GENERAL FEATURES OF WATER EXCHANGES 



193 



and preventing recovery; that also has not been found, (f) Both 

 exchanges are modified in both negative and positive loads in a 

 sense that promotes recovery. 



When these combinations are rated according to the number of 

 the possible modifications favorable to recovery that are realized, 

 the maximal is 2, 2, the minimal -2, -2. None of the minus modi- 

 fications are known to occur, and no instances where both gain and 

 loss are unmodified are known. Presumably the organism is doing 

 its utmost to recover when each of the four exchanges is modified 

 in the direction that favors recovery and by a large ratio of aug- 



UJ 



^ 



o X 



Water Load 



Fig. 112. Schematic representation of some possible types of equilibration diagram. 

 G = gain, L = loss. Those marked X would be inconsistent with recovery, and are not 

 known to occur. The ratings such as (1,1) indicate how many of the total exchanges 

 are modified in favor of recovery. 



mentation. Here is a set of patterns that serves to classify all the 

 living units whose water equilibrations are known. 



Not all the possible combinations of modified exchanges are 

 shown in fig. 112. No constant association is to be found between 

 the pattern present in deficits and the pattern prevailing in ex- 

 cesses. Moreover, gain may increase more than loss increases, 

 may increase less than loss increases, may decrease more than loss 

 decreases, may decrease less than loss decreases, or may not 

 change; loss likewise; thus allowing 11 conceivable combinations 

 in deficit alone, and 11 more in excess alone. The total possible 

 patterns are 121, therefore. Of them only 25 favor recovery from 



