402 STUDIES ON RESPIRATION. VI 



and rubber)^ to a bottle B, and a safety bottle B'. B contained strong 

 H2SO4 and was connected to the rubber syringe bulb C. A was con- 

 nected at the other end to the rubber syringe bulb E and to the long 

 narrow glass tube D. When the bulbs C and E^ were compressed, the 

 air passed through A, B', and B into C, and thence through D and E 

 back to A. 



Petals were placed in A and by alternately compressing the bulbs 

 C and E a constant circulation of air was maintained for 10 minutes, 

 after which the tube D was clamped off at both ends and the con- 

 tained gas was analyzed for oxygen.^ After making determinations 

 of the normal oxygen consumption in this manner the petals were re- 

 moved and exposed for 3 minutes to air saturated with ether vapor 

 at 18° ± 1°C. They were then placed in A and a new determination 

 was made. The H2SO4 removed the ether so that it could not inter- 

 fere with the subsequent analysis. 



Since the concentration of ether'** was less than in the experiments 

 previously described, the oxygen consumption could not be expected 

 to equal the production of CO2 in these experiments. Nevertheless 

 the average of four experiments showed that ether increased the con- 

 sumption of oxygen to 2.3 times the normal. The CO2 production 

 during the same time (in a saturated solution of ether), as measured 

 by the methods previously discussed, amounted to three times the 

 normal. 



It is therefore evident that in this instance a high concentration 

 of ether causes an increase in the consumption of oxygen as well as 

 in the production of CO2 and that this is accompanied by a decrease 

 in the acidity of the cells. It is therefore possible that in other cases 

 where the acidity of the cell cannot be directly measured, the evolu- 

 tion of CO2 observed under the influence of ether is not wholly due to 

 the displacement of CO2 from carbonates and bicarbonates stored in 

 the tissues. 



' All connections were made with as little rubber tubing as possible, and care 

 was taken to make all joints air-tight. 



^ These are provided with valves. 



^ The method employed was that described by Osterhout, W. J. V., Am. J. 

 BoL, 1918, V, 105. 



^^ The concentration of ether constantly diminished during the 10 minutes. 



