Subcutaneous Injections of Ringer's Fluid 325 



only one of the others was it as small as this. The conclusion is certainly 

 justified that the effect of the injections of 10 per cent alcohol is not 

 due to the alcohol, but to the water in which it is dissolved; and it is 

 even probable that the increase of work occurred in spile of the 

 presence of the alcohol, rather than because of it. 



THE EFFECT OF DOUBLE INJECTIONS. 



In order to test still further the conclusions stated in the last para- 

 graph, we have injected, in a certain number of animals, water or 

 Ringer's fluid one or more hours before ligaturing the leg; the sub- 

 sequent procedure was the same as in other experiments — ligature of 

 one leg, followed by a fatigue tracing therefrom; then a (second) 

 injection, this time of water or 10 per cent alcohol ; and, an hour later, 

 a fatigue tracing from the second leg. We desired to find whether 

 the second injection of 10 per cent alcohol would be without effect, 

 or show a less marked effect after the previous injection of water; 

 and, also, to find how the effect of alcohol would compare with those 

 of a second injection of water. The results are as follows : 



a) Water followed by water. — Three experiments, which gave 

 increases of 26.7 per cent, 6 per cent, and i per cent of work by the 

 second muscle over the work of the first. 



b) Water jollowed by 10 per cent alcohol. — Three experiments, giving 

 increases of 25 .4 per cent, 6.9 per cent, and 6.5 per cent. 



c) Ringer^s fluid jollowed by alcohol. — One experiment, giving an 

 increase of 1 1 . i per cent. 



d) Water jollowed by water. — Two experiments with auxotonic 

 contractions, giving in one case an increase of 7.3 per cent, and in 

 the other a decrease of 18 per cent. 



The effect of the second injection of water or alcohol is, therefore, 

 much less marked when it follows a previous injection of water. 

 Obviously, we should expect this result, if the effect in all cases is due 

 to the addition of water to the circulating medium, or to the improve- 

 ment of the circulation by increasing the volume of blood. 



All the experiments of Lee and Salant were made between Januar>' 

 and June, and, therefore, like most laborator)- experiments upon this 

 animal, were made upon winter frogs, which have been inactive for 

 several months, and in which the loss of water from the bkxxi, by the 



