246 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



who does hard work? Both flesh-formers and heat-givers are 

 available for the purpose, and provided the former are sufficient 

 to repair the daily waste of the tissues, it is possibly immaterial 

 which is employed. Quarterly Journal of Science, July,. 1867. 



ON THE COAGULATION OF THE BLOOD. 



Dr. Richardson, of London, the originator of the so-called 

 ammonia theory of the coagulation of the blood, gave, at the 

 meeting of the British Association, 1867, the results of some re- 

 cent experiments which he had made on the influence of the ex- 

 tremes of heat and cold on albuminous and fibrinous fluids, tend- 

 ing to show that the process of coagulation in these fluids is due 

 to a communication of caloric force to them, and to a physical or 

 molecular change, determined by the condition of their constituent 

 water. Thus all substances which possess the power of holding 

 blood in the fluid condition, through fixed alkalies, soluble salts, 

 and volatile alkali, in every respect act after the manner of cold ; 

 they render latent so much heat, and in the absence of that heat 

 the fibrin remains fluid. On the other hand, every substance 

 which combines with water and produces condensation, with dis- 

 engagement of heat, quickens coagulation. The direct effects of 

 heat and cold illustrate the same truth, explaining the differences 

 of coagulation in animals of different temperatures. He stated 

 that, in the ordinary condition, there is a constant process similar 

 to coagulation going on in the living body, in the formation of 

 muscle, and a constant interchange of force from these parts, 

 which are rendered solid by cold and fluid by heat, to those 

 which are rendered solid by heat. The condition of rigor mortis 

 .belongs to the same order of phenomena. 



LIEBIG'S ARTIFICIAL MILK. 



This is an imitation, as close as chemistry can make, of the natu- 

 ral food of the human infant. Human milk of a person in g'ood 

 health contains, per cent., caseine, 3.1; sugar of milk, 4.3; but- 

 ter, 3.1. Baron von Liebig concluded therefrom that woman's 

 milk contains : Blood-forming principles, 1 part ; heat-produc- 

 ing principles, 3.8 parts. By mixing flour and milk in certain 

 proportions, it is easy to compose a food in which the two nutri- 

 tive principles are in the same proportion as in human milk, 

 namely, 1 to 3.8. Cows' milk contains, on an average, 4 per 

 cent, of caseine, 4.5 of lactose, 2.5 of butter. If we take, then, 10 

 parts of milk, 1 part of wheat flour, and 1 part of ground malt, 

 we have a mixture satisfying all the necessary conditions. For 

 preparing this the author recommends the following method : 

 A mixture is made of 15 grammes of wheaten flour, 15 grammes 

 of ground malt, and 6 grammes of bicarbonate of potash ; 30 

 grammes of water and 150 grammes of milk are then added. -The 

 whole is then heated and continually stirred until the mixture 

 begins to thicken. It is then taken off the fire and stirred all the 

 while. After 5 minutes it is boiled, and then strained through a 



