I 62 SAKYO KANDA. 



10. "Antagonism" Between Acid and Narcotics. 

 It is known through the work of R. Ltllie that an antagonism 

 between salts and narcotics is readily demonstrated in Arenicola 

 larvae. In the present investigation it was found that chloro- 

 form, ethyl alcohol and ether had little or no negativating effect 

 on the larvae at room temperature; on the other hand, butyric 

 acid proved to be the most effective of all the negativating agents 

 employed. The writer thought therefore that antagonism might 

 be demonstrated in the mixture of any of those narcotics and 

 butyric acid. It was found that the negativating effect of 

 butyric acid was much retarded in the presence of a narcotic. 

 In sea-water containing .0022 m. butyric acid 95 per cent, of the 

 larvae became negative after 15 minutes exposure. In the same 

 solution to which chloroform, ether, or formaldehyde were 

 added in appropriate concentrations no reversal was evident 

 after 15 minutes and only 50 per cent, were negative after one 

 hour's exposure, as compared with 90-100 per cent, in the control. 

 Apparently the process of reversal is retarded in the presence of 

 the anaesthetic. 



ii. Effect of Solutions of Butyric Acid made with Artificial 



Sea-water. 



The writer tested the effect of butyric acid in artificial sea- 

 water. It was found that a very weak concentration of butyric 

 acid, i. e., 0.00006 mol., was efficient in negativating about 80 

 per cent, of the larvae in about 10 minutes after the treatment. 



12. Effects of Inorganic Acids. 



Loeb 1 found that the monobasic fatty acids were very effective, 

 whereas strong acids, such as HC1, HNO 3 and H 2 SO 4 "had so 

 little effect as to be practically useless" for experiments on the 

 membrane formation of sea-urchin eggs in artificial partheno- 

 genesis. He concludes that this proves a diffusion of undisso- 

 ciated molecules into cells and denies an increased permeability 

 of the cells for hydrogen ions. 2 The writer tested this idea in 

 producing the negative heliotropism of larvae, but the results 



1 Loeb, Jacques, Biochem. Zeits., Bd. 15, S. 254, 1909; "Artificial Parthenogenesis 

 and Fertilization," p. 133, 1913. 



2 Loeb, J., loc. cit., pp. 142-143. 



