UNIFORMITIES AND COMPARISONS AMONG COMPONENTS 395 



esses that restore the organism after negative and after positive 

 displacements from balance. It represents also a contrast of total 

 gains and of total losses at any one load. 



I think the physiological importance of the features found to 

 prevail among all equilibration diagrams is best exhibited by sup- 

 posing that the diagram turned out differently : 



(n) It might have occurred that neither L nor G varied with 

 load. Then one value of C would be as likely to occur as any other ; 

 no value would persist nor be approached in recovery, except 

 temporarily and by chance. 



(o) L might vary, but equal G at all loads, with the same conse- 

 quence. 



(p) In negative loads L might exceed G, and in positive loads 

 vice versa. Then recovery would be impossible, for the content 

 would move farther from Co- These possibilities were named in 

 §72. 



(q) L might vary, but equal G at more than one load in the same 

 individual. Then if once sufficiently displaced in content, a new 

 balance would be maintained. 



(r) L and G might vary at random and independently, never 

 being coordinated. Then recovery would be wholly left to chance, 

 like an animal in an insoluble maze. 



It is apparent that there are numerous possible arrangements 

 in the organism that would not automatically lead to recovery. 

 That these other arrangements are not found, indicates to me that 

 the relations represented are of consequence to the organisms con- 

 cerned, that probably the species would not be here without 

 arrangements that are successful and that insure survival. 



It was mentioned (§72) that total exchanges G and L might 

 each be classed into 11 types of modification in relation to load. 

 Together, 121 combinations of the two seemed possible; 96 were 

 judged incompatible with recovery. Of the remaining 25 combina- 

 tions only a few were found for the component water, but several 

 have turned up in the study of other components. Reviewing the 

 equilibration diagrams that have been presented, I find 6 of the 25 

 in actual operation, not counting fragments. These 6 are repre- 

 sented in figures 13, 61, 72, 146, 171 and 172. When any other type 

 of equilibration diagram shall be found, it will offer an interesting 

 contrast with these. 



It is possible to suggest a few incidental features of physiology 



