, 1880-10-03

! from 5000 to 10000 majority if tle1e h. :.
errors in making up the local ticket. It I'M
swell Garfeld's majority in this Stata :.
something like the old-time figures andn
will elect the local, Congressional, and St,ts
IAeAo1S w al uosel"ielnlng vote. -?.';@
SEARCHING FOR TIE SECRET or m,
| Prof. George F. Barker, the retiring Pra.,.:
dent of the American Association for ~,
| Advancement OF Science, delivered an 4;
t dress on "Modern Aspects Of the Tif.s
Question: at the late Boston meeting; ~:
address is printed in full in the last nimha,
Of the Popular Science lfonthlu. It IL =.
markable not only for its startling conclu..s
sions, but for the entire fearlesness Of tha ~
thor, who does not hesitate to put hjs eon.:
lectures on record by the side Of establisbe3:
| scientific truth. 49, -. -:
Life is now universally regarded. ri saytt:. al:
Prof. Barker, 81 as a fenouenoii Of matter>
and hence, having no separate existence, NJ
Not content with this bold assertion: he 80
clares that the definition CT life which makes
it Synonymous with mind or soul has been
''evolved from the human conseiousnessn
while science only conceiyes of lite as tttba.
sum Of the fenomena exhibited BY living: =
being" A vital process formerly thoueht
to be insoluble, is found by research to5he
simply one that Is not understood: and ). tha
prophetic vision is already bright which will:
witness the solution OF the mysserY'. II:
The first result Of recent work has been,sh
that the living organism has been broughttt
absolutely within the action Of the law IT. IT.:
the conservation Of energy. The mecban.s:: ::
ical or intellectual work of a living being ia:;
measured by the amount Of food rather than
the alaount OF tissue which is burned. Tbs:
energy evolved daily by the human body
would raise it to a hight Of six miles Tho:
work muscle does. Prof. Barker contenids1::
it does In contracting; and muscular eouz*
traction Is OF the nature Of an: e1ectrieIlas
charge. This last position, which wilpbSt
new to many readers, il supported BY %inge
NOUS reasoning and by a great weightot
scientific authority. In similar WaYfta
nervous system Is said to be controlled tyS
electrical impulses.'' The nerve cell and
nerve fibre are occupied solely in the recee$
tion and transmission of energy, which 81 81
in all probability electrical Prof. BarklEiS
considers the objection to this theory haseGz
on the slow propagation of nerve energy
and shows that animal tissues are the Wolstx
possible conductors, having conductiYitIE
only one-ffty- -niiif0nttl that Of "copper": anf
that nerve action is sufficiently rapid tnsbaf
electrical .>" :.<sH
The true living being is not to be found
however. In complex organisms such as
human body. Even In the highest anim1
there is nothing living but protop1asm a:
germinal matter. Prof. Barker beiIe7eS
apparently that "ite is a property OF ptoto3#
plasm." The properties Of bodies, he saJSs
are the characters by which we ditferentiat9
them. Two bodies having the same propeeFF44;;
ties would be portions Of the same substance
Because life, therefore, is mike other PROP
critics of matter, it by no means follows t6atss
it Is not a property of matter. ITO thaSs
statement of the vftalist that there Is; no2H:
evidence that life is property of matter, WaS
may reply with emphasis that there IS not
the slightest; proof that it is not' :*:,;Ez .,ss
The nature Of protoplasm is partially defSs
termined by the fact that, in the last analysis
it is always found to be Of vegetable origilSSs
The protoplasm of animals is identical with
that Of vegetables. While the assimilatiyea
function characterizes the plant, the distipcS
live function distinguishes the animal
Hence it is the function Of the plant to store#
up energy to produce the highly complexsSE
This consumed by the animal;H
IS his food continues his existence as a living 3:
being. It follows that every individual subj
stance found in the animal-saye only those 4,
which result from degradation hessf:
'ound In the plant upon which it feeds. Allsz:
he properties Of animal protoplasm, and ol85 ;s
he animal organism Of Which it constitutes
he essential part, must have previous et-sIZ*
stence in the plant; and the solution OF taa s.
ife-questton in the lowest plants will solva s s
he 1ife-probIem for the highest vertebrate. = J:
The source Of vegetable plotoplasm. orYf {
allied matter in its primary form, ffot. 6 &
Barker conceives, may be the motion OF tne g
'hfer, according to Thomson, would weign::#
'nfy one thousand millonth OF q pound ;yet u
derschel has calculated that it au amoaas s.
# it equal in weight to cubic inch OF air pe;
nclosed in cubic inch of space its react1dm Xs>
outward would be upward Of seventeen mill;
on pounds. The ether is an enormous stose1ts
louse OF energy which is continually passsssfAAE
ng to and from ordinary matter. It contains Sc
II the force which is Necessary to accounlikfS9 unlif9:
or the origin Of vital fenomena- But ether
tself could not, on this hypothesis, be re1s2
ardel as the final cause of life. The sun W
imposed to be the great reservoir of our unt=sifS
erse from which energy is derived, and fhe:s f
ther an instrument for transmitting the 5:S:
ama. 1T is 4 beautiful conception of*sfs: oss;s
cience, says the Professor in his conclusion.
which regards the energy manifested onzsS;
10 earth as having its origin iu the sun.':ss "a
[e lays this down distinctly rs conjecturetal
ut the address. BY its tone and method, ind1sa ingsSa
ates That it is the Interpretation Of the mEstsS
~ Of life which seems to him most reasoil*
BILE. "e - %:-1sSS,.
The address of Prof. Barker is step fn:&
dvance OF anything that scientific men inss#ss
lis country have ever attempted. It takes IL
le doctrine OF materialism for granted, and zA
roceeds to consider not whether life Is sepsssS:
rable from matter 1.-THE contrary is saf1irmedl.: