236 STUDIES IN GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY 
relation between the amount of oxygen dissolved in a sodium- 
chloride soluticn and its concentration that I have been able 
to find in the literature is the following: According to the 
experiments of Fernet’ if I understand the term “titre de 
solution” correctly, the absorption coefficient 
of a 5.42 per cent. NaCl solution at 16° C. = 0.0284 
of a 0.72 per cent. NaCl solution at 14.1° C.=0.0293, 
The corresponding coefficients for distilled water are accord- 
ing to Bunsen’ 0.02949 and 0.03030. The effect of con- 
centration upon gas absorption is therefore so slight that 
it may be neglected in our experiments. Since data such as 
these are but few in number, I wish to add a few on the ab- 
sorption of carbon dioxide. 
Professor Zuntz, who brought Fernet’s work to my notice, 
was so kind as to inform me that, according to his experi- 
ments, a saturated NaCl solution absorbs about one-third as 
much CO, as distilled water. The figures of Fernet about 
correspond with these. According to this author, the ab- 
sorption coefficient of CO, 
in a 6.25 per cent. NaCl solution at 11.2’ C. =0 9835, 
in distilled water (according to Bunsen) at 11° C.=1.1336, differ- 
ence = 0.2001; 
in a 2.22 per cent, NaCl solution at 14.1° C. = 0.9463, 
in distilled water (according to Bunsen) at 14.1° C.=1.0291; differ- 
ence = 0 0828; 
in a 0.83 per cent. NaCl solution at 16° C. = 0.9591, 
in distilled water (according to Bunsen) at 16° C.= 0.9753; differ- 
ence = 0.0162. 
The decrease in the absorption coefficient of CO, with an 
increase in the concentration of the NaCl solution from 0 to 
6 per cent. is about 0.2. This decrease about corresponds 
with that caused by an increase in the temperature from 10 
1FERNET, Annales des sciences naturelles, 4th Series, “ Zoologie,” Vol. VIII 
(1857). See also Zunrz, “ Blutgase und resp. Gaswechsel,’”’ HERMANN’s Handbuch 
der Physiologie, Vol. IV. 
2 BUNSEN, Gasometrische Methoden, 2d ed., 1877. 
Digitized by Microsoft® 
