176 The Mechanistic Conception of Life 



TABLE I 



Percentage of 

 Nature of the Solution the Eggs Forming 



an Embryo 



100 c.c. distilled water 49 



100 c.c. distilled water+8 c.c. m/32 ZnSOj 



100 c.c. m/64 NaCl+8 c.c. m/32 ZnSO* 



100 c.c. m/32 NaCl+S c.c. m/32 ZnSOi 3 



100 c.c. m/16 NaCl+8 c.c. m/32 ZnSOi 8 



100 c.c. m/8 NaCl+8 c.c. m/32 ZnSOi 44 



100 c.c. m/4 NaCl+8 c.c. m/32 ZnSO, 38 



100 c.c. 3/8 NaCl+8 c.c. m/32 ZnSOi 37 



100 c.c. m/2 NaCH-8 c.c. m/32 ZnSOi 34 



100 c.c. 5/8 NaCl+8 c.c. m/32 ZnSOi 29 



100 c.c. 6/8 NaCl+8 c.c. m/32 ZnSOi 8 



100 c.c. 7/8 NaCl+8 c.c. m/32 ZnSOi 6 



100 c.c. m NaCl+8 c.c. m/32 ZnSOj 1 



This table shows that the addition of NaCl, if its concentra- 

 tion exceeds a certain limit, namely, m/8, is able to render the 

 ZnSOj in the solution comparatively harmless. 



If we now assume that ZnSO^ renders the 5/8 m NaCl solu- 

 tion harmless by rendering the egg membrane comparatively 

 impermeable for NaCl we must also draw the opposite conclu- 

 sion, namely, that NaCl renders the egg membrane compara- 

 tively impermeable for ZnSO^. We therefore arrive at a new 

 conception of the mutual antagonism of two salts, namely, 

 that this antagonism depends, in this case at least, upon a 

 common, cooperative action of both salts on the egg membrane, 

 by which action this membrane becomes completely or com- 

 paratively impermeable for both salts. And from this we must 

 draw the further conclusion that the fact that each of these 

 salts, if it is alone in the solution, is toxic, is due to its com- 

 paratively rapid diffusion through the membrane, so that it 

 comes into direct contact with the protoplasm of the germ. 



As long as we assumed that each of the two antagonistic 

 salts acted, if appUed singly, in the opposite way from its 

 antagonist, it was impossible to understand these experiments 



