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spectroscope the narrow width of the absorption band in the red led to an overestimate of its intensity. Others have also been misled by the narrowness of the first absorption band; thus Grinstein, Schwartz & Watson (1945) describe the relative intensities of the absorption bands of copropor-phyrin I as IV, III, I and II in decreasing order. The eluate containing the second porphyrin zone was evaporated to dryness, and after recrystallization from chloroform and methanol gave 7-1 mg. of the typical hair-like crystals of uroporphyrin I octamethyl ester (m.p. 288°). In chloroform, this ester showed absorption bands at 625-7, 576-7, 536-5 and 503-6 mi., intensity IV>III>II>I (Hartridge reversion spectroscope). The third porphyrin zone has not yet been identified. DISCUSSION The isolation of coproporphyrin III ester in relatively enormous quantities in the large-scale production of purified diphtheria toxoid provides an abundant and hitherto unexplored source of copro-porphyrin III, which wiU be of the greatest value in the investigation of the metabolic relationships of this material in the intact animal. The production of small quantities of uroporphyrin I provides yet another example of the so-called dualism of the porphyrins, attention to which was first drawn by Fischer (1937). In the light of present knowledge it is not possible to speculate on the significance of this dualism to the economy of the organism. The implications suggested by Pappenheimer (1947) regarding the relationship of the production of por-phyrin to toxin formation will be the subject of a separate paper to be published elsewhere. SUMMARY Coproporphyrin III tetramethyl ester in large yield and uroporphyrin I octamethyl ester in very small yield have been prepared from toxic culture filtrates of Corynebacterium diphtheriae.

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