The Influence of Environment 305 



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 (b) (e. g., oxida- 

 tions). We know that the temperature coefficient for 

 physiological processes varies slightly 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 (b). 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 (b), 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 able 

 to produce aberrations through the' application of 

 narcotics. Wolfgang Ostwald has produced experi- 



