PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS. 31 



MorguUs, 1914- — Morgulis/ carrying out the theories of Zuntz with 

 whom he had worked in Berhn, reports results of an experiment on a 

 dog which was given about one-third of the maintenance requirement 

 in the diet. Prior to the reduction in the diet, the energy requirement 

 was computed from the respiratory exchange to be 39.3 calories per 

 kilogram per 24 hours. As a matter of fact, after the dog had lost 

 42.35 per cent of his original weight, the energy requirement was 43.6 

 calories, or 11 per cent more. Wholly inexplicable increases and 

 decreases in metabolism were reported with the resumption of excess 

 feeding. 



Hdri, 1914' — In a carefully planned series of experiments designed to 

 eliminate the question of too low a temperature, Hari,^ employing all 

 of the usual Budapest accuracy of technique, studied the influence of 

 chronic undernutrition on the metabohsm, measuring the heat directly 

 by means of the Rubner calorimeter. Although the experiments were 

 somewhat complicated by the fact that, in the first place, the basal value 

 was obtained in several days of complete fast, that milk was adminis- 

 tered at times cold and at times warm, and that the actual amount of 

 energy ingested averaged in all the series about 70 per cent of the main- 

 tenance need, Hari has drawn some important conclusions. Of special 

 significance to us in this discussion, however, is the clear relationship 

 he notes between metabolism and loss in nitrogen. The irregularity 

 of his results he explains in part on the ground of individuality. The 

 feeding experiments are usually of such short duration that it is difficult 

 to distinguish between true starvation and the period of chronic under- 

 nutrition which in no case continued more than 9 days. Using the 

 fasting days as basal values, Hari notes that when insufficient food is 

 given, there is either a slight increase or a very slight tendency to a 

 decrease in metabolism. 



Loewy and Zuntz, 1916. — When the research reported by us in this 

 monograph was more than half completed, we were fortunately able to 

 secure a copy of the interesting article by Loewy and Zuntz^ on the 

 influence of war diet upon metabolism. This gives the results of 

 experiments made in the spring of 1916 in which the investigators 

 themselves were the subjects. Inasmuch as both Zuntz and Loewy 

 had had their basal metabolism measured intermittently for a number 

 of years previous, their probable basal values are significant and afford 

 an excellent basis for comparison with the metabolism determined after 

 two years of war diet. 



The experiments were made with the Zuntz-Geppert apparatus and 

 represent (in the case of Zuntz) 5 periods on 3 different days in May 

 1916. In the case of Loewy they represent 4 periods on 2 days, also in 

 May 1916. Although Zuntz had lost considerable body-weight, never- 



' Morgulis, Biochem. Bulletin, 1914, 3, p. 264. 



* Hdri, Biochem. Zeitschr., 1914, 66, p. 20. 



* Loewy and Zuntz, Berl. klin. Wochenachr., 1916, 53, p. 825. 



