have remained stationary1 or precisely where they were two hundred and fifty thousand years ago or more8 ,why this exceptional divergence in the case of a single pair of monkeys8 ,why this anomalous1 aberrant1 and thoroughly eccentric movement on the part of nature8 ,we had supposed that her operations were uniform--conformable to fixed laws of movement4 ,the doctrine of the survival of the fittest implies this4 ,why then1 should nature1 in her unerring operations1 have selected the fittest in respect to a single pair of ,catarrhine monkeys1 and at the same time rejected the fittest in the case of a million other pairs8 ,if she had selected only the fittest in respect to this old world stock of monkeys1 the entire ,catarrhine family should have disappeared in the next higher or fitter group--a group nowhere to be found in geological distribution4 ,the break between man and this ,catarrhine monkey covers quite a series of links in the genetic vinculum2#cg and yet between the two we find no high form of a low type fitting into a low form of a high type1 as we manifestly should1 to account for all the diversified changes that must have taken place in the interim4 ,and what is true of the types is measurably true of the classes within the types1 as well as of the orders within the classes4 ,wide deviations in forms1 as in characteristics1 would seem to be the invariable rule2 the blending of type into type1 except perhaps in remote relationships1 is nowhere visible4 ,but if variation and natural selection have played important parts in the economy of nature1 why may not specific creation have played its part also8 ,positive science can hardly flatter itself with the belief that it is rolling back the mystery of the universe to a point beyond which specific creation might not have commenced1 or the divine fiat been put forth4 ,to believe in the possibility of a rational synthesis1 limited to sensible experience1 or phenomenal facts within our reach1 that shall climb from law to law1 or from concrete fact to abstract conception1 until it shall reach the ,ultima ,thule of all law1 is to carry the faith of the scientist beyond the most transcendental belief of the theologian1 and make him a greater dupe to his illusions than was ever cloistered in a monastery or affected austerity therein as a balm to the flesh4 ,we may substitute new dogmatisms for old ones1 but we can never postulate a principle that shall make the general laws of nature any less mysterious than the partial or exceptional1 or that shall in the long run1 render natural selection any more comprehensible1 or acceptable to the rational intuition1 than specific creation4 ,for while one class of scientists is climbing the ladder of synthesis1 by assigning a reason for a higher law that may be predicated of a lower1 we shall find the broader and more analytical mind accepting the higher mystery for the lower1 and1 by divesting its faith of all metaphysical incumbrance1 landing in the belief of an all-encompassing law1 which shall comprehend the entire assemblage of known laws and facts in the universe4 ,and the natural drift of the human mind is ever towards this abstract conception--this one all-encompassing law of the universe4 ,it steadily speculates in this direction1 and some of the highest triumphs of our age1 in physical as well as metaphysical science1 are measurably due to this tendency4 ,the scientific mind is not confined wholly to experimental research4 ,it is stimulated to higher contemplations1 and is constantly disposed to make larger and more comprehensive groupings of analogous facts4 ,it is fast coming to regard light1 heat1 electricity1 magnetism1 gravitation1 chemical affinity1 molecular force1 and even ,mr4 ,darwin's little whirligig1 as only so many manifestations or expressions of one and the same force in the universe--that ultimate1 all-encompassing1 divine force 7not to speak unscientifically7 that upholds the order of the heavens1 binds the sweet influences of the ,pleiades1 brings forth ,mazzaroth in his season1 and guides ,arcturus with his suns4 ,it is the boast of the ,darwinian systematizers that their development theory not only harmonizes with1 but admirably supplements and out-rounds the grander speculation of ,laplace1 termed the ,nebular ,hypothesis1 which regards the universe as having originally consisted of uniformly diffused matter1 filling all space1 which subsequently became aggregated by gravitation1 much after the manner of ,mr4 ,darwin's little whirligig1 into an infinite number of sun-systems1 occupying inconceivably vast areas in space4 ,of the correctness of this hypothesis it is unnecessary to speak4 ,it is to the ,darwinian speculation what the infinite is to the infinitessimal1 and we only refer to it to bring out the vastness of the conception as compared to the latter theory1 and to predicate thereon the more conclusive induction that an ,infinite ,intelligence directs and superintends all4 ,in an area in the ,milky-way not exceeding one-tenth of the moon's disc1 ,mr4 ,herschel computes the number of stars at not less than twenty thousand1 with clusters of nebulae lying still beyond4 ,as we know that no bodies shining by reflected light could be visible at such enormous distances1 we are left to conclude that each of these twinkling points is a sun1 dispensing light and heat to