50 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



filter which removed bacteria and minute plankton. The 

 filtered water was analysed, as also the catches on the 

 silk and the Chamberland filter. 



" The results show conclusively that the amount of 

 organic carbon present in the sea-water is almost 

 negligible (lying well below one milligram per litre of 

 water), and that Putter's figures are very incorrect. It 

 has also been shown that the amount of plankton 

 normally present and distributed through the water is 

 practically just as insufficient to provide food if the 

 sea-water is merely filtered, as it comes, by a marine 

 animal. Organic matter in solution and plankton to- 

 gether do not seem present in sufficient quantity for the 

 nutrition of active marine animals, unless they hunt 

 their food or frequent the zones where plankton is 

 especially abundant. 



" All the difficulties of the problem are, however, 

 by no means solved by these preliminary experiments, 

 and we hope in the course of the summer vacation to 

 carry out an extension of the work and to undertake more 

 detailed investigations on the respiration and metabolism 

 of marine animals. 



" The respiratory quotient in these lower animals 

 appears to differ widely from that found in mammalia, 

 and certain of them seem to be able to bear deprivation 

 of oxygen for hours, and during this interval continue 

 to form carbon-dioxide in almost undiminished quantity. 

 With a normal supply of oxygen there are very great 

 variations in the rate of oxidation in the different 

 species made use of. 



" A first paper on the subject has been prepared 

 and was published in the Bio-Chemical Journal, Vol. 

 VI, Part III, July, 1912." 



Further work during the Summer vacation 



