Toxic AND ANTITOXIC EFFECTS OF IONS 723 



cent, of the eggs formed embryos. It followed from these 

 experiments that the toxic effects of salts with a monov- 

 alent kation and a monovalent anion can be annihilated 

 only by bi- or trivalent kations, but not by mono-, bi-, or triv- 

 alent anions. If we correlate this fact with that previously 

 found, that spontaneous, rhythmical contractions of muscles, 

 Medusae, and hearts are possible only in solutions of electro- 

 lytes, then the idea can certainly not be repudiated that the 

 antitoxic effect of salts in the above-mentioned experiments 

 may be a function of the magnitude and the sign of the 

 electrical charges of the ions. 



9. If the toxicity of a pure CaCl 2 , MgCl 3 , BaCl 2 or 

 SrCl 2 solution is compared with the toxicity of a solution of 

 a chloride of a monovalent kation, then it is found that the 

 former are the more poisonous. In a f Ca(NO 3 ) 2 solu- 

 tion no embryo develops. This same toxic concentration is 

 reached in a MgCl g solution at the dilution of . Can 

 the toxic effects of these solutions also be overcome? One 

 can indeed easily overcome the poisonous effects of a 

 Ca(NO 3 ) 2 solution by adding large amounts of a KC1 or 

 NH 4 C1 solution. NaCl and LiCl solutions are almost with- 

 out effect. 



TABLE XIII 



As one can see, the number of embryos formed shows a 

 definite increase with an increase in the concentration of the 

 KC1. I tried still stronger solutions of KC1 in further 



