1908.] Note on the Nutrition of the Early Embryo. — - 387 
been repeated during this year (1907), and have fully confirmed the results 
obtained in 1905 and 1906. 
My very best thanks are due to Professor B. Moore and Dr. H. E. Roaf 
for their kind assistance. 
Conclusions. 
1. The secretion of the resting mammalian uterus contains protein, 
mucin, and salts; during the pre-cestral stage the ppeponaee of mucin is 
decreased. 
2. The pr ofuse mucinous secretion of mammalia during pre-cestrus is 
derived not from the body of the uterus, but from the cervix and vagina. 
3. The nutrition of the embryonic chick is not dependent upon the yolk 
alone, but also upon the egg-white. 
4, Assimilation of the egg-white is divisible into three heads—the water, 
the salts, and the proteid. 
5. Of the three, the water is at first extracted at the most rapid rate, 7e., 
the percentage of water decreases as incubation proceeds. 
6. The percentage of salts in the egg-white remains more or less unchanged 
throughout incubation. 
we ihe proteid of the egg-white is assimilated not by a process of osmosis, 
but by a process of digestion performed by the chorionic cells. 
8. During this process the egg-white is considerably altered in composition 
and reaction, being converted, as incubation proceeds, into a more and more 
vitreous mass with a peculiar set of reactions, the outstanding reaction being 
that demonstrating the presence of albumoses and peptones. | 
REFERENCES. 
1. Chipman. “Observations on Placenta of Rabbit, with special reference to the 
Presence of Glycogen, Fat, and Iron,” ‘Studies from Royal Victoria Hospital, 
Montreal,’ vol. 1, No. IV (Gynecology 1), December, 1902, pp. 5, 9, 12, 15, 16, 
123, 135. 
2. Darwin and Acton. “Pract. Phys. of Plants,” pp. 285—287. 
3. LHicholz. “ Hydrolysis of Proteids,” ‘Journ. Phys.,’ vol. 23, p. 167. 
4, Fischel. “ Puerperal Peptonuria,” ‘ Archiv ftir Gynekol.,’ vol. 24, Part IIT, p. 27. 
5. Idem. “On the Presence of Peptone in Incubated Hen’s Egg,” ‘ Zeitschr. f. Phys. 
Chem.,’ vol. 10, pp. 11—13, 1885. 
6. Giacosa. “Etudes sur la Comp. de ’@uf et de ses Enveloppes chez la Grenouille 
commune,” ‘ Zeitschr. f. Phys. Chem..,’ vol. 7, p. 40. 
7. Green. “ Fermentation,” ‘ Annals of Botany,’ vol. 7, pp. 883—187. 
8. Hitschmann and Lindenthal. ‘Centralbl. f. Gyn.,’ 1902, p. 44. 
