Society of Biological Chemists xili 
the basis of the relation between the amino nitrogen and the pro- 
tein from which it must be formed. Proportionately, the in- 
crease is nearly 100 per cent. During the migration the amino- 
acids are liberated at the expense of an ever increasing wastage 
of the muscle proteins. 
The most’ significant change lies in the relation of the amino- 
acids to the water in the muscle. At the beginning the amino 
nitrogen value calculated per 100 cc. of water increases from 80 
to 100 mg. Its concentration then remains unaffected by subse- 
quent changes. With the stimulated protein catabolism the 
muscles, or more particularly the fluid in the muscles, become 
saturated with amino nitrogen early in the migration period. 
This saturation continues through the migration regardless of the 
great loss of muscle protein, until in the end the exhaustion of the 
organism proceeds to a degree culminating in death. 
The determining factor in the behavior of the amino-acids 
would seem to be the volume of water present in the muscles and 
not the protein. This previously undescribed water volume 
effect is a strong regulating factor and must be added to those 
suggested by Van Slyke as probably controlling the amino-acid 
content of the muscles. 
THE COMPOSITION OF THE OVARIES OF THE SALMON DURING 
MIGRATION. 
By C. W. GREENE. 
(From the Department of Physiology, University of Missourt, Columbia.) 
Chemical analyses were made of the ovaries of fifteen indi- 
vidual salmon of the species Oncorhynchus tschawytscha chosen 
from five stations of the Columbia River basin during the mi- 
gration to the spawning grounds. The analytical results, with 
the exception of the fat, were computed in terms of the fat-free 
sample, and yield the following comparisons. The neutral fat 
' in the wet sample of ovarian tissue averages 14.15 per cent at the 
mouth of the river, 17.38 per cent about 210 miles up the river, 
and drops to 10.38 per cent at the spawning grounds. This fat 
is a superload in the ovules and cannot be considered a part of 
the ovarian protoplasm. Leaving the fat out of consideration 
and calculating on a fat-free or protoplasmic basis, the total 
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