probably as many planets as hold their courses about the central orb in our own system4 ,from the superior magnitude of many of the stars1 as compared with the sun1 we may reasonably infer that many of these vast sun-systems occupy a much larger field in space than our own4 ,this would give an area in space of not less than six thousand millions of miles as the field occupied by each of these sun-systems4 ,and as the distance between each of these systems and its nearest neighbor is probably not less than that of our sun from the nearest star1 we have the enormous and inconceivable distance of not less than nineteen billions of miles separating each one of these twenty thousand stars or sun-systems1 occupying a space in the heavens apparently no bigger than a man's hand4 ,and yet ,infinity1 as we apprehend the term1 lies beyond this vast cluster of constellated worlds6 ,where is ,mr4 ,darwin's little whirligig in the comparison1 or ,mr4 ,emerson's vegetal stomach1 or ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer's potential factors1 to express the sum-total of all this totality1--this gigantic assemblage of stars clustered about a single point in the ,milky-way8 ,the human mind absolutely reels--staggers bewildered and amazed--under the load of conceptions imposed by these few twinkling stars1 and is ready to exclaim1-- ,oh1 star-eyed ,science1 hast thou wandered there1 ,to waft us back a message of despair8 ,but when we reflect that all this vast aggregation of sun systems1 visible in the telescopic field1 is not stationary1 but is revolving with inconceivable rapidity about some unknown and infinitely remote centre of the universe1 how immeasurably vast does the conception become1 and how unutterably puerile and fatuous the thought of ,mr4 ,darwin's little whirligig as the author of it all6 ,no wonder the inspired ,psalmist exclaims2 ,the heavens declare the glory of ,god1 and the firmament showeth his handiwork4 ,but listen to the ,darwinian exclamation3 ,the heavens declare the glory of my little whirligig1 and the firmament showeth the immensity of my little ovules4 ,with the veil of faith and inspiration lifted1 the words of the ,psalmist swell into the highest cherubic anthem1 while those of ,mr4 ,darwin hardly rise above the squeak of a mole burrowing beneath the glebe6 ,and what presumptuous mortal shall say that this infinitely remote centre of the universe1 around which revolves this infinite number of sun-systems1 is not the seat and throne of the ,infinite ,one himself--the ,sovereign ,intelligence and ,power of the universe1 directing and upholding all8 ,we know that some of the stars are travelling about this central point of the heavens at a pace exceeding #aid1jjj miles an hour1 or with nearly three times the rapidity of our earth in its orbit4 ,that there must be infinite power1 not physical1 at this unknown centre of the universe1 to hold these myriads of sun-systems in their courses1 is a logical induction as irrefragable as that the sun holds his planets in their orbits4 ,and if infinite power is predicable upon this central point1 why not infinite intelligence also8 ,intelligence1 we know1 controls and utilizes all power in this world2 why not all power in the universe8 ,it can utilize every drop of water that thunders down ,niagara to-day1 as it has already seized upon the lightnings of heaven to make them our post-boy4 ,this is what finite intelligence--that insignificant factor that science would eliminate from the universe--can do2 then what may not ,infinite ,intelligence accomplish8 ,but the ,darwinian systematizers object that science must limit itself to a coordination of the known relations of things in the universe1 or deal only with phenomenal facts1 not dogmatisms2 forgetting that they dogmatize quite as extensively1 in constructing their chain of generation1 as the theologians do in adhering to the ,bible genesis4 ,no theologian objects to a rational synthesis of phenomena1 limited to sensible experience2 but1 in climbing from law to law1 he reasonably enough insists1 that1 when concrete facts rise into abstract conceptions1 the highest round in the ladder shall not be knocked out for the accommodation of ,robert ,g4 ,ingersoll or any other boasted descendant of a gorilla4 ,and he also insists that when a priori speculation is lost in abstract conceptions1 the highest must necessarily press alone upon the intuitions of consciousness1 where all generalizations cease1 and all synthesis is undeniably at an end4 ,here1 in this mysterious chamber of the soul1 we stand silent and alone1 with only dim and shadowy phantoms about us1 as if in the august presence of ,deity itself4 ,but how does scientific speculation propose to stifle these intuitions of consciousness--reduce them to the least of all potential factors in the universe8 ,we will take the very latest of these speculations4 ,in supplementing both the ,darwinian theory and the grander speculation of ,laplace1 the scientists1 so called1 tell us that the process of aggregation1 or the turning out of new worlds in the universe1 is still going on2 but that the time is coming when all the primeval potency or energy1 originally inhering in diffused matter1 will have exhausted itself in actual energy1 and that then all light1 life and motion in the universe1 will cease and be at an end4 ,this dissipation