Antitoxic Action of Certain Bases 163 



discussion 



The reports of favorable results from the application of lime to various 

 types of soil require only the briefest consideration here, since in this 

 report only antagonistic phenomena are referred to. In soil studies 

 the factors and relations are complex, and it is often difficult, if not im- 

 possible, to evaluate carefully the antagonistic features. Leaving out of 

 consideration the effects of liming on acidity, its relation to nitrogen 

 fixation and to toxic organic constituents of the soil, and the like, there 

 remains the fact that the addition of lime compounds, both alone and in 

 conjunction with other fertilizers, has resulted in marked increases in 

 yield. The injurious action resulting when unbalanced conditions pre- 

 vail, and the importance of calcium in correcting this action, make it 

 probable that in many cases the beneficial effects obtained from calcium 

 compounds are due to antagonistic relations. In any event the general 

 trend of results indicates that where any single fertilizer has proved 

 injurious it would be well to apply a calcium compound, at least in limited 

 quantity. 



It is not proposed to discuss in detail the views regarding the causes 

 of antagonistic action, but some reference has already been made to the 

 " calcium-protein " theory of Loew (1892 a). Mention should likewise be 

 made of some subsequent papers. Loeb (1905 a) developed further the 

 conception of ion protein compounds in explaining certain aspects of 

 antagonistic action. With the development of colloidal chemistry and 

 the discovery of antagonistic action with respect to the action of salts on 

 proteins, new possibilities became apparent. By employing plasmolytic 

 methods Osterhout (1911) finds that the mechanism of antagonistic action 

 may depend largely on the mutual action of the antagonistic salts in pre- 

 venting each other from entering, but there must also be taken into account 

 their effect on the protoplasm. Later (1912) he confirms this statement. 

 Loeb (1911) concludes that " the role of salts in the preservation of life 

 consists in the ' tanning ' effect which they have upon the surface films 

 of the cells, whereby these films acquire those physical qualities of dura- 

 bility and comparative impermeability, without which the cell cannot 

 exist." On the other hand. True and Bartlett (1912) submit evidence 

 from electrolytic conductivity determinations indicating that it is not 

 merely the endosmosis of solutes, but likewise the exosmosis of solutes, 

 which is affected by concentration and relation of the salts. The writer 



