50 Investigations on the Life- History 



in the upper-water fish an excess equal to about 24 per cent, of its total 

 over the figure foi the lower fish. 



The colonies grown from the stomachs of the former class of fish were 

 si little less numerous in May and June than in the latter, but show an 

 enormous excess over those cultivated from the salmon caught at the 

 mouth in July and August, and ;i proportionately larger excess in the 

 next three months. 



The figures for the colonies grown from the intestinal contents present 

 the same features as those for the stomach, hut in a less marked 

 manner. 



(e) Relationship f Li<juef;jiny to ^on-Liquefying Organisms. 



Turning to the figures given for the organisms winch liquefy gelatine 

 and for those which do not act on it in this way, when arranged in 

 relation to season and site of capture, we see in Chart VII., (in which 

 the red lines indicate the numbers of non-liquefying, the black lines 

 those of the liquefying growths per fish), that the two curves 

 representing the numbers of colonies grown from the oesophagus are 

 almost identical. The curves for the colonies grown from the stomach 

 show that in July and August the non-liquefying forms predominate, 

 and that in the later months they still are the more numerous. 



In July and August the liquefying growths are in the greater number 

 in the intestine ; while from September to November they become less 

 numerous than the non-liquefying forms and moulds. 



Chart VIII. shows more clearly the relative proportions between the 

 two classes of organisms. In it the percentage values are depicted : 

 that is, the percentage proportion of the liquefying organisms to the 

 total number of growths obtained in each section of the alimentary canal, 

 and at each period of the year. The black lines represent the result 

 of the cultivations from fish captured in the upper waters ; the red lines 

 from those from the mouth. 



Save in the lines for the intestine in the fish from the upper waters, 

 and for the stomach in those from the mouths of the rivers, the general 

 tendency is for the curves to rise as the year advances. In May and 

 June liquefying organisms are practically absent, the 33' 3 per cent, for 

 the 03sophagus of the upper-water salmon representing only one out of 

 three growths. After a general rise in the percentage in July and 

 August arise which is least in the stomachs of the fish from the mouth 

 the curves representing the proportions still tend slightly upwards. 

 The oesophageal curve for the upper fish rises decidedly, the stomach 

 curve for these fish remains the same, while that representing the 

 colonies from the intestine in the fish from the mouth rises to 88 per 

 cent. The lines which denote a fall are 1, for the (esophagus of the 

 lower fish (and it is only slight), 2, for the stomach in the same 

 fish, and 3, for the intestine of the other class as already mentioned. 



"When these curves are conjoined results are obtained (Chart IX.) 

 which show more plainly the greater proportion of liquefying growths 

 in the second part of the year. This proportion falls slightly in the 

 oesophagus and stomach after July and August. 



In March, during which no fish were received from the upper waters. 

 the number of the liquefying organisms much exceeded that of the other 

 class 383 to 53, or 87 per cent, of the total. They were most numen >us 

 in the intestine, least in the oesophagus. 



Adding the totals together for both classes of organisms totals which, 

 it must be borne in mind, are largely empirical, we find tliat the organ- 

 isms grown from 41 fish numbered 13,176, of which 6687 were moulds 

 or did not liquefy gelatine, leaving 6480 organisms capable of dissolving 



