158 RECORDS 



The following program was then offered : 



F. S. Lee and W. Salant, The Action of Alcohol on 

 Muscle. 



A. G. Mayer, Instincts of Lepidoptera. 



H. R. Linville, The Natural History of Some Tube-Form- 

 ing Annelids. 



Summary of Papers. 



The first paper was presented by Professor Lee, and con- 

 sisted of an account of an investigation by the two authors 

 jointly. The study had been carried on by very exact methods, 

 pure ethyl alcohol being used, and isolated muscles of the 

 frog in the normal and in the alcoholized condition being com- 

 pared. It is found that the muscle which has absorbed a mod- 

 erate quantity of pure alcohol will contract more quickly, re- 

 lax more slowly, perform a greater number of contractions in a 

 given time, and become fatigued more slowly than a muscle 

 without alcohol. The effect is most pronounced in from one- 

 half to three quarters of an hour after the liquid has begun to 

 be absorbed, and later diminishes. Whether the alcohol exerts 

 this beneficial action on the muscle substance itself, or on the 

 nerves within the muscle is not yet certain. The results allow 

 no conclusion regarding the question whether the alcohol acts 

 as a food or in some other manner. In larger quantities its 

 presence is detrimental, diminishing the whole number of con- 

 tractions, inducing early fatigue, and diminishing the total 

 amount of work that the muscle is capable of performing, even 

 to the extent of abolishing the contractile power entirely. In 

 such quantities the action is distinctly poisonous. The after- 

 effects of either small or large doses have not yet been studied. 



Dr. Mayer reported upon a number of experiments designed 

 to determine the nature and duration of associative memory in 

 lepidopterous larvae. In one series the larviie were placed in a 

 wooden box divided into two compartments by means of a cen- 

 tral partition which was pierced by a small opening. On one 

 side of the partition was placed moist earth containing growing 

 food plants, while on the other side of the partition there was a 



