CHAP. IX. SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 225 



Of the alkaloids and their salts which were tried, 

 several had not the least power of inducing inflection ; 

 others, which were certainly absorbed, as shown by the 

 changed colour of the glands, had but a very mode- 

 rate power of this kind; others, again, such as the 

 acetate of quinine and digitaline, caused strong in- 

 flection. 



The several substances mentioned in this chapter 

 affect the colour of the glands very differently. These 

 often become dark at first, and then very pale or 

 white, as was conspicuously the case with glands 

 subjected to the poison of the cobra and citrate of 

 strychnine. In other cases they are from the first 

 rendered white, as with leaves placed in hot water and 

 several acids ; and this, I presume, is the result of the 

 coagulation of the albumen. On the same leaf some 

 glands become white and others dark-coloured, as 

 occurred with leaves in a solution of the sulphate of 

 quinine, and in the vapour of alcohol. Prolonged im- 

 mersion in nicotine, curare, and even water, blackens 

 the glands ; and this, I believe, is due to the aggre- 

 gation of the protoplasm within their cells. Yet 

 curare caused very little aggregation in the cells of 

 the tentacles, whereas nicotine and sulphate of quinine 

 induced strongly marked aggregation down their 

 bases. The aggregated masses in leaves which had 

 been immersed for 3 hrs. 15 m. in a saturated solu- 

 tion of sulphate of quinine exhibited incessant 



it is remarkable that Dr. Ransom cally, with the exception of chloio 



( ' Philosoph. Transact.' 1867, p. form and carbonic acid." I find 



480), who used much stronger it stated by several writers that 



solutions of these substances than curare has no influence on sarcode 



I did, states " that the rhythmic or protoplasm, and we have seen 



contractility of the yolk (of the that, though curare excites somfl 



ova of the pike) is not materially degree of inflection, it causes very 



influenced by any of the poisons little aggregation of the proto- 



used, which did not act chemi- plasm. 



