378 METABOLISM IN THE 



twenty-four hours, in order to insure a resting condition of 

 the glands. Water was given ad libitum. Anaesthesia was 

 maintained (after the subcutaneous injection of a small dose 

 of morphine) by continued administration through a tracheal 

 cannula of a chloroform-ether mixture in just sufficient amount 

 to insure the quiescence of the animaL Secretion was excited 

 by electrical stimulation of the chordo-lingual nerve for periods 

 varying from one and a half to seven hours, and the saliva was 

 collected. The choice of the gland for stimulation was not 

 confined to one side. In order to discover how far differences 

 in the weight and composition of the glands can be assigned 

 to merely vascular changes, the conditions of experiment were 

 varied. Thus, in a few cases the chorda going to the resting 

 gland was not disturbed ; in the others, it was severed at the 

 same tune as the stimulated nerve. In two cases the animals 

 were killed with chloroform, while a vigorous stimulation was 

 maintained. In the others, the dogs were bled to death at 

 periods which were varied from thirty seconds to fifteen min- 

 utes after the last stimulation. In all cases both glands were 

 removed immediately after death, carefully separated from their 

 capsules, and weighed. They were then comminuted, and 

 treated with absolute alcohol for several hours; the alcohol 

 was evaporated off; the tissue was dried at 110 for eight 

 hours, and weighed. Finally, the saliva and the solids thus 

 obtained were analyzed for nitrogen by the Kjeldahl method. 

 As the results of the experiments failed to show any notice- 

 able differences assignable to the variations in experimental 

 condition, the differences between the stimulated and resting 

 glands afford an indication and a measure of the changes 

 within the secreting cells. Tables II and III give the re- 

 sults of nine experiments. 



The figures show that during activity the submaxillary gland 

 undergoes a marked loss of weight. This loss, calculated on 

 the total weight of the nine active glands, as compared with 

 the resting, amounts to 3 per cent. If Experiment HI be 

 excluded, it amounts to 7 per cent; and if Experiments 

 VIII and II be considered separately, the difference in the 



