I9I3] Alfred P. Lothrop 551 



Data pertaining to the absorpHon of water by white lupin seeds 



TuLA L. Harkey. We tested assumptions that the tissues of fast- 

 ing dogs contain, at death, relatively less acid-yielding material than 

 the tissues of well nourished dogs and that, on the basis of Fischer's 

 collochemical theory of edema, the fasting tissues would therefore 

 imbibe less water than the latter, under uniform postmortem con- 

 ditions. Well nourished dogs and dogs which, after preparatory 

 periods on the Standard diet, had f asted completely for 8-i i days, 

 were bled to death, in each case f rom a femoral artery, and the more 

 important parts treated in stoppered, wide-mouth bottles with mod- 

 erate excesses of water. The weights of the swollen tissues were 

 recorded at regulär intervals. Diffusion gains and losses occurred 

 under uniform external conditions for each tissue. The results do 

 not Support the assumptions on which the work was conducted. The 

 percentage gains in weight were irregulär — fasting brains, for ex- 

 ample, gaining more weight relatively than well nourished ones in 

 some cases, or vice versa in others. There was also no apparent 

 definite relation between the degree of swelling and the acidity of 

 comparative extracts of the tissues. 



The results do not conflict with current opinions on the role of 

 osmosis in the absorption of water by protoplasmic structures, and 

 they harmonize with the belief that enzymes may be important fac- 

 tors in such processes. The study is in progress. 



These studies of edema were suggested by Dr. Gies, and con- 

 ducted under his supervision. 



99. A preliminary study of the resistance of fasting dogs to 

 hemorrhage. Paul E. Howe and William J. Gies. In further- 



* Record at 48 hours. 



