462 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [December 



maintains a sort of equilibrium, in 



certain 



may 



the A equilibrium. Inevitably, through the accumulation of cer- 

 tain materials, the A equilibrium will be upset. After a period 

 of readjustment, the B equilibrium will succeed; this will be 

 followed by the C equilibrium, and so on. The total number of 



in the lite urogram 



in 



example the X equilibrium, certain questions may 



be considered. What is it that accounts for the existence of the 



X equilibrium? It is the inevitable result of reactions which 



took place during the W equilibrium. The W equilibrium may be ) 



similarly accounted for by the previous existence of the V equi- * 



librium. The program is an inevitable one, and will be followed 



during each generation. 



Under conditions imposed by the X equilibrium, only reactions ! 



of a certain type are possible, and these may be referred to as the 

 x reactions. A number of x reactions are possible, x ly x 2 , x 3 , etc. 

 Chance conditions (environment, directly or indirectly) will 

 determine which of these will take place. Whichever takes place, 

 there will result a by-product, and this by-product will be of the 

 x type. Even more specific than this, the x 3 reaction will result 

 in and be characterized by the x 3 by-product. As the existence 

 of the X equilibrium was inevitable, there will inevitably be laid 

 down one of the x type of by-products. Since, however, it was j 



chance which specifically selected the x 3 reaction, this same chance 

 is indirectly responsible for the by-product x 3 , rather than x L , x 2 , 

 or any of the other possibilities. 



The by-product x 3 will exist in an active state and exert some 

 influence upon the protoplast so long as the X equilibrium con- 

 tinues. The eventual disappearance of the X equilibrium will be 

 accompanied and characterized by the insulation of by-product 

 # 3 by means of a specific antibody which has been developed by 

 the protoplast. The Y equilibrium will follow; and, just as the X 

 equilibrium was characterized by the free active existence of by- 

 product x 3% one of the characteristics of the Y equilibrium will be 

 the existence of x, in an insulated inactive condition. The by- 



