62 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



slate-blue, not unlike " Stephen's blue-black " ink when freshly 

 blotted, with here and there a slight violet or purplish tint. 



The new material has also enabled Dr. Alfred Holt to 

 carry further his chemical investigation of the nature of the 

 pigment; and he finds that, from the absorption spectrum 

 and other characters, the pigment in the purple portion is very 

 similar to the indigo derivative which has been obtained by 

 Friedlander from the gastropod mollusc Murex brandaris. The 

 green colour, Dr. Holt considers, may be due to varying 

 amounts of this blue purple pigment being dissolved in a yellow 

 oil which he finds in the unaltered central portion of the 

 colony. Dr. Holt's work is still in progress. 



Bio-Chemical Researches. 



Professor B. Moore, F.R.S., has drawn up the following 

 " Report on Bio-Chemical investigations carried on at the 

 Port Erin Biological Station during the years 1912-13 : — 



" The research work carried out has been mainly concerned 

 with three important problems, viz. : — 



" (I.) The role of glycogen, lecithides and fats in the 

 reproductive organs of Echinoderms, and on the nature and 

 properties of the basic and acidic proteins of the sperm of 

 Echinus esculentus, along with direct measurements of osmotic 

 pressure of the protamine or histone constituent. 



" (II.) Seasonal variations in the alkalinity of sea- water, 

 accompanied by determinations of the hydrogen-ion concentra- 

 tion, in relation to the metabolism and seasonal balance of 

 marine organisms, plant and animal. 



" (III.) Observations of the metabolism and rate of 

 oxidation in large marine animals, chiefly crustaceans and 

 fishes. 



" These researches have involved a large amount of work 

 by several different observers both at Port Erin and afterwards 



