129] 



TEE GOLDFISH AS A TEST ANIMAL— POWERS 



EXPERIMENTAL DATA 



In the study of the goldfish as a test animal it was deemed advisable to 

 determine the uniformity or lack of uniformity of the resistance or suscepti- 

 bility of the goldfish first to certain of the less toxic simple substances; then 

 later to take up a study of the more toxic and the more complex substances. 

 First the chlorides and nitrates of the alkali and alkaline earth metals were 

 employed. Later the heavier metals, cupric chloride, cadmium chloride, 

 and ferric chloride, and finally hydrochloric acid, potassium cyanide, methyl, 

 ethyl, and isobutyl alcohols, phenol, caffeine, and pyridine were used. It was 

 found that all substances tested, with the exception of CuCl2, CdCl2, and to 

 a certain extent FeCIs, have certain points in common when the toxic activity 

 of varying amounts of the substance tested is considered. This can be best 

 illustrated by a detailed study of one or two representative substances and 

 by comparing these with the other substances employed. The experiments 

 with lithium chloride will first be considered. 



In the lithium chloride experiments the resistance of the goldfish to con- 

 centrations varying from 0.089 N. to 0.466 N. was tested. By referring to 

 Table I it will be found that the goldfish died fairly uniformly in any given 

 concentration of the Uthium chloride solution. For other chlorides and 

 nitrates see Tables II to XV. The 2.5 g. goldfish (Table III) having a sur- 

 vival time of 135 minutes and marked vn\h an asterisk (*) was taken out of 

 the sodium chloride solution for dead, but when placed in an HCl solution 



TABLE I 

 Lithium Chloride. Temperature 21° C. December 1, 1916 



