In a series of experiments reported elsewhere1 it was shown that the esterase content of the livers of dogs poisoned with phosphorus or with chloroform was not materially less than that of the livers of normal dogs, and that the feeding of liberal amounts of sugar causes an increase in the amount of this ferment in both normal and phosphorus poisoned animals. In another series of experiments,2 using the same extracts as in those just mentioned, it was found that phosphorus poisoning causes an appreciable reduction in the ereptic power of the liver, that the feeding of sugar does not increase the ereptase content of the livers of normal dogs, but that it does prevent the diminution of this ferment when fed to animals which have been poisoned with phosphorus. These findings have led to the formulation of certain ideas as to the mechanism of phosphorus and chloroform poisoning, and