No. G2'JJ BEHAVIOR AND ASSIMILATION 513 



a cross-section at right angles, as it were, it appears as 

 part of an autocatalytic reaction. Behavior and assimi- 

 lation work in different planes. The theory of auto- 

 catalysis does not explain all biological enigmas as Tro- 

 land ( '17) intimates, nor does the theorem of Le Chatelier 

 account for assimilation. 



However, these planes intersect ; the two processes are 

 interrelated in the following four respects. 



1. The factors of the environment that constitute the 

 external conditions of the behaving system are the pos- 

 sible limiting factors of assimilation. 



2. Assimilation is an endothermic process that sup- 

 plies the energy expended by the responses of behavior. 



3. Behavior overcomes the effects of the limiting fac- 

 tors of assimilation and so places the organism in what 

 is, under the circumstances, the most favorable situation 

 for assimilation. 



4. Assimilation and growth eventually change the re- 

 lations between the organism and the factors of its en- 

 vironment, consequently producing stimuli to behavior. 



Behavior is the process by which the organism is able 

 to cope with its environment, it renders its condition as 

 "favorable" as the situation permits, but contributes 

 nothing to its increase. It is the progressive element to 

 which change and variability are due. It is the "guide 

 of life." Assimilation is the autocatalytic process by 

 which the organism increases and multiplies, but which 

 would soon be brought to a standstill according to the 

 law of the minimum, w-ere it not for behavior. It is the 

 conservative element that determines that like shall beget 

 like ; it is the principle of heredity. An organism may be 

 defined as a system that perpetuates itself by autocataly- 

 sis and reacts according to the theorem of Le Chatelier. 



LITERATURE CITED 