of potential energy is to result1 they say1 in a played-out universe1 as it has already resulted1 they claim1 in a played-out moon1 if not countless other heavenly bodies4#ch ,all the exterior planets1 or a majority of them at least1 are to be placed in this category of dismantled worlds1 or those in which all life has hopelessly ceased and become extinct4 ,all has utterly disappeared1 or1 to paraphrase one of ,pope's couplets1 ,beast1 bird1 fish1 insect--what no eye can scan1 ,nor glass can reach--from zoophyte to man4 ,all these dismantled planets1 and satellites to planets1 are only so many immense cinders--mere refuse slag--of no conceivable interest to science1 except to predicate the ultimate conclusion--a played-out universe1 resulting from a played-out potency within the universe4 ,the magnificent clockwork of the heavens will then have run down1 with no ,darwinian whirligig to wind it up again1 and the terrible reality of ,byron's dream1 which it would seem was not all a dream1 be realized in the bright sun extinguished1 the stars darkling the eternal space1 rayless and pathless1 and the icy earth swung blind and blackening in the moonless air4 ,oh1 if this be star-eyed science1 give us anything in place of it6 ,blear-eyed bigotry in his cloistered den1 mumbling unintelligible prayers1 and believing that man is to be saved1 not by what he does1 but by a credo only1 is far preferable to it4 ,but oh1 how unspeakably preferable the simple faith of the star-led ,magi1 who ,deeming the light that in the east was seen ,an earnest and a prophecy of rest ,to weary wanderers1 such as they had been1 came on that bleak ,december night1 #ahhj years ago1 to pay their homage to the ,christ-child--the long expected ,messiah--the ,redeemer of the world6 ,footnotes #a3 ,it may be proper1 however1 to state that the tenth and concluding chapter was originally written as a lecture1 and delivered about a year ago in ,new ,haven1 ,boston1 and at other points4 ,a request for its publication has induced the author to place it in this volume1 with the portion referring to the ,bible genesis omitted4 ,it will be found germane to the general subject4 #b3 ,without this latent presence of the ',i am1' all modes of existence in the external world flit before us as colored shadows1 with no greater depth1 root1 or fixure1 than the image of a rock hath in the gliding stream1 or the rainbow on the fast-sailing rain storm4--,coleridge's ,comments on ,essays4 #c3 ,and science that is not purely inductive--i4e4 primarily based on the inviolability of our intuitions--is no science at all1 but the sheerest possible speculation4 #d3 ,this presence of an active living principle in nature1 one originally assigned as the divina particula aur of every living thing1 is frequently referred to in the higher inspirational moods of our poets4 ,wordsworth exquisitely refers to it in the following lines of his ,excursion3-- ,to every form of being is assigned ,an active principle3 howe'er removed ,from sense and observation1 it subsists ,in all things1 in all nature1 in the stars ,of azure heaven1 the unenduring clouds2 ,in flower and tree1 in every pebbly stone ,that paves the brooks4 #e3 ,the existence of vital units is conceded by some of the staunchest materialists1 such as ,herbert ,spencer1 ,professor ,bastian and others4 ,professor ,bastian says3 ,the countless myriads of living units which have been evolved in different ages of the world's history1 must1 in each period1 have given rise to innumerable multitudes of what have been called 'trees of life4' ,he insists1 however1 that they have been evolved from something1 or by some unknown process4 ,but we shall show further on that a unit can neither be evolved nor involved1 and that this is as true of vital units as of the mathematical or chemical unit4 ,neither evolution nor involution will ever effect the value of a unit4 #f3 ,according to ,aristotle1 the great world-ordainer is the constant world-sustainer4 #g3 ,the definition which ,professor ,robinson1 in his ,lexicon of the ,new ,testament1 gives of the word 1 as connected with the divine life1 entirely harmonizes with this view of the subject4 ,he says3 ,trop4 ,i ,john #c1 #i1 77 i4e4 the germ or principle of divine life through which he is begotten of god1 4 #h3 ,professor ,schmidt1 of the ,university of ,strasburg1 who insists that species are only relatively stable1 admits that they remain persistent as long as they exist under the same external conditions4 ,time is1 therefore1 not a factor in the mutation of species4 ,nor are environing conditions factors1 except as a failure of conditions results in the disappearance of species1 as the presence of conditions results in their appearance4 #i3 ,says ,m4 ,ch4 ,bonnet1 in his ,la ,palingusie ,philosophique2 ,il est de la plus parfaite vidence que la matiere est susceptible d'une infinit de mouvemens divers1 et de modifications diverses1 and this is the universal claim of the materialists4 #aj3 ,professor ,burdach 7as trad1 par ,jourdan71 in speaking of the productive power of nature1 says1 ,limite quant l' tendue de ses manifestations1 elle continue toujottrs d' agir pour la conservation de ce qui a t cr1 et1 quoiqu' elle ne maintenue les formes organiques suprieures que par la seule propagation1 il ne rpugne point au bon sens de penser qu' aujourd' hui encore