EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON INFUSORIA. 



99 



or shorter duration. Since these experiments were conducted 

 with the same general method as that employed by these au- 

 thors, except that I have carried four lines instead of one line of 

 each alcohol culture and therefore have the average rate of divi- 

 sion, the cause of this variation in the results is not apparent. 

 It seems to be clear, however, that alcohol in optimum amounts 

 does usually cause an increase in the rate of division for a certain 

 length of time, and then a falling off of the rate. Whether the 



47 



48 



1-5 



49 



50 



51 



I J 



I : 



I ' ; : 



I 

 I 

 I 



k 



Fig. 6. Paramecuim. Culture l-» (hay infusion + alcohol) = line; 



culture I^ (hay infusion + alcohol + CuSOJ = line. X =point at which 



the culture subjected to copper sulphate died out. 



continued stimulation with alcohol will cause a prolongation of 

 the cycle beyond the normal one of the non-alcoholized lines, as 

 found by Calkins and Lieb, remains to be seen. 



It is generally accepted at the present time that alcohol has a 

 tendency to prevent the oxidation of other material in the body by 

 its own oxidation — thus alcohol is a "food" rather than a 

 " drug." Without attempting to consider in detail the question 

 of alcohol as a "food" in relation to the metabolism of the 

 protozoa, about which too little is known, I believe that the effect 

 which alcohol exerts on the division rate of infusoria is not to be 



