On the Composition of Cassiopea Xamachana. 



99 



ANALYSIS OF ENTIRE BODY. 



Several freshly caught cassiopeas were weighed and then placed in 

 the oven for one week at a temperature of 90 to 95 C. The per- 

 centages of water and of solids were thus determined and the solids 

 again were analyzed for nitrogen and ash. The results of these deter- 

 minations are given in table 2. 



TABLE 2. Fresh weight, dry weight, water, nitrogen, and ash in a series of Cassiopeas of 



increasing body-weigh ts. 



'Average. 



PERCENTAGE OF WATER. 



It is interesting to note that the percentage of water is practically 

 identical in all sizes of Cassiopea here examined, thus indicating that 

 the jelly-like substance of which the body of Cassiopea is largely 

 composed remains nearly unmodified throughout the life cycle. This is 

 in remarkable contrast to the water-content of mammalian bodies at 

 various ages in which the younger individuals give the higher percent- 

 age of water and vice versa (Hatai, 1916). 



PERCENTAGE OF NITROGEN IN TOTAL SOLIDS. 



The nitrogen in the total solids was determined by the usual Kjeldahl 

 method and the results are given in table 2. We notice that despite 

 the similarity of the water-content, the percentage of nitrogen in the 

 solids shows a progressive decrease with increasing body-weight. 

 Although this difference in the relative nitrogen-content between the 

 smaller and larger animals is not very large, nevertheless the existence 



