30 Ada Springer 



at the base about 15 per cent (average) of the body weight is 

 removed, so that it may be supposed the food material that other- 

 vv^ise would have been used to repair the waste in the tail goes to 

 increase the body weight. 



It has been shown that the smaller the animal the greater its 

 rate of growth; it has also been found that after a period of 

 starvati6n and consequent reduction in size, the rate of growth 

 is faster than in the animals in a well-fed condition. It is prob- 

 able that when the body material is reduced in animals by cutting 

 off the tails, the increased rate of growth observed may be due 

 to the reduction in size, that is, in proportion to the amount of 

 food taken, rather than to the stimulus of the cut. Whether in 

 addition to this the cut may also act as a stimulus, cannot be 

 affirmed or denied from the experiments so far carried out. The 

 reduction of the body weight by starvation and by cutting off 

 the tails cannot, however, be considered equivalent factors. 

 In the reduction of the initial weight by starvation the condition 

 of the tissue is changed, while when the tails are cut off the 

 remaining tissue still remains in the same condition as before 

 the injury. 



SUMMARY 



1 Increase in weight in adult Diemyctylus is due to an increase 

 in the size of many of the organs of the body, and not to a stor- 

 age of fat. The converse is also true, that decrease in weight 

 IS due to a decrease in the size of the organs. 



2 Percentage increment is directly proportional to the amount 

 of food consumed by the individual; the more food consumed 

 the faster is the rate. Rate of growth decreases as the maximum 

 weight is approached. This maximum is determined within 

 limits by the amount of food taken; for a certain amount there is 

 a definite maximum or point where there is established a state 

 of equilibrium between waste and repair. By increasing the 

 amount of food the weight may be increased and a new condition 

 of equilibrium be reached. 



3 By cutting off the tails the rate of growth is increased. 

 This increase in rate is probably due to a reduction in the size 



