Contribution to the Physiologj^ of Respiration under tlie Arctic Climate. ЮЗ 



room was very low, as the petroleum-stove, which was lit while 

 making the preparations, went out before the experiment was made; 

 at other times it was only burning at half its height during the 

 experiment. The low temperature was appreciable, on two days at 

 any rate (exper. 34 and 35) it was undoubtedly 0° in the layer of 

 air round about me; but I was not freezing, nor did I notice any 

 "chattering" or "goose-flesh", nor any muscular stiffness beyond 

 what always follows from taking up a definite position for some 

 length of time. 



Bringing together the experiments which were made at a tem- 

 perature of less than So'", the temperature which seems to form a 

 boundary between the "ordinary room-temperature" and cold room, 

 this series of experiments, as will be shown below, falls into two 

 well-defined groups; the one made at temperatures with an average 

 of 596° (group I) the other at an average of 11-11° (group II). 



The frequency of respiration is fairly uniform within 

 the separate experiments; in 3 cases where it was noted during the 

 experiments it was: 



102 96 95-5 



„^ „„ for periods of 10 minutes 



89 84 88 ^ 



1435 140 for periods of 15 minutes 



On the other hand, the numbers vary not a little from day to day. 

 In the 13 experiments (omitting 30), the average was 978 + 014, 

 H = 073 or 7-5 ^lo of the average. 



The influence of the air-pressure is recognizable, especially on 

 the series as a' whole; but there are several divergences from the 

 rule in details, partly arising from the influence of the temperature. 

 Using the above-mentioned grouping we find, for group I, an average 

 of 9-46 + 0-20, u. = 0-73; for group II, the average is 1007 ^t 015, 

 ^ == 0*61. It appears therefore as if the frequency decreases with 

 the outer temperature. There is however no conclusive evidence in 

 these results; on the one hand, the diff'erence is comparatively small, 

 on the other the air-pressure works in the same direction, as the 

 average height of the barometer for the two groups is respectively 

 765 and 7605 mm., a ditïerence, which by itself would be sufficient 

 to explain the difference in the frequency. The significance of the 

 "cold days" appears very distinctly, however, from a direct consider- 

 ation of the curves; but this will later be made the subject of 

 more detailed discussion. 



Defæcation occurred once daily during the whole period of the 

 experiments, as a rule in the evening, though several times also in 



