Page:George Archdall Reid 1896 The present evolution of man.djvu/134



assumption that acquired traits are not transmissible is founded on the theory that a multicellular organism is compounded of unicellular organisms adherent together for the common benefit, or rather, as regards higher animals and plants, that a multicellular organism is compounded of unicellular organisms adherent for the better preservation of the race; which preservation is further subserved by the differentiation and specialization of the cells, the somatic cells being specialized for the performance of the various functions whereby the mass is brought into harmony with the environment, and the germ cells are placed at an advantage; the germ cells being so specialized that after conjugation they proliferate into organisms (i.e. adherent cell-communities) like to that of which they were cell-members. Thus a higher animal or plant is comparable to a swarm of bees, in which the workers correspond to the somatic cells, whereas the queens correspond to the germ cells; but there are these obvious differences, (1) that the workers cannot reproduce themselves, whereas the somatic cells are able to reproduce themselves for a limited, or in some cases for an unlimited, number of generations (e.g. in such plants as propagate by means of suckers or cuttings); and (2) that from the queens may be derived many swarms, whereas from the germ cell is derived only one organism. It is perhaps needless to remark, that the cells are not conscious