The Influence of Environment 



3(^5 



physicochemical point of view, we must realize that 

 what we call life consists of a series of chemical reac- 

 tions, which are connected in a catenary way; inas- 

 much as one reaction or group of reactions (a) (e. g., 

 hydrolyses) causes or furnishes the material for a 

 second reaction or group of reactions (/;) {c. g., oxida- 

 tions). We know that the temperature coefficient for 

 physiological processes varies sHghtly at various parts 

 of the scale; as a rule it is higher near o° and lower near 

 30°. But we know also that the temperature coefficients 

 do not vary equally for the various physiological pro- 

 cesses. It is, therefore, to be expected that the tem- 

 perature coefficients for the group of reactions of the 

 type {a) will not be identical through the whole scale 

 with the temperature coefficients for the reactions of 

 the type ih). If therefore a certain substance is formed 

 at the normal temperature of the animal in such quan- 

 tities as are needed for the catenary reaction {h), it is 

 not to be expected that this same perfect balance will 

 be maintained for extremely high or extremely low 

 temperatures; it is more probable that one group of 

 reactions will exceed the other and thus produce aber- 

 rant chemical effects, which may underlie the colour 

 aberrations observed by Fischer and other experi- 

 menters. 



It is important to notice that Fischer was also abk^ 

 to produce aberrations through the application of 

 narcotics. Wolfgang Ostwald has produced expcri- 



20 



