62 



PETER SCHMIDT 



TABLE 3 



^For brevity I use the astronomical mode of designation of time. 



Earthworm no. 1 was exposed to a very gradual drying, it 

 being confined in a narrow glass cylinder. Towards the end of 

 the exsiccation (29 VII 20h) the worm had lost 47.5 per cent of 

 its weight, was strongly contracted, became dark brown, had 

 completely lost its mobility, but retained the elasticity of the 

 body. After drying it was kept for thirty-nine hours (until 

 31 VII llh) in a small hermetically corked glass tube and then 

 placed on moistened filter-paper. It showed no signs of mobility, 

 but its body was elastic and not frangible. After one hour I 

 already observed some movements of the body. In the evening 

 31 VII it had completely revived. After reviving its weight was 

 0.9026 gram, i.e. 0.1117 gram lower than before the exsiccation. 



Earthworms nos. 2 and 3 were dried more quickly and lost 66.8 

 and 75.2 per cent of the weight of the body. After exsiccation 

 they assumed a dark brown color and were covered with a dry, 

 crust-like skin. Four hours after the end of the exsiccation 

 (27 VII 14h 50') they were placed on moistened filter-paper, but 

 did not revive and showed no signs of life. 



Earthworm no. 4 lost 56.2 per cent of the weight of the body. 

 Its upper end was overdried and covered with crust-like skin. 

 Placed 27 VII 14h 50' on moistened filter-paper, it showed at 

 15h 50' some weak contractions and movement on the caudal 

 end of the body, but the proximal end was much swollen. The 

 next day this individual died. 



This first series of experiments showed that the worms can 

 revive after the loss of nearly half the weight of their body; that is, a 

 loss of more than 50 per cent of the water contained in the body. 



