WaTER ABSORPTION BY MUSCLES AND Soaps 517 
While acids at one time increase, at another time decrease 
the amount of water absorbed by a muscle, depending upon 
the nature and the concentration of the salt solution in which 
the muscles are immersed, alkalies increase absorption under 
all circumstances. Quantitative differences, however, exist 
between the different alkalies which I am not yet entirely 
able to explain, even though I have made more experiments 
with alkalies than with any other group of substances. These 
experiments have only served to strengthen my previous 
assertion that we deal in these cases only with the action of 
the hydroxy] ions. 
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