  We explore the evolution of the cold gas (molecular and neutral hydrogen) of
elliptical galaxies and merger remnants ordered into a time sequence on the
basis of spectroscopic age estimates. We find that the fraction of cold gas in
early merger remnants decreases significantly for ~1-2 Gyr, but subsequent
evolution toward evolved elliptical systems sees very little change. This trend
can be attributed to an initial gas depletion by strong star-formation which
subsequently declines to quiescent rates. This explanation is consistent with
the merger picture for the formation of elliptical galaxies. We also explore
the relation between HI-to-H2 mass ratio and spectroscopic galaxy age, but find
no evidence for a statistically significant trend. This suggests little net HI
to H2 conversion for the systems in the present sample.