elle a la puissance de produire les formes infrieures avec des elments htrognes1 comme elle a cr originairement tout ce qui possde l' organisation4 ,this shows that its author believed in the possibility of the superior organic forms1 like the mastodon1 megatherium1 etc4 from the heterogenetic elements--those undergoing every conceivable change--as well as the inferior forms4 ,at all events1 it is a legitimate induction from materialistic premises4 #aa3 ,this point is conclusively made by ,professor ,burdach1 who says 7we quote from ,jourdan72 ,la tendance interieure la configuration existe avant sa manifestation4 ,and by his tendance interieure he must mean some vital or other law1 equivalent to an entia in matter1 which results in1 not from manifestation4 #ab3 ,goethe borrowed his idea of an archetypal world from ,plato and the ,eleatic school4 ,they held that the world was originated1 and not eternal2 that it was framed by the ,creator after a perfect archetype1 one eternally existing in the divine mind1 if not an actual soul-world of which our own is but the reflex4 #ac3 ,in a note to ,prof4 ,bastian's ,beginnings of ,life 7vol ,,ii4 p4 #ecg7 an important fact is mentioned as obtained from the writings of ,dr4 ,schneider1 to wit1 that ,nematoids 7microscopical forms7 may be obtained at will1 almost as readily as mushrooms1 by a process entirely independent of spores4 ,for instance1 small pieces of beef were carefully examined to see if they contained any of the ova of ,nematoids1 and1 finding none1 they were buried in a small quantity of earth 7also carefully examined for the presence of ,nematoids or their ova7 in a gallipot4 ,after three weeks1 says ,prof4 ,b4 this earth was found to be absolutely swarming with two kinds of ,nematoids--quite different from any forms which ,i had previously1 seen1 although ,i had been seeking them for more than two years previously in all sorts of situations4 ,the reason why he had not found them previously1 was because the necessary conditions for their appearance had not been obtained by him1 or he had not sought for them in their proper environment4 ,they were not produced at will1 but were the natural outgrowth of conditions1 as much so as the spores of fungi1 which make their appearance whenever and wherever the necessary environing conditions exist4 ,according to ,dr4 ,gros1 it takes about three weeks for these ,nematoid forms to develop into a reproductive state4 #ad3 ,the necessity of turning plants and animals into tramps is just as great in the case of ,evolution as in that of specific creation in pairs4 ,in both cases1 we must insist upon geneological consanguinity4 ,for the chances of any two highly specialized forms1 originally starting on different lines of divergence1 and ultimately reaching individual identity1 both in form and characteristics1 is an impossible problem in the determination of chances4 ,consequently1 ,mr4 ,darwin finds the necessity of accounting for the presence of northern forms in the southern hemisphere1 and the reverse1 just as great as in the ,linnan theory1 which was fully accepted by ,cuvier4 #ae3 ,burdach1 in his ,trait ,physiologie 7,trad4 par ,jourdan4 #ahcg7 says3 ,effectivement nous rencontrons des traces de vie dans toute existence quelconque4 ,this is as broad a panspermic statement as can be made1 and is only true of inorganic matter so far as vegetable life is concerned1 including such infusorial1 mycologic1 and cryptogamic forms as may lie so near to the force vegetative of ,needham as to be indistinguishable from it4 #af3 ,in the case of volcanic islands1 the upheavals were undoubtedly accompanied by deposits of mud1 sand 7ocean detritus71 marine vegetation1 and more or less animal matter1 and these organic substances were washed down by the rains into the broken valleys and plains below1 when land vegetation almost immediately made its appearance2 not because seeds may have drifted thither by any of the different agencies that have been mentioned1 but because organic matter can no more help bringing forth life in some form1 when conditions favor1 than salt water1 when exposed to evaporation1 can help crystallizing into its symmetrically-arranged salts4 ,and the same would be true of all the coral islands1 bringing up the organic matter of the sea to the influence of the light1 the rains1 and the dews4 ,the islands thus formed in the ,pacific ,ocean begin to exhibit vegetable life almost as soon as they make their appearance above the reefs1 and a line of sea-beach is formed about them4 #ag3 ,these1 while presenting the most varied and diverse forms of infusorial life1 are nevertheless the most constant and abundant type4 ,they abound more or less in all organic infusions4 ,ehrenberg1 however1 holds that they are no more animal than vegetal forms4 ,they vary in length from #a_/aejjj to #a_/bjjj of an inch1 and are consequently too minute to be satisfactorily classified in respect to all their diversified characteristics4 #ah3 ,the extent of the southern ice-cap may at least be approximately reached from explorations already made4 ,capt4 ,weddell1 in #ahbc1 extended his explorations southward to within about #ae of the south pole1 where he found an open sea4 ,capt4 ,ross1 in #ahdb1 approached to within about #ac of the same pole1 without serious obstruction4 ,it is true that1 in the following year1 he