362 THE UNFERTILISED EGG AS A [pt. m 



c.cm. wet substance, and for the egg of Torpedo ocellata a similar calcu- 

 lation, based on cryoscopic experiments, gave a value of 0-482. On 

 the basis of these figures, he proceeded to study the partition co- 

 efficient of each individual ion as between dispersed phase and inter- 

 micellar liquid. In Table 49 these partition coefficients are given; 

 they represent the ratio amount of ion in the continuous phase or inter- 

 micellar liquid j amount of ion in the dispersed phase. It will be noted 

 from Fig. 17 that as dilution of the original yolk goes on the 

 ratios in some cases change, but in others remain constant. Thus 

 the chlorine of the trout and the hen egg yolk remains constant 

 at 0-5 in the latter and 1-02 in the former case, showing that 



Table 49. Bialascewicz's figures. 



it is very stably combined in the dispersed phase, though in different 

 proportions according to the animal. Thus there is considerably 

 more chlorine in the dispersed than in the continuous phase of the 

 yolk of the avian egg, while in the fish egg there is a very slight 

 excess of chlorine in the continuous phase. In all other instances, 

 however, both as regards the hen and the trout, the excess of ion is 

 in favour of the dispersed phase, the colloidal aggregates of which 

 may therefore be looked upon as reservoirs of ash. Nevertheless, 

 there is a good deal of the sodium combined in the continuous phase, 

 and not a little of the potassium, though here the trout differs from 

 the hen, for the potassium ratio is about 0-9 in the former case and 

 only 0-7 in the latter. All the other ions have lower ratios than 

 these; magnesium, calcium and phosphorus, for instance, are all 

 present to a much greater extent in the dispersed than in the con- 

 tinuous phase. These experiments show also exactly how firmly the 

 ions in the dispersed phase are bound there, and with what ease 

 they may be washed out into the ultra-filtrate. It is apparent from 



