Now I do not see much force in the suggestion that those somatic cells which happen to be in immediate contact with germ-cells, “must obviously possess an advantage over those which are more remote.” On the contrary, I do not see that mere proximity of one species of cell to another species within the same organism need have anything to do with the matter—still less that “we must suspend all physical and physiological conceptions,” if we demur to the statement that it “obviously must.” As for “physical conceptions,” how many thousands of cases might not be pointed to among chemical and mechanical processes where contact or proximity are conditions of comparatively little importance? And as for “physiological conceptions,” do we find that any part of the organism is affected by its distance, say, from the liver and kidneys, for getting rid of its effete products? Is it not rather the case that every gland in the body is wholly unaffected by its distance from any part of the body, in regard to its function of draining off the particular substances with which it is concerned? Why then should the reproductive gland constitute a conspicuous exception? Or how do we suspend all physiological conceptions, if we suppose that this gland resembles every other gland in being specialized to _secrete_ a particular kind of “molecule,” which, because thus specially _selected_, may be said to have for that gland a special “affinity”? If there are such things as gemmules, I do not see any violation of physiological analogies—still less an “entirely gratuitous assumption”—in supposing that they can be filtered out from all parts of the body by the sexual glands, and there aggregated as a special product to be discharged in the form of sexual elements[71].