134 RESPIRATORY EXCHANGE OF ANIMALS AND MAN 



The average per unit surface works out as 1143 25 Cal., // = 

 65 Cal. or 57 per cent. The agreement is therefore better than in 

 most series of experiments on men of approximately identical size. 

 Similar results have been obtained by SlowtzofT [1903] in experi- 

 ments on dogs in which standard conditions were carefully main- 

 tained, and by Kettner [1909] in respiration experiments on guinea- 

 pigs of different age and weighing from 140 to 800 gr. Kettner 

 finds that the metabolism per kg. and hour decreases fairly regularly 

 with increasing weight, the difference between the highest and the 

 lowest figure being 135 per cent, of the latter, while the differences 

 between the results per square metre are independent of the size and 

 amount to at most 30 per cent. 



Frank and Voit [1901] have made experiments on dogs which had 

 fasted for several days previously and were under curari during the 

 determinations. They found : 



TABLE XXXVI. 



The agreement is not quite as good as in Rubner's series, and 

 there appears to be a tendency for the figure per square metre to 

 decrease with decreasing size. 



Recently Benedict [1915] has discussed at some length the rela- 

 tionship between body weight and metabolism, body surface and 

 metabolism, and the " amount of active protoplasmic tissue " and meta- 

 bolism. While admitting that large individuals have on the whole 

 a larger metabolism than small ones of the same species (man) he 

 denies that there is any close relationship between size and meta- 



1 This figure has been left out of account because the condition of the animal, as 

 pointed out by Frank and Voit, was extremely abnormal. 



