EFFE< I "l DISTILLED WATER ON 1111 V1NEGAK EEL. 125 



rin-ed in distilled water. They \vciv then -teamed for .1 greater 

 or les^ length of time under pre lire of 150 pound-. An attempt 

 wa- made to put .1- nearly as po ible the -ame number of 

 worms in each culture tube but owing la their minute size it 

 \va- of cour-e impo .ible to do more than approximate the 

 number. 



Contrary to expectation- the \\onn- lived much longer in the 

 onlinary laboratory water "A." pre-umably full of copper and 

 ammonia than in that distilled over potassium dichromate and 

 free from CO Ml copper and other ions. In "A" and -ol t 

 glass tube- they li\.-d +\ days, in "H" \vater and -oft tube- 

 they lived -ixteen da\ s ami in "B" water and Jena in-oluble 

 tube- the\ li\ed but si\ da\-. The-e re-ult- uollld seem to 

 indicate that the pi of the elect rolyte- in ordinary dist illed 



water and of the ion- di--ol\ed from the :J.i prolonged the 

 life of the \\orm- Be< -f t he fai t t hat t he | Hirer t he water 



the .Kent po\\er il i- -till \ be determined 



tthether tin- . i- due !< the -ub-tance- di l\ed from the 



^1 tsa or to the copper and other ion- in the di-tilled water it-elf. 



Iniht writh " B " water and Jena j ; n \\hi.-li the \\orms 



li\ed but -i\ da\-. then- \\eif no impnritie- in the \\ater and 



prat ticall> no solvents i mm the glass, ^o \\e are ton-eti << 

 conclude that the toxic chara< the water it -elf was the cause 



,,1 ihe de.dh ol the \\orm-. I'lij- i- boriu- out b\ ' >-er\ at ions 

 on i he beh a \ j. .r "1 t he \\orin- umler -uch condition-. The outer 

 internment of tin- neinatode in contra-t to it- normal hardne-- 

 and re-i-tam f. app. .in d to become verj visCOUS after a -ojoiirn in 



pure \\ait i. \\henan\ obstacle was encountered in -\\immin^. 



the -itle of the tube or the -nrface of t he \\ a 1 1 i , <>r oi her \\ orm-. 

 the organi-m- -tuck fast. Tin- alteration of the natural condi- 

 tion of the CUtide was SO marked that after a time the \\ornis 

 bunched lo-ether in masses, unable to free t hcin-elve- or el-t 

 coining in contact \\ith the -nrl'ace ..f the water, the\ hnn^ 

 -ll-pciided. 'rili-eliect \\ollltl -eem l> bear out Loeb's Suggestion 



(|utted above. That there i- a market! taking up of water on the 

 part t.f the oruani-m seems quite e\i<lent. The l>o<|\ becomes 

 -ttoiien and the \\orm- 1. -e their elasticity, becoming more or 

 It -- lim'd through turgor and swimming with the bodj almo-t in 



