Immunity of Lower Organisms to Ethyl Alcohol 605 



Experiment XVII 



RESISTANCE OF STENTOR AND SPIROSTOMUM TO 



1 

 ALCOHOL 



NaOH AFTER ACCLIMATIZATION IN I PER CENT 



Stent or 



A C 



Acclimatized to Control 

 I Per Cent 

 Alcohol 



Exp. 



1 C) 



2 c 



3 



4 ci 

 SCI 

 6 



7 ci 



8 c: 



9 c 

 10 c; 



Seconds 



lia stop 90 



lia stop 180 



lia stop 135 



lia stop 215 



lia stop 60 



lia stop 90 



lia stop 195 



lia stop 45 



lia stop 130 



lia stop 60 



Average resistance. = 126 



Seconds 

 220 

 225 

 no 

 420' 

 270 

 45 



220 



330 

 225 



2-J2 



h Spirostomum 



A C 



Acclimatized to Control 

 I Per Cent 

 Alcohol 

 Seconds 

 Exp. I cilia stop 35 



2 cilia stop 40 



3 cilia stop 20. 



4 cilia stop 20 



5 cilia stop 25 



6 cilia stop 30 



7 cilia stop 25 



8 cilia stop 20 



9 cilia stop 35 



10 cilia stop 40 



Seconds 

 30 

 30 



35 

 20 



30 

 35 

 50 

 60 

 40 

 60 



Average resistance. = 29 



39 



It will be seen that Stentors are much less susceptible to sodium 

 hydroxide than they were to hydrochloric acid. In a solution of 

 NaOH eight times as concentrated (yf^) practically the same 

 control resistance was shown as in (gf o) -HCl (232 seconds, 249 

 seconds respectively). But that this is in no sense general for 

 single cells may be seen from Spirostomum, which was more resist- 

 ant to the acid than to an equal concentration of the base. 



This similarity of susceptibility to equal concentrations of acid 

 and base was not in Spirostomum due alone to the retarding 

 action of the coagulum in acids, but partly also to the fact that in 

 bases the body burst early and disintegrated with great rapidity. 



In both of the foregoing studies acclimatized animals which 

 gave an increased resistance to alcohol, when tested either to 

 hydrochloric acid or to sodium hydroxide showed no Such increase. 

 On the contrary they invariably demonstrated a lower degree of 

 endurance. Thus the immunizing action of the alcohol was in 

 these cases clearly specific. 



We shall now turn to a consideration of the second group of 

 substances. 



