TOXIN AND ANTITOXIN 



529 



that the blood represents a mixture of cells of various ages, and it 

 is not at all surprising, therefore, that these should behave differently 

 toward different injurious influences. We are here dealing with a 

 property of the erythrocyte's protoplasm, which protoplasm will possess 

 a different degree of vulnerability according to its age. Are Gruber- 

 Pirquet entirely unaware that an important and much-employed 

 procedure for determining the resistance of the blood rests on just 



With Salt 



With Sugar 



Decrease 



30 



15 



10 



No Decrease 



Decrease 

 35 



30 



20 



15 



10 



No Decrease 



Isotonicity Isotonicity 



FIG. 2. " Poison spectrum" of water according to Ehrlich. 



this principle? Every text-book on hsematology teaches that we 

 distinguish blood-cells of maximum, minimum, and intermediate 

 resistance, and that the extent of resistance is merely the difference 

 between the maximum and minimum. 



Instead of this, however, Gruber feels compelled to draw from 

 his curves conclusions having such far-reaching consequences as, 

 for example, that water is full of poisons, of haptophore and toxo- 

 phore groups, etc. But if he believes that this proves the folly of 

 my conception of toxin neutralization, so much the worse for him 

 and his authority Phantasus. 



