400 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



The experiment was stopped at this point, after 33 

 days' duration, when the weight of the fish was found to 

 be 245 grams, and it was placed in alcohol for subsequent 

 analysis of the tissues. The total amount of oxygen used 

 up in the 33 days was 1401 grams, and the oxygen given 

 out in form of carbon-dioxide was 14'27 grams. The 

 weights of the fish at intervals were as follows: — At start, 

 August 11th, 270 grams; August 23rd, 249 grams; 

 September 6th, 250 grams; September 13th, 245 grams. 

 Although there is an initial drop in weight of about 

 20 grams between August 11th and August 23rd, from this 

 date onward throughout the remainder of the experiment 

 the weight is practically constant. Since oxygen 

 weighing 14 grams is consumed representing an equal dry 

 weight approximately of carbohydrate or protein com- 

 busted, the wet weight of the fish ought to have dropped 

 approximately by about 40 to 50 grams. Therefore, either 

 food from some unknown source must have been consumed 

 or the tissues must have been more heavily charged with 

 water towards the end, and less with organic matter. 

 The later work to be recorded on the lobster shows that 

 the second is the correct one of these two hypotheses. 



The addition of the time-intervals of observation 

 given in the table yields 30 days, 23 hours, and 10 minutes, 

 which may be taken approximately as 31 days, and on this 

 basis the daily uptake of oxygen for a fish of 270 to 240 

 grams amounts to only 0'45 gram, and the output of 

 oxygen in carbon-dioxide to 0'46 gram. The slightly high 

 figure for carbon-dioxide is probably due to experimental 

 error, and the respiratory quotient lies very near to unity. 



