30 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



" The primary object in obtaining such bodies which 

 possess strongly alkaline or basic properties, was to test 

 whether they acted as stimulants to cell-division, 

 following up the previous work at the Port Erin 

 laboratory of Moore, Roaf and Whitley a few years ago. 

 In this respect we were disappointed, the histone isolated 

 being found to have no exciting or accelerating action on 

 the speed of division in the fertilised Echinus egg. But, 

 at the same time, the physico-chemical properties of this 

 body have been found very interesting. The osmotic 

 properties and pressures developed by its solutions have 

 been studied, and it has been shown to pass into true 

 solution with a high osmotic pressure, demonstrating 

 that these simpler proteins really do possess a less 

 complex molecule. 



" While this work was in progress it was observed 

 that the gonads, both male and female, were very rich 

 in fats, which were incidentally removed as a 

 preliminary to obtaining the protamines and histones. 

 Also, it was noticed that a batch of gonads obtained 

 from Echini which had been kept for about a week 

 without added food in the tanks, apparently yielded less 

 oil on extraction than the gonads of specimens taken 

 fresh from the sea. 



''This suggested the idea that the gonads, in 

 addition to their more obvious function, might also act as 

 metabolic organs, like the hepato-pancreas of molluscs 

 and arthropods, or the liver of mammals. It was, 

 therefore, determined to study the chemistry of the 

 gonads at different seasons of the year, and especially to 

 estimate the nature and amount of metabolic products, 

 such as fats and glycogen present at different times. 



" With this object in view batches of Echini were 

 assembled in August and September. Some lots were 



