528 



COLLECTED STUDIES IN- IMMUNITY 



lutely incorrect, and that they contradict all that is thus far known 

 concerning solution of the red blood-cells. Gruber states that in 

 a 1/10 isotonic solution, one containing about 0.07% NaCl, about 

 one-fifth of the blood-cells remain undissolved. All other authors, 

 however, have found that even in a solution of 0.3% NaCl, the 

 blood-cells of all warm-blooded animals are still completely dis- 

 solved, so that the solution appears uniformly laky, and microscopical 

 examination shows not even a trace of red-blood corpuscles. In 

 Gruber's spectrum, however, we find that with this percentage more 

 than half of the blood-cells remain undissolved. This indicates 

 that in Gruber's experiments the grossest sort of errors abound. 



With Salt 



Decrease of 

 Hamolyse in Percent 



30 



20 



15 



With Sugar 



Decrease of 

 Hamolyse in Percent 



30 



I 



25 



20 



15 



10 



^ 



m_ 



I I V~^\ 



% 9 /io 



Isotonicity Isotonicity 



FIG. 1. " Poison spectrum " of water according to Gruber. 



What can we deduce from these spectra? The fact that a cer- 

 tain amount of NaCl can be added to the " poisonous " water with- 

 out inhibiting haemolysis, would lead authors holding Gruber's views 

 to conclude that this " poisonous " water contains a prototoxoid 

 whose neutralization has no effect whatever on the toxic action. 

 A single glance at the detailed literature on this subject should, how- 

 ever, have convinced these authors that their curve, as such, has 

 nothing whatever to do with toxic actions, but is merely the expres- 

 sion of the specific differences in the red blood-cells. It is well known 



