most amusing
example of this fashion of dealing with scientific statements is
furnished by Dr. Stirling's remarks upon my account of the protoplasm of
the nettle hair. That account was drawn up from careful and often-
repeated observation of the facts. Dr. Stirling thinks he is offering a
valid criticism, when he says that my valued friend Professor Stricker
gives a somewhat different statement about protoplasm. But why in the
world did not this distinguished Hegelian look at a nettle hair for
himself, before venturing to speak about the matter at all? Why trouble
himself about what either Stricker or I say, when any tyro can see the
facts for himself, if he is provided with those not rare articles, a
nettle and a microscope? But I suppose this would have been
"_Aufklaerung_"--a recurrence to the base common-sense philosophy of the
eighteenth century, which liked to see before it believed, and to
understand before it criticised Dr. Stirling winds up his paper with the
following paragraph:--

[Footnote 9: Subsequently published under the title of "As regards
Protoplasm."]

"In short, the whole position of Mr. Huxley, (1) that all organisms
consist alike of the same life-matter, (2) which life-matter is, for its
part, due only to chemistry, must be pronounced untenable--nor less
untenable (3) the materialism he would found on it."

The paragraph contains three distinct assertions concerning my views, and
just the same number of utter misrepresentations of them. That which I
have numbered (1) turns on the ambiguity of the word "same," for a
discussion of which I would refer Dr. Stirling to a great hero of
"_Aufklaerung_" Archbishop Whately; statement number (2) is, in my
judgment, absurd, and certainly I have never said anything resembling it;
while, as to number (3), one great object of my essay was to show that
what is called "materialism" has no sound philosophical basis!

As we have seen, the study of yeast has led investigators face to face
with problems of immense interest in pure chemistry, and in animal and
vegetable morphology. Its physiology is not less rich in subjects for
inquiry. Take, for example, the singular fact that yeast will increase
indefinitely when grown in the dark, in water containing only tartrate of
ammonia a small percentage of mineral salts and sugar. Out of these
materials the _Toruloe_ will manufacture nitrogenous protoplasm,
cellulose, and fatty matters, in any quantity, although they ar