BIOLOGY. 277 



may add, as much by decaying vegetables as by animal matter. 

 American Journal of Science and Arts. 



THE CINCHONA TREE IN INDIA. 



Finding that chemists could not produce quinine nor a substi- 

 tute, and that, owing