Cuar. VI] DIGESTION. 93 
to 218 of water were made ; and half-minim drops (0296 c.c.) 
were placed on the discs of eight leaves, so that each received 
ip Of a grain, or ‘135 mg. The four with the isinglass 
were much more strongly inflected than the other four. 1 
conclude, therefore, that isinglass contains some, though per- 
haps very little, soluble albuminous matter. As soon as these 
eight leaves re-expanded, they were given bits of roast meat, 
and in some hours all became greatly inflected ; again showing 
how much more meat excites Drosera than does gelatine or 
isinglass. This is an interesting fact, as it is well known 
that gelatine by itself has little power of nourishing animals. 
Chondrin.—This was sent me by Dr. Moore in a gelatinous 
state. Some was slowly dried, and a small chip was placed 
on a leaf, and a much larger chip on a second leaf. The first 
was liquefied in a day; the larger piece was much swollen 
and softened, but was not completely liquefied until the 
third day. The undried jelly was next tried, and as a 
control experiment small cubes were left in water for four 
days and retained their angles. Cubes of the same size were 
placed on two leaves, and larger cubes on two other leaves. 
The tentacles and lamine of the latter were closely inflected 
after 22 hrs. but those of the two leaves with the smaller 
cubes only to a moderate degree. The jelly on all four was 
by this time liquefied, and rendered very acid. ‘The glands 
were blackened from the aggregation of their protoplasmic 
contents. In 46 hrs. from the time when the jelly was given, 
the leaves had almost re-expanded, and completely so after 
70 hrs.; and now only a little slightly adhesive fluid was 
left unabsorbed on their discs. 
One part of chondrin jelly was dissolved in 218 parts of 
boiling water, and half-minim drops were given to four 
leaves; so that each received about z1, of a grain (°135 mg.) 
of the jelly; and, of course, much less of dry chondrin. 
This acted most powerfully, for after only 3 hrs. 30 m. all 
four leaves were strongly inflected. Three of them began to 
re-expand after 24 hrs., and in 48 hrs. were completely open ; 
but the fourth had only partially re-expanded. All the 
liquefied chondrin was by this time absorbed. Hence a 
solution of chondrin seems to act far more quickly and ener- 
* Dr. Lauder Brunton gives inthe indirect part which gelatine plays in 
‘Medical Record,’ January 1873, p. nutrition. j 
36, an account of Viot’s view of the 
