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"Che Conservative * 9
and chemists arc certainly doing what
they can to compete with nature. But
even if they are ; iot sucessful , wo may
fall back upon the fact that the chem
ical and physical conditions in the
early stages of the earth's life were
utterly different from anything now
known. It has been calculated that
the earth's temperature , when it first
started on its career as an independent
plant , was something like 8,000,000
Fahr : at this heat probably all atoms
would be dissociated ; but as the tem
perature diminished they would come
closer together with a great deal of
motion , making wide excursions ,
which might briug many different
atoms together in complex , though
unstable combinations. Moreover ,
carbon , which is the basis of all com
binations of the class of protoplasm ,
was far more abundant in those days
in the form of carbonic dioxide , be
fore the enormous amount of vege
table matter in the form of coal and
other substances had been subtracted
from it. In any case the first proto
plasm must be etxremely ancient , for
the remains of the sea-weeds are
found in the oldest strata , and vege
tation of any sort implies the manu
facture of protoplasm from inorganic
matter.
From Organic to Inorganic.
The passage from the organic into
the inorganic world is best traced by
following the line of Pasteur's re
searches on ferments. How does the
world escape being choked up by the
accumulation of dead organic matter
throughout innumerable ages ? The
reply is by what are called "fer
ments , " inducing processes of fer
mentation and putrefaction , by which
the"course of life is reversed , and the
organic elements are taken to pieces
and restored to the inorganic world.
Pasteur , in opposition to the older
chemists , showed that this was not
done directly by the oxygen of the
air , but through the intermediate
agency of living microbes , whose
spores , floating in the air , took up
their abode and multiplied wherever
they found an appropriate habitation.
Given air purified from germs , or a
temperature low enough to prevent
them from germinating , and putresci-
ble substances would keep sweet for
ever. The practical realization of
this is seen in the enormous com
merce in canned meats and fruits , and
the general system of cold storage.
But the question may be asked ,
How are the microscopic organisms
disposed of ? Wo must remember that
even microscopic bacteria would , in
time , choke uptho [ world by their resi
due , if they were not got rid of. Pas
teur answered that the ferments are
destroyed by a now series of organ
isms aerobes living in the air ,
and those by other aerobes in succes-
sion until the ultimate products are
oxidized. Thus , in the destruction of
what has lived all is reduced by the
simultaneous action of the three great
natural phenomena fermentation ,
putrefaction , and slow combustion.
A living being , animal or vegetable ,
or the debris of either , having just
died , is exposed to the air. The life
that has abandoned it is succeeded by
life under other forms. In the super
ficial parts , accessible to the air , the
germs of the infinitely little aerobes
flourish and multiply. The carbon ,
hydrogen and nitrogen of the organic
matter are transformed by the oxygen
of the air and under the vital activity
of the aerobes , into carbonic acid , the
vapor of water and ammonia. The
combustion continues as long as or
ganic matter and air are present to
gether. At the same time , while the
superficial combustion is going on ,
fermentation and putrefaction are per
forming their work in the midst of
the mass by means of the developed
germs of the original microbes , which
the reader must note , are in some in
stances killed by oxygen. Gradually
the phenomena of destruction are at
last accomplished through the work
of latent fermentation and slow com
bustion. This seems a complete demon
stration of the passages of the or
ganic into the inorganic world in the
way of analysis , or taking the puzzle
to pieces. In the opposite way of
synthesis , or putting it together , the
nearest approach yet made has been
in the manufacture of those organic
compounds already referred to , which
had previously only been known as
products of animal or vegetable life.
Polarity
It remains to show how the funda
mental law of polarity affects the
more complex relations of life and of
its varied combinations. And hero it
is important to bear in mind that as
the factors of the problem become
more intricate , so also do the laws
which regulate their existence and
action. Polarity is no longer a simple
question of attraction and repulsion at
the two ends of a magnet or at the
opposite poles of an atom. It appears
rather as a general law under which
as the simple condition becomes differ
entiated by evolution into the mani
fold , it does so under the influence of
developing contrasts. For every
plus there is a minus , for every like
an unlike ; one cannot exist withoui
the other ; and , although apparently
antagonistic , harmonious order is
only possible by their co-existence and
mutual balance.
The Earth and Comets.
Perhaps it would be well to make
this idea clear by an illustration.
The earth revolves around the sun in
its annual orbit under the influence oi
two forces ; the centripetal , or force
of gravity , tending to make it dart
away into infinite space. During half
the orbit the centripetal seems to bo
gaining ground on the centrifugal ,
and the earth is approaching nearer
to the sun. If this continued it
would revolve over nearer and soon
call into the sun ; but the centrifugal
force is gradually recruiting its
strength from the increasing velocity
of the earth , until it first equals the
centripetal , and finally outstrips it ,
and for the remaining half of the or
bit , it is constantly gaining ground.
If this wont on , the earth would fly
off into outer space ; but the centripet
al force in its turn regains the ascend
ency ; and thus by the balance of the
two forces our planet describes its
beautiful ellipse. Comets , upon the
other hand , are in some cases in a
different position , being if one or the
other force preponderates for long
periods , alternately drawn into fiery
proximity to the sun , or sent careening
through regions devoid of heat.
Mr. Spencer says , "There is nowhere
balanced judgment and a balanced ac
tion , but always a cancelling of one
another by opposite e'rrors. ' '
Origin of Life.
*
The reader will now begin to under
stand the sense in which polarity ap
plies to these complex conditions of
an advanced evolution. To return ,
however , to the origin of life. The
material to which all life is attracted ,
from the speck of protoplasm to the
brain of man , is strictly a chemical
production of atoms and molecules
bound together by the same polar laws
as those of inorganic matter. In like
manner all the essential processes by
which life lives , moves , and has its
being , are equally mechanical and
chemical. If the brain , receiving a
telegram from without through the
optic nerve , sends a reply along an
other nerve which liberates energy
stored up in a mucsle and produces
motion , the messages are received and
transmitted like . those sent by a
volatic battery along the wires of a
telegraph , and the energy is stored up
by the slow combustion of coal. All
this is mechanical , inorganic and polar.
But when wo come to the conditions
of life proper , wo find the influence
of polarity mainly in this : that as vi
tality develops from simpler into more
specialized forms , it does so under
the law of developing contrasts which
are necessary complements of each
other's existence. Thus as we ascend
in the scale of life , wo find two
primitive polarities developed : that
of plant and animal , and that of male
and female.
To be continued.