encountered ice barriers near the line of the antarctic circle1 but they were floating barriers coming down from ,weddell's open sea4 ,capt4 ,wilkes1 in #ahdj1 explored a considerable portion of the ,antarctic ,continent1 lying almost entirely within the antarctic circle4 ,other explorations have been made1 showing that the southern ice-cap does not probably extend1 continuously at least1 much farther north than #gh or #hj1 or to within some ten or twelve degrees of the south pole1 independently of the packs of drifting ice in the otherwise open seas4 #ai3 ,the truth or falsity of ,evolution depends entirely on the successful solution of this problem1 for the chances are quintillions to ones that no two identical forms could have originated from different centres1 or from the same centre on divergent lines1 and ever reached identically the same results4 ,and how any two forms should happen to be sexually paired1 on the same or different lines of divergence1 is one of those inexplicable mysteries which must puzzle ,herbert ,spencer in all his labyrinthian searches into ,force-correlation1 ,differentiation1 the ,dynamic ,force of ,molecules1 etc41 etc4 ,however successful he may be in other directions1 he will inevitably fail in this4 ,we must fall back on the grand ,old ,bible genesis for the solution of this difficulty1 where every living thing was commanded to produce seed1 or multiply and replenish the waters and the earth with offspring4 #bj3 ,these transcendental or ideal forms may be said to correspond to the spiritual essences of ,plato4 ,they are the eternal1 immutable principles which are discernible to the eye of the soul1 as the sensible objects they represent are discernible to the eye of the body4 ,modern metaphysics may deem them mere abstractions1 but a higher realistic philosophy will treat them as substantive forms1 of which the objective reality is but the shadow4 #ba3 ,herbert ,spencer may be quoted as authority on this point4 ,he says3 ,there is invariably1 and necessarily1 a conformity between the vital functions of any organism1 and the conditions in which it is placed 444 ,we find that every animal is limited to a certain range of climate2 every plant to certain zones of latitude and elevation4 ,and the same law holds good as to the marine fauna and flora1 each specific form being confined to its own sea-depth1 or distance north or south from the thermal equator4 #bb3 ,speaking of the ultimate principles or elements of matter1 ,plato is quoted by ,humboldt as exclaiming with modest diffidence1 ,god alone1 and those whom he loves among men1 know what they are4 ,it is only those who seek to eliminate ,god from the universe that speak with confident flippancy on the subject of molecular machinery and force-correlations4 #bc3 ,as long as the evolutionists cannot agree among themselves as to what constitutes the process of evolution1 it can hardly be expected that the public will accept their speculations as conclusive inductions4 ,professor ,bastian1 who strongly commits himself to the doctrine1 thinks the word evolution arbitrary and open to many objections1 while ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer says2--,the antithetical word ,involution would much more truly express the nature of the process4 #bd3 ,know ye not that ye are the temple of ,god1 and that the spirit of ,god dwelleth in you8 #a ,cor4 #c4 xvi4 #be3 ,dr4 ,drysdale1 in his work on the ,protoplasmic ,theory of ,life1 says3 ,matter cannot change its state of motion or rest without the influence of some force from without4 ,true spontaneity of movement is1 therefore1 just as impossible to it as to what we call dead matter4444 ,so we are compelled to admit the existence of an exciting cause in the form of some force from without to give the initial impulse in all vital actions4 ,in all life-manifestations1 this force from without1 must be a pre-existing vital principle operating to effect the otherwise impossible change in matter4 #bf3 ,a favorite set-phrase of ,professor ,bastian in speaking of morphological cells or units1 as he sometimes calls them4 #bg3 ,that great and justly celebrated naturalist1 ,buffon1 in speaking of the universal origination of the lower forms of animal life by a process termed1 in his time1 spontaneous generation1 says3 ,there are1 perhaps1 as many living things1 both animal and vegetable1 which are produced by the fortuitous aggregations of 'molcules organiques1' as there are others which reproduce themselves by a constant succession of generations4 ,it is said that ,buffon was for some time associated with the ,abb ,needham in his experiments in vital directions1 and was much influenced by them4 ,so that it is by no means certain that he did not accept the ,abb's force vgtative in place of his more materialistic views respecting molcules organiques4 ,at all events1 his statement that as many living things appear in nature independently of reproducing causes as by successive generation1 is no doubt true4 #bh3 ,m4 ,trviranus1 who followed ,spallanzani and ,m4 ,bonnet in these flask experimentations1 first noticed the important fact that the animalcul appearing in different organic infusions1 depended on the nature and quality of the infusions themselves1 and that the changed conditions of the same infusion produced new and independent forms of life4 #bi3 ,leibnitz1 as quoted by ,m4 ,bonnet1 says3--,que l',entendement ,divin toit la religion ternelle des ,essences2 parce que tout ce qui existe existoit comme de toute ternit comme possible ou en ide dans l'entendement de ,dieu4 ,j'exprimerai cette vrit sublime en d'autres termes3 le plan entier d'univers existoit de toute ,eternit dans l'entendement du ,suprme ,architecte4 ,tou tes les parties de l'univers et jusqu' an moindre atome toient deffins dans ce plan4 ,tous les changemens qui devoient survenir aux diffrentes pieces de ce ,tout immense y avoient aussi leurs reprsentations4 ,chaque etre y toit figur par ses characteres propres3 et l'acte par lequel la ,souveraine ,puissance a ralis ce plan1 est ce que nous nommons la ,cration4 #cj3 ,here is a fact given us by ,dr4 ,f4 ,hall1 of ,wallingford1 ,conn43 ,in a peat meadow in that town1 owned by him1 which was at no time subject to overflow1 a large quantity of peat had been removed at different intervals of time1 when the excavations naturally filled with water4 ,in these excavations there appeared not only the ,cyprinidae in considerable numbers1 but fresh water clams which grew to be as large as those in the most favored streams4 ,they made their appearance the very first season after the peat was removed1 and have flourished there ever since4 ,in no other portions of the meadow were there any fish or clams ever noticed before1 nor was there any other source of water-supply than the rain-falls in that locality4 #ca3 ,professor ,beale1 in one of his very latest works says3 ,of the chemical and physical forms of energy something is known1 but of the relationship of the so called vital energy1 nothing has been proved4 ,we only know that the influence it exerts is altogether different from that which has been traced to physical and chemical energy4 #cb3 ,it is admitted1 even in the case of ,bacteria1 whose movements are the most uniform1 that they are sometimes so inert and languid as to show no movements at all2 while1 at other times1 they exhibit mere ,brownian movements or those no more nearly allied to life than the minute particles of carbon escaping from the flame of a kerosene lamp4 ,and among the most distinguished microscopists1 it is a question whether these infusorial forms1 those exhibiting the most active oscillations1 are really vegetal or animal in origin2 in other words1 whether they are ,fungus-spores or ,torula-cells1 or whether they may not be some intermediate forms4 #cc3 ,the difficulty of assigning any definitional value to a primordial germ is due to the vagueness of idea attached to it in the popular mind1 as well as to the diversified theories and speculations of the scientists concerning the origin of life4 ,we can only define it as a vital unit1 as the chemist defines his smallest conceivable quantity--his primary least--of an element1 as a chemical unit4 #cd3 ,let two comrades be shot at the same instant in battle1 the one through the heart1 and the other through the arm1 shattering it badly4 ,what is there to prevent the surgeon from taking a piece of bone out of the arm of the man shot through the heart and instantly killed1 and using it to make good the arm of the man still living8 ,apparently nothing but that the dead man's bone will not knit4 ,he may not have been dead five minutes1 and ,professor ,beale's bioplasts might still be at work spinning matter and weaving tissue for the integrity of the displaced bone4 ,why will it not knit8 ,simply because the vital principle that differentiates matter is gone--can no longer act4 ,if the integrity of the bone depended on the action of the molecules1 and not on the vital principle1 there is no reason why this experiment should not be a success4 ,for the molecules are all there1 and their action will not be disturbed for hours after the death of the man shot through the heart4 #ce3 ,it is safe to adhere to the ,leibnitzian axiom1 ,natura non agit saltatim4 #cf3 ,one of the most cultured classes of ,christian believers in our day1 holds that all life is from the ,lord2 that ,he is the fountain1 and we only the streams thence4 ,and this1 they claim1 is true of all life4 ,to take away our breath1 therefore1 is to cut off this stream perpetually flowing from its invisible source--the fountain of all ,life4 ,when scientific methods substitute for a first cause a mere resultant effect1 all primary principles disappear in their intermediates4 #cg3 ,professor ,marsh1 of ,yale ,college1 has predicted that the missing link will be found in ,borneo--evidently not crediting ,mr4 ,stanley's statement about its presence in the interior of ,africa4 ,but one missing link is hardly enough2 there ought to be an extensive family of them to complete ,mr4 ,darwin's plexus4 ,from the lowest genetic form to the anthropoid ape is a distance which does not half cover the length of this plexus--the immense gap between the monkey and the man being decidedly the greater length of chain4 ,and yet the first half of the chain is traversed by innumerable forms--millions of links1 so to speak4 ,how1 then1 is the greater length of the plexus to be covered by a single missing link8 ,a long line of caudal ancestry must be dug up1 therefore1 in ,borneo1 and shipped to the ,peabody ,museum1 before this tremendous stretch in the chain of animated nature is satisfactorily accounted for4 ,borneo must be exceedingly