CHANGES IN THE WEIGHT AND COMPOSITION OF FASTING L0BSTERS.l

A statement in the literature” that lobsters retain their original weight even after several months of fasting led to the present investigation. The constancy of body weight may be regarded as an index of physiological equilibrium, and its fluctuations indicat’c the internal condition of the organism. By the fall in body weight the normal course of a fast may be followed from day to day, just as normal growth may be studied by the periodic gains of the organism. As far as we know, all organisms, temporarily deprived of nourishment, diminish progressively in mass, and this is registered by changes in weight. The observation of the constancy of the weight of fasting lobsters seemed, therefore, worthy of investigation. The two sides of the problem, i.e., the changes in weight and composition of the fasting lobsters, have been studied simultaneously. Preparatory to weighing, the lobsters were wrapped in towels and the remaining traces of moisture were wiped off thoroughly from every portion of the body. Each animal was then placed in an aluminum can in which it was carefully weighed to 0.01 gm. The can was then weighed without the lobster, as the animals frequently excreted a small quantity of fluid during the weighing, and the weight of the lobster was calculated. The lohst’ers were kept in flat glass dishes partially filled with filtered