94 



A. P. MATHEWS 



action of salts on fish eggs, 1 the diastatic ferment, 2 bromelin, 3 a pro- 

 teolytic ferment, and growing tips of peas and beans. 4 Table 3 shows 

 that the chlorides of the various metals arrange themselves, as regards 

 their toxicity, with few exceptions, in the order of the potential energy 

 of their ions. Ions of low potential energy, such as those of sodium, 

 lithium, magnesium, and potassium, being relatively inert, when com- 

 pared with the enormously toxic action of the ions of high potential 

 energy, such as nickel, lead, hydrogen, ferric, cupric, mercury, silver, 

 gold, and platinum. 



There is, I think, no mistaking this general parallelism, which was 

 theoretically anticipated. By no other properties known to us can 

 the metals be arranged in an order so closely corresponding to their 



TABLE 3. 



MINIMUM FATAL DOSES OF SALTS FOR VARIOUS FERMENTS AND ORGANISMS. 

 (F= Dilution Minimum Fatal Dose (Equivalent).) 



'Authors' results. 

 * McGiugan, loc. cit. 



3 Caldweil. 



* Kahlenberg and True, loc. cit.; rieald, loc. cv 