rich in osteologic remains1 even to bridge the chasm between its own ourang-outangs and the ,dyaks1 or aboriginal inhabitants1 of that island4 #ch3 ,this daring hypothesis of the materialists is so utterly repugnant to all our ideas of a perfected ,cosmos1 that we have no patience with those advancing it4 ,it is1 at best1 speculation run mad1 and is based on no other assumption than that of the inherent imperfectibility of the universe as it came from the hand of ,god1 or from the dynamic play of molecules extending throughout vast geognostic epochs4 ,from a materialistic stand-point this assumption of imperfectibility inevitably runs into the reductio ad absurdum4 ,for if1 in the play of the material forces of the universe1 an infinite duration of past time has effected nothing but mutually disturbing and re-adjusting movements and relations among cosmical bodies1 then an infinite duration of time to come can effect nothing but similarly mutual adjustments and re-adjustments in respect to such bodies4 ,with an infinity of time1 space1 matter and motion1 everywhere presenting a unity of phenomena in the universe1 there can never be anything1 according to the great ,stagirite1 unconnected or out of place1 as in a bad tragedy4 ,conservation must1 therefore1 be the rule1 and desinence the impossible exception4 ,but these adherents of inherent imperfectibility instance the fact of vanished and variable stars1 as well as those that have suddenly appeared1 and1 after brief periods of intense brilliancy1 as suddenly disappeared1 to show that there are mighty disturbances in the sidereal heavens which entirely negative the idea of conservation as a geognostic law4 ,but the phenomena of variable stars1 with all their apparent irregularity of motion and fluctuations in luminosity1 are now being traced to definite and well-determined laws of motion1 if not of light1 while the theory of extinguished and disappearing stars belongs exclusive to the age of ,tycho ,brahe4 ,where there is one self-luminious body 7or sun7 in the interstellary spaces1 there are probably not less than forty non-luminous or dark cosmical bodies revolving about their respective centres of light and heat1 as the attending planets revolve about the common centre of gravity in our own system4 ,and this is especially true of that vast and fathomless star-stratum1 called the ,milky-way1 in which most of these peculiar phenomena occur1 with the exception of the variable stars only4 ,that stars should vary in their intensity of light by the probable transits of these dark cosmical bodies across their discs1 is no matter of wonder or astonishment3 on the contrary1 it is surprising that these sidereal phenomena do not occur with much greater frequency4 ,this would inevitably be the case if the planes of revolution1 in the case of these non-luminous bodies about their central orbs1 were coincident with the lines of vision from our own planet--a circumstance by no means improbable from the vastness of the sidereal heavens and the innumerable hosts of stars marching therein4 ,besides1 these periodical variations may be accounted for in part--especially in the case of double stars--from their apparent rather than real change of place in the heavens4 ,for if our sun-system is travelling towards a point in the constellation ,hercules at the rate of #aid thousand miles an hour 7the rapidity of ,arcturus' flight71 it is impossible to determine1 in the present state of astronomical knowledge1 whether the apparent change of place in any star is real or merely optical4 ,but1 in the case of double stars1 each is travelling 7independently of its other motions7 about the common centre of gravity obtaining in its own system1 and these relative movements may account for the greater or less intensity of light as the two stars1 viewed as one1 present a greater or less area of luminosity in their united surfaces4 ,the assumed revolution of one of these stars about the other--thus destroying all the known analogies of the universe1 as exemplified in our own system--may be accounted for in the same way4 ,with stupendous planetary systems revolving about each of these apparently double stars1 they must respectively have a revolution1 real as well as apparent1 about their own centres of gravity--not one and the same centre1 but different and far distant centres4 ,lying in nearly the same line of vision1 with planes of movement at right angles with it1 they would necessarily present the appearance of one star revolving about the other--an apparent motion only4 ,and the writer here ventures an explanation of the phenomena of temporary stars1 or those making their appearance in the heavens1 flaming up into stars of the first1 second and third magnitudes1 and then disappearing altogether4 ,the most remarkable of these stars1 or apparent stars1 was that of ,tycho ,brahe in #aegb1 presenting its maximum brilliancy at the very first1 but gradually diminishing in size until the end of seventeen months1 when it disappeared1 without change of place1 from the heavens4 ,this temporary star was visible in ,cassiopeia1 on the verge of the ,milky-way1 within whose swarm of stellar worlds most of these apparent stars have made their appearance4 ,tycho ,brahe1 in seeking to account for this stellar phenomenon1 advanced the theory that stars might be formed and molded out of cosmical vapor1 or vapory celestial matter1 as the elder ,herschel put it1 which becomes luminous as it condenses 7conglomerates7 into fixed stars4 ,but any such rapid condensation of vapory matter1 in the light of ,laplace's nebular theory1 is manifestly too absurd for scientific recognition4 ,a more satisfactory explanation may be here suggested3--,supposing the apparent relative position of any six or seven stars of the sixth magnitude in the ,milky-way1 should be so changed by the combined motions of our sun-system and of the stars themselves1 as to throw them into one and the same line of vision1 but so clustered together as to show their several star-discs as one1 we should unquestionably have a star of the first magnitude1 which would continue as long as this extraordinary stellar conjunction should last4 ,as one after another of these stars should fall out of line1 by reason of the combined motions named1 the apparent star would be diminished from the first to the second magnitude1 and so on until it reached the sixth magnitude1 when it would pass beyond the reach of unaided human vision4 ,but as the star of ,tycho ,brahe suddenly appeared at its fullest brilliancy1 it may be objected that this suggested theory fails to meet the required conditions4 ,as #ah1jjj1jjj1 out of the #bj1jjj1jjj1 of telescopic stars lie in the ,milky-way1 it is not by any means improbable that such a conjunction of stars may occur therein as often at least as once or twice in a century4 ,we certainly see brilliant patches of closely-crowded stars1 in great numbers1 in this galactic zone1 and the fact that these temporary stars almost uniformly appear in that zone renders the suggestion here made quite as rational1 in the way of speculation at least1 as that of vapory celestial matter suddenly condensed into a star of the first magnitude1 as ,sir4 ,william ,herschel would have us believe was possible1 if not probable4 ,besides1 it is a definitely ascertained fact that such clusters of stars1 lying in almost the same line of vision1 exist in various parts of the heavens1 which present to the naked eye the appearance of a star of the fourth or fifth magnitude1 and probably would1 if more thickly clustered1 present that of a star of the first magnitude4 ,but powerful telescopes resolve them into a large number of stars1 from the thirteenth to the fifteenth magnitude4 ,one such cluster in ,andromeda's girdle has been resolved into not less than fifteen hundred small stars of very low magnitude1 and pretty widely scattered in the telescopic field4 ,alexander ,von ,humboldt1 in speaking of stars that have thus disappeared1 says that their disappearance may be the result of their motion as much as of any diminution of their photometric processes 7whether on their surfaces or in their photospheres71 as would render the waves of light too weak too excite the organs of sight4 ,and he adds3 ,what we no longer see is not necessarily annihilation1 repeating at the same time the question of ,pliny--,stell an obirent nascerenturve8 ,but another1 and 7to our mind7 more satisfactory1 explanation of these stellar phenomena1 may be hazarded in this connection3 ,there are1 for instance1 in the ,milky-way1 among the more brilliant clusters of stars1 dark granular spots1 of greater or less magnitude1 in which the most powerful telescopes show no glints or traces of stars4 ,they are among ,humboldt's smaller fissures or chasms in the heavens1 in which he asserts that there is a great paucity of stars1 or none at all4 ,now1 if one of these thick stellar clusters1 which show to the naked eye as a single star1 should1 by the combined cosmical movements of our sun-system and the stellar group in question1 pass into the field of one of these small rents or fissures in the galactic curtain--that lying in front of the stellar cluster--it would immediately show as a star of possibly the first magnitude1 and would continue to shine as a star of that magnitude so long as it remained in the field of the narrow rent or fissure4 ,it would shine out suddenly like a star through a rift in the clouds of a dark night1 and disappear as soon as it had traversed1 or apparently traversed1 the rift in question4 ,this galactic curtain1 it should be borne in mind1 is made up of #ah1jjj1jjj of stars1 or sun-systems1 and not less than #gbj1jjj1jjj dark cosmical bodies revolving about their respective centres of gravity4 ,if the nebular theory of the universe be true1 this is unquestionably the exact condition of things in the ,milky-way4 ,of the more distant stars in this crowded galaxy1 we can only catch1 even in the telescopic field1 mere glints of light as the intervening swarms of stellar and planetary worlds thicken in the foreground and shut out the more distant view4 ,it is only through these rents and fissures in this great galactic curtain that the brighter stellar clusters beyond can ever be seen2 and these glints of far distant light1 showing dimly through this curtain1 may account for the peculiar milky appearance of the galaxy1 arising from the loss of chromatic power in the full beams themselves4 ,it was undoubtedly through one of these rents in the galactic curtain that the condensed starry cluster of ,tycho ,brahe suddenly made its appearance in the outer fringes of the ,milky-way1 and remained visible for a period of seventeen months4