I-.KFECT OF DISTILLF-D \VAIKR U\ Till VINEGAR EEL. 123 



l>een boiled long enough to concentrate it one third is much le-- 

 toxic than ordinary di-iilk-d water. For this and other reasons 

 he concluded that the chid toxic agent in such waters is the 

 ammonia \\ hich they hold in. solution. In fact he found that the 

 larva- often de\ el< .|)i-d better in ammonia-free artificial sea \\ater 

 i han in normal sea \\ater, a result that may \x.- due, as he sui^e-t -. 

 to the presence t' ammonia in natural sea water. 



About the same time Bullot 1 puMi-hed a thorough in\ v-tigation 

 of ihe toxicity of di-tilled water tor the fresh \\ater ('mmmarns 

 and found that the \\aU-r di-tilled OVi 3S \\ith all the pre- 



caution employed in a phy-ical chcmi-try laboratory \vas toxic 

 for tin- form allhou-h ti a ! ml than \\atrr distilled over 



coppi-r. lit- found, ho\\r\rr, that the ])re-nice of \a< I in Mich 

 .1 dilution ,i- i coii.-i-ni ralioil ot o.ooooS.\' enable^ 



ihf Gant1 to !i\c indflmiicK in >uch a medium. I.oi-|,-' 



suggest - thai, in -ucli a I ; % m e "f a trace "f \a("l in 



the di-tilled water po--iM\ ves tin- mcm!>ranc ln'ttrr or 



maintain- U-itrr tl .cti\il\ of the cell-. >o that the 



animal can I . !;. -<-d troiu tin - o( \\alcr \\hich dillu-e- into 



it." 



The :<n>np "f \i-m itodes Is noted !'"' the e\lraordinar\ re-i-t- 

 anCC uhich the cnticli to external media. The t oiumon 



vinegar or ] nilliiln aceti, i- \\ell kno\\n to occur 



iiormalK in \\eak vinegar, although acetic acid i-, to IIK^I or.^an- 



isms a rapidl) actin n. Anguillula aceti has been observed 



in our lalioralo!\ to live m.ire than 24 hour- in Tell\ e-nick\ '- 

 lixin:; llnid and three or four hour- in < ,il-on'-> llnid. The cuticle 

 of ihi- \\orm miulil theii-!'-re I i-x|iected to I.e <|uile unallecled 

 1)\ Mich ion- as .-idinar\ di-tllled uater max contain. It i- of 

 inlere-l to iinte in tin- ...nnectioii that l)e\aine" in hi- lijolo-ic.il 



ilixe-li^alioll ,,t the vinegar eel o|.-er\eil thai the \\onil- li\e 



.it most l>ui eight in di-tilled water. Thi- effe< i mrjn In- 



due to the lack of the acelic acid uhich ordinarily form- a pan 

 of their normal en\ ironmcnt or to the din. t effect of the uater 

 it -elf. It ua- --.on found thai although ihe \\orms li\e I.e-t in 



Bullol 



; i : M.uiri ." |>. 



;;/ A', n,l.. !.<!. it 



