New-York tribune., 1873-05-24

| new commp,,tv An corals lay eggs. which produce
young Of peculiar appearance called p'aau'D o.oo
| little planula is Transparent ooiohs pVuy' - -.
with delicate frngos known IA vOratiie o W "",On
moves freely about in the water suon younS a.o 'o'N
not only from all coral, but from oil radates rom sea
urch,ns from hydrods aud from jolyhshe from star
ssbas from boothuraus. They peculiar TO the type
OF Radiata After such germ has LED free ana aou'o
life for certain time II may attach ITSELF Dy one emu Oh
tbe body which then the base, to some solid
foundation unless 10 continues TO be free and independ
ent for e The upper portion then turns In, as have
hoUn in former lecture and this depression increases
untl digestive cavity within the body is formed On
the margin OF the upper portion, hollow tentac es arise
and connect with corresponding chambers within the
| body The structure is thon complete, and tho htte
creature presently begins TO bud to reproduce ITSELF
| by self division, and the community is founded III
there is any analogy between the product of egg In
ono type OF the animal kingdom and the product OF an
egg in another, such being Is as much an In
dividua as the young fish Just hatohed from
the egg. According 70 the definition given
above, the whole countless community to be developed
Of germ the total result Of the development
OF single ovum1 should be known before We are au-
horized TO consider the newly born coral as an ind
vldual Tho first single coral from which coral stocK
may bo developed to distinct living being,
entitled to be considered individual as any other
animal born from an egg. Indeed nobody could hesi
tate TO consider as individual the young just hatched
from the egg and moving about n the water even ls
future destiny should be unobserved 1t remains the
individual after 1t has grown larger become at-
tached and has completed the development or all lts
| parts. But IL becomes q twin as soon as INC
| first bud has arisen from its side, and becomes
community OF connected individuals after hundreds or
thousands OF such buds have been formed To look az
the whole as an individual would amount to the adms
sion that individuality has nothing to do with the In
crease organic action 1t seems to me no
more reasonable to deny individuality to the young
born from the egg of coral than to deny indlyi duality
70 human being until we know the generations or men
| which are TO arise from HIM. Sucha compound life
may be compared with much moro accuracy to COM
munity OF higher beings. with whom the alliance upon
common aims and purposes takes the place of physical
| connection than TO a single individuality.
| A SIMILARITY BETWEEN PLANTS AND ANIMALS.
In these specimens Of coral formed by the coalescence
or enlargement of simple primitive beings we find every
grade Of individuality from the single coral perfect In
its own distinct life to the twin existence resulting from
the budding OF second coral from the first or such
cases in which cannot say with certainty whether
| we have bud before the product Of an egg set
ting upon coral already full grown, and developing
these up to the crowded community with hundreds OF
thousands of tiny beings leading complex life. think,
taking the primitive single coral starting point we
are naturally led 10 consider each of these centers OF or
ganizetion individual rather than TO ascrlDe hd
| Viduaty 10 the total product n,
|
| aggregate Of individuals. growing upon the same
foundation and remaining attached the parent stock
others which produce flowers I'm some trees we have
the stamnate and pislate flowers arising from as
tnct buds occupying distinct positions on the stalk
Others In which they arse IN clusters Ihs Dr1ngs us
naturally to class OF animals IN wic % IKE 6iS a
| grow great variety OF forms dinerlng ~ ehar-
which all our common Jelly fishes belong,
| aud host Of small ANIMALS known a.
| Hydroids very like Polyps, and for long time CON
|
naurasts still regard HydrOds aud Poypsa so closely
related that they put them in the same class, while
others place them with the free jelly fishes in their
| classification. l shall dwell for m0ment upon thls
difference of appreciation for correct classification is OF
vital Importance in studying the relations OF animals 1t
is in fact so far 1t is Of the slightest value, the
| when classification was looked upon as a
| clever device of the investigator 10 simplify
by a convenient arrangement The objects of his study
This longer The aim OF the naturalist now IS
not simply to mako methodcai lists OF animals ana ana
plants. Dut to arrange them III natural groups ACCORDING
To their true structural ahnltes The most critical ac-
men Is applied now TO tue STUDY Oh mature ron tnis
point OF view and spite OF our improved koweuse' ~ ~
vestgaors still differ seriously as 10 the boundaries OF
these lectures as their title natural
foundation OF geological affinity" NV own views on
workers believe that geological affinity is based upon
identity OF structural plan no matter how nat structure
derived from an egg, the other by 6udhng, may DC
essentially the sae am Us eTent
NAV nevertheless be closely allied in every detail Of
their structure
Most biologists maintain, the contrary, that there
is no affinity except that of descent from common
stock We cannot trace that descent IN nature. No
record of births kept in the Animal Kingdom, to tell
us whether the individuals now know were derived
from this that prOgentor. We can only compare
them anatomicaly ana ndphysologlcay with one another;
follow their mode Of growth watch their way OF liv
ing trace their geographical distributions follow up
their order of succession in different geological periods
and by combining all this information, group them
eOrng to resemblance. To further and TO that
derived from another is TO affirm something OF
| which we have no knowledge-resemblance does
| mails divided by half the globe, resemblances of
| the same kind as those from who common
between the embryonic phases Of vertebraes
and the adult forms of ancient vertebtes lying buried
blanoes prove identity OF structural Pan can
not axe them prove descent wish TO state very dis
tinctly, IN which cannot be misunderstood, that
naturasts have in the present state OF their knowledge
no means OF asceraiDing in direct way the original de-
rivatOn Of any aInmals. They have nothing which
10 base such theory except the degree OF structural or
functional similarity between animals. All the classi
cations record from that OF Aristotle to the most re-
cent attempts at an Improvement of modern cassca-
ton are based upon knowledge Of structure not upon
| any knowledge Of descent.
What is there then IN common among all corals, sea
lephsl, all starishes, sea-urchins and holothurans
Echinoderms) which should induce US TO class them
together Radlates In the first place the whole Of
their organic system exhibits and the plan
OF structure. All their parts radiate from acenra axis
toward the periphery or in other words converge from
the circumference toward central axis There Is. N
fact all these animals axis extending from OF
the poles 70 the other OF the living spheres, around
which all the parts are symmetrically arranged IN
radating distribution. Whether body consists of
internal cavity divided by partitions in corals and
sea-auemones, Of solid mass penetrated by tubes
in ielly-hshes, Of inclosng organs
In starshes, seaurchins, aud Observation-Disclosures,
In short be tine difference of detail of external ap
pearance, the parts be easily compared in all and
reduced TO the formula described abOve-a structure In
which radiation around vertical axis is tho funda-
| mental idea.
I