The Savannah morning news., 1903-09-13

view IN drop Of pond water, and the
unlnltlated observer is almost certain
10 display a keen curiosity and eager
ness to know something more about
this unseen world of life, the existence
OF which he may hitherto never have
imagined or even suspected.
The study of these wonderful specks
OF living matter leads the investigator
INTO the very lowest department of
natures great workshop, where he
will find himself face to face with
some OF the great secrets and prob
lens regarding the origin and phe-
nomena of life. The origin itself he
will probably never learn, but a Won
dertul insight is offered by those low
ly beings into the working of the
mysterious processes which are met
with in all the higher forms of life. 1t
is grand and noble truth that, how
ever low or however high an organ
ism may stand in the great scale of
creation, the essential principles of life
remain the same. 1t is obvious then
that the lowest creatures of ALL by
their wonderfully simple and indie
pendent existence, may throw consid-
cradle light upon the nature of the
various phenomena which are met
with in the more complicated forms.
and which through the completely of
SAAN accompany SlA OI0-
erWiSe remain forever unexplained.
This great world of life, invisible to
us except through the aid of power
full optical instruments, is indeed a
vast one, and far too extensive to al
low of adequate treatment in this
place. Plants as we'll as animals claim
a place in this immense concourse of
invisible beings, and are no less i'm
portan than the latter, but it is alb
solutely necessary in this brief sketch
to limit our attention to the geological
side of the subject.
The ProtOzOa.
The lowest animals form the great di-
vision or Sub-kingdom called "proto-
zoa," which name is merely a Greek
translation of the phrase, first ami
mails" The number of different kinds
known to the zoologist at the present
day reaches several thousands, but the
consideration of a few selected forms
is quite sufficient to enable US to I'M
derstand something at least of their
structure and ways of life. One of the
simplest of all known animals is that
known as the amoeba or 'proteus"
anmalcule, the latter name having ref
erence to its habit of continually
changing it's shape. 1t is not an easy
creature to see, as it is SO colorless
and transparent, but after the eye has
become accustomed to the glare of
light reflected from the mirror beneath
the stage of the microscope one may
discern a strange looking particle of
jelly-like matter, endowed with the
power of creeping slowly along in a
very curious manner This slow loco
motion is accomplished by the thrust
ing out of one or more finger-like ex-
tensions of the body, which, by short
ening again, seem to pull the rest of
the animal after them, although the
whole movement is more of the nature
of a steady flow than anything else.
The jelly-like substance of which the
animal is composed is called proto-
plasm, a name which is of constant oc-
currence in all biological literature.
Protoplasm is the physical basis of
life, and in it's chemical composition
contains all the elements necessary for
life. pure and simple. Beyond the pres
ence of this fundamental substance the
amoeba, of which we are speaking, pos
sesses but little evident structure. The |
internal portion is not quite so dense
as the external layers, but within the |
former is a more or less spherical cor |
puscle which is called the nucleus. In |
addition there is also clear spot, |
which ia filled with fluid, and which |
annears to pulsate with some approach |
to regularity. This is called the con-
tractive Vacuole, and may possibly |
serve both q respiratory and an excre-
tory function. There is no special or
gan for the reception or digestion OF
food. and the animal merely stretches I
out a portion of itself with which 1t
surrounds the atom destined to serve
as food drawing it into itself Any |
norton Of the amoeba is capable or act
ing as a stomach, and the undigested
fragments are likewise elected at any
nart OF the surface. The propagation
81 such an animal is very simple-as
rule il merely divides into two por-
tions. each OF which becomes a new
and separate individual and contains
mart OF the original nucleus. The ami
mai Just described thus consists OF
what is known as single cel,, ailu ~
lg one Of the great characterisucs OF
the lowest animals or protocol that
they never consist Of more than one
$50 ! nueieus and c0nfractile vacuole
euch as we have described. ID the few
esses where the cells are loosely assoc