184 The Mechanistic Conception of Life 



TABLE IV 



Coefficient 



of Antago- 



nization, 



0.6 c.c. m/2 KCl rendered harmless in 100 c.c. 3/64 m NaCl ... 1/16 



0.7 c.c. m/2 KCl rendered harmless in 100 c.c. 4/64 m NaCl. . . 1/18 



0.9 c.c. m/2 KCl rendered harmless in 100 c.c. 5/64 m NaCl. . . 1/17 



1.0 c.c. m/2 KCl rendered harmless in 100 c.c. 5/64-6/64 m 



NaCl 1/16-1/19 



1 . 1 c.c. m/2 KCl rendered harmless in 100 c.c. 6/64 m NaCl. . . 1/17 

 1 .65 c.c. m/2 KCl rendered harmless in 100 c.c. 5/32 m NaCl. . . 1/19 



2 . 2 c.c. m/2 KCl rendered harmless in 100 c.c. 6/32 m NaCl . . . 1/17 

 2.75 c.c. m/2 KCl rendered harmless in 100 c.c. 7/32 m NaCl. . . 1/16 



3 . 3 c.c. m/2 KCl rendered harmless in 100 c.c. 9/32 m NaCl . . . 1/17 



What happens if we vary this ratio ? If we add too little 

 NaCl to the KCl solution, namely, only 1 to 10 molecules NaCl 

 to 1 molecule of KCl, the solution becomes more harmful than 

 if KCl is alone in solution; if we add considerably more than 17 

 molecules NaCl, e.g., 50 molecules to one molecule of KCl, the 

 solution becomes toxic again; and the more so the higher the 

 concentration of NaCl. This indicates that the antagonistic 

 effect requires a rather definite ratio of the two salts. This 

 furnishes the reason why an m/2 solution of NaCl can, as a rule, 

 not be rendered completely harmless by the mere addition of 

 KCl, but that in addition CaClg is needed. 



If we add to 100 c.c. m/2 NaCl enough KCl to make the 

 ratio KCl: NaCl = 1/17 we find that the antagonization of KCl: 

 NaCl becomes incomplete. If the amount of KCl in 100 c.c. 

 of the solution exceeds 2.2 c.c. m/2 KCl, antagonization is still 

 to some extent possible, but it becomes more incomplete the 

 higher the concentration of KCl. For this reason it is not 

 possible to render an m/2 solution of NaCl harmless by the 

 mere addition of KCl. 



CaClg acts upon KCl similarly as does NaCl, but it 

 acts more powerfully; i.e., the coefficient of antagonization, 

 KCl/CaCla, is several hundred or a thousand times as great 

 as that of KCl/NaCl, as the following tables shows. 



