582 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol.38 



placenta, anrl that in doubtful casi?s a second and third test he made. (2) The 

 specific proteolytic feraieuts can be detected in the blood from the sixteenth 

 to the nineteenth day after conception ; that is, a diagnosis of pregnancy can 

 be made about the end of the third week. (3) The ferments seem to remain 

 in the blood for a period of 15 to 20 days after parturition, a fact which must 

 be taken into consideration to avoid errors in the application of the method. 



The catalase content of Ascaris suum, with a suggestion as to its role in 

 protecting parasites against the digestive enzyms of their hosts, T. B. 

 Magatii {Jow. Bin}. Chcm., 33 (1918), No. 3, pp. 305-400, fig. i).— The amount 

 and distribution of catalase in the body of the common Ascaris, a roundworm 

 from the hog, were determined with a view to testing the validity of the 

 theory advanced by Burge (E. S. R., 33, p. 478) that the presence of oxidative 

 processes in the intestinal parasites protects them from digestion. The method 

 used was one adapted from ordinary gas analysis. The material was washed 

 with a 75 per cent sodium chlorid solution and finely chopped up, weighed in 

 a crucible, and introduced into a bottle containing 25 cc. of one-half diluted 

 commercial hydrogen peroxid. This was connected with a water-filled burette 

 with a leveling bulb. After bringing the water to the zero level, connection was 

 made with the bottle containing the hydrogen peroxid, the action started by 

 upsetting the crucible in the hydrogen peroxid, and after 10 minutes the water 

 in the leveling bulb brought to the level of the water in the burette and the 

 reading made. 



Determinations were made of the catalase content of the whole worm, the 

 body wall, body fluid, and visceral organs with the following results : " There 

 is five-eighths as much catalase in the body wall of A. suum as in the visceral 

 organs, and one-fourth as much in the body fluid as in the visceral organs. 

 There is three times more catalase in the body wall of A. suum than in the leg 

 muscles of Rana pipiens, if one uses the amount of the catalase in the repro- 

 ductive organs of each form as the units of measurement. On the basis of this 

 last statement it can be assumed that there is more than enough catalase in 

 the body wall of this parasitic worm for its metabolic and locomotory functions, 

 and hence it is possible that this excess is used to liberate oxygen for protect- 

 ing the parasite against the digestive enzyms of its host, if Burge's theory be 

 true." 



Researches on the serum of the sea eel, W. Kopaczewski (Compt. Rend. 

 Acad. Sci. [Paris], 164 (1917), No. 25, pp. 963, 964; 165 (1917), Nos. 18, pp. 

 600-602; 21, pp. 725-727).— Three papers are presented. 



I. The toxicity of the serum. — The serum of the sea eel was shown to be 

 exceedingly toxic when injected intravenously into guinea pigs, rabbits, and 

 dogs. The rapidity of the intoxication and the picture on autopsy resemble, 

 to a certain extent, anaphylactic shock. 



II. The toxicity and physical properties of the serum,. — Studies of the effect 

 of the various factors on the toxicity of the serum showed that the toxicity 

 is not destroyed by keeping the serum in the dark even for as long a period 

 as 30 days, by freezing, by absorption in animal charcoal or kaolin, and by 

 drying, but is destroyed by sunlight and by heating to 75° C. 



III. Molecular equilibrium and toxicity of the serum. — In connection with 

 the study of the effect of physical agents on the toxicity of the serum, noted 

 above, the serum was examined under the ultramicroscope. It was found that 

 wherever the serum is inactivated profound changes take place in its ultra- 

 microscopic structure. The particles previously separated and in an active 

 Brownian movement arrange themselves in groups and become stationary. 

 When the serum is mixed with that of an experimental animal an ultramicro- 

 scopic precipitation takes place. By modifying the surface tension of the serum 



