﻿FILTEABLE 
  VIRUSES 
  BOYCOTT 
  327 
  

  

  has 
  a 
  definite 
  structure 
  according 
  to 
  its 
  species; 
  as 
  nucleus 
  there 
  are 
  

   so 
  many 
  hydrogen 
  atoms 
  with 
  their 
  attendant 
  electrons 
  and 
  outside 
  

   are 
  so 
  many 
  planetary 
  electrons. 
  Electrons 
  are 
  continually 
  being 
  

   detached 
  from 
  atoms 
  by 
  various 
  means, 
  e. 
  g., 
  whenever 
  electrical 
  

   energy 
  is 
  manifested. 
  Presumably 
  an 
  atom 
  of, 
  e. 
  g., 
  iron 
  which 
  

   has 
  lost 
  an 
  electron 
  is 
  no 
  longer 
  of 
  its 
  normal 
  nature 
  and 
  substance, 
  

   i. 
  e., 
  it 
  has 
  ceased 
  to 
  be 
  perfect 
  iron, 
  and 
  such 
  a 
  process 
  would 
  in 
  the 
  

   end 
  lead 
  to 
  the 
  iron 
  becoming 
  manifestly 
  something 
  which 
  was 
  

   not 
  iron 
  unless 
  some 
  restorative 
  process 
  was 
  at 
  work. 
  It 
  seems 
  clear 
  

   that 
  injured 
  atoms 
  must 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  pick 
  up 
  electrons 
  from 
  some- 
  

   where 
  to 
  replace 
  those 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  lost, 
  a 
  method 
  of 
  individual 
  

   repair 
  which 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  efficient 
  enough. 
  

  

  (e) 
  Another 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  characteristics 
  of 
  five 
  things 
  is 
  their 
  

   variability. 
  Any 
  measurable 
  quantity 
  of 
  any 
  organism 
  varies, 
  and 
  

   the 
  values 
  are 
  distributed 
  in 
  some 
  mode 
  akin 
  to 
  the 
  normal 
  curve. 
  

   Crookes 
  suggested 
  long 
  ago 
  that 
  atoms 
  vary 
  in 
  a 
  similar 
  way, 
  Karl 
  

   Pearson 
  has 
  imagined 
  a 
  world 
  where 
  contingency 
  replaces 
  cause 
  and 
  

   effect, 
  and 
  Donnan 
  has 
  emphasized 
  that 
  our 
  chemical 
  and 
  physical 
  

   constants 
  are 
  statistical, 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  measurement 
  of 
  an 
  infinite 
  

   number 
  of 
  individuals, 
  and 
  summarizing, 
  perhaps, 
  the 
  average 
  values 
  

   of 
  a 
  variable 
  population. 
  If 
  biological 
  measurements 
  were 
  made 
  on 
  the 
  

   same 
  scale, 
  zoology 
  and 
  botany 
  and 
  even 
  pathology 
  might 
  be 
  "exact 
  

   sciences" 
  too. 
  When 
  we 
  say 
  that 
  the 
  atomic 
  weight 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   chlorines 
  is 
  35, 
  or 
  that 
  the 
  mass 
  of 
  the 
  hydrogen 
  atom 
  is 
  1.650 
  X 
  10 
  — 
  ^* 
  

   grm., 
  it 
  may 
  tell 
  us 
  no 
  more 
  about 
  the 
  individual 
  atoms 
  than 
  a 
  

   statement 
  that 
  the 
  height 
  of 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  this 
  section 
  of 
  the 
  

   Ro5^al 
  Society 
  of 
  Medicine 
  was 
  5 
  feet 
  8 
  inches 
  would 
  give 
  us 
  a 
  view 
  

   of 
  the 
  range 
  of 
  sizes 
  which 
  we 
  represent. 
  Whether 
  atoms 
  and 
  mole- 
  

   cules 
  vary 
  like 
  organisms, 
  therefore, 
  we 
  do 
  not 
  know 
  — 
  nor 
  is 
  it 
  easy 
  

   to 
  imagine 
  how 
  we 
  could 
  find 
  out. 
  The 
  possibilities 
  of 
  variation 
  

   evidently 
  become 
  greater 
  as 
  structure 
  becomes 
  more 
  complex- 
  — 
  as 
  

   we 
  go, 
  that 
  is, 
  from 
  electrons 
  to 
  elaborate 
  chemical 
  compounds. 
  

  

  (/) 
  Cane 
  sugar 
  boiled 
  with 
  dilute 
  hydrochloric 
  acid 
  is 
  progressively 
  

   hydrolyzed 
  till 
  practically 
  none 
  of 
  it 
  is 
  left. 
  Analysis 
  of 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  

   the 
  reaction 
  shows 
  that 
  (say) 
  one-fifth 
  of 
  the 
  original 
  quantit}^ 
  is 
  

   decomposed 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  five 
  minutes, 
  one-fifth 
  of 
  what 
  remains 
  in 
  the 
  

   next 
  five 
  minutes, 
  one-fifth 
  of 
  what 
  remains 
  in 
  the 
  next 
  five 
  minutes, 
  

   and 
  so 
  on 
  until 
  the 
  amount 
  left 
  is 
  inappreciable. 
  This 
  strange 
  be- 
  

   havior 
  is 
  accounted 
  for 
  by 
  assuming 
  that 
  the 
  molecules 
  of 
  cane 
  sugar 
  

   go 
  through 
  some 
  sort 
  of 
  regular 
  rhythmical 
  change, 
  so 
  that 
  at 
  any 
  

   moment 
  only 
  a 
  certain 
  proportion 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  susceptible 
  to 
  the 
  action 
  

   of 
  the 
  water 
  at 
  the 
  instigation 
  of 
  the 
  acid. 
  There 
  is, 
  I 
  believe, 
  no 
  other 
  

   justification 
  for 
  the 
  assumption 
  than 
  that 
  it 
  fits 
  the 
  facts, 
  and 
  it 
  can 
  not 
  

   fail 
  to 
  remind 
  us 
  of 
  the 
  rhythmical 
  alternations 
  of 
  rest 
  and 
  activity 
  

   which 
  are 
  common, 
  perhaps 
  universal, 
  in 
  live 
  organisms. 
  If, 
  as 
  Chick 
  

  

  