SECT. 12] CYCLOSES, PHOSPHORUS, SULPHUR 



gm. water associated with lOO gm. dry weight 



1227 



The correspondences are by no means exact, and doubtless often 

 obscured by the existence of other factors, but a general relationship 

 seems clear. In a later paper, Mayer & Schaeffer studied the imbibi- 

 tion properties of tissues, and were finally able to reduce their data 

 to the following expression: 



Maximum water retained by i gm. dry weight of tissue 



Total fatty acid 



Total cholesterol 



K. 



The constant was always about 60, and Mayer & Schaeffer compared 



this generalisation to Boyle's 



Law, but for the details re- [ '"''^.Tj^^' 



' - on Sth.day 



ference must be made to their 

 original papers. It is now pos- 

 sible to calculate the lipocytic 

 coefficient for the chick through 

 its development, and it is shown 

 in Fig. 392. The earlier values 

 are far higher than anything 

 found in the adult, but by the 

 end of development adult values 

 are reached, as is shown by the 

 horizontal fines drawn to repre- 

 sent the lipocytic coefficient in 

 the organs of the full-grown 

 pigeon. Now according to 

 Mayer & Schaeflfer's generalisa- 

 tion, the water-content of the 

 embryo ought to be very high 

 in the earlier stages, and should 



Days- 



Fig. 392. 



descend to nearly an adult level at hatching; and this, of course, 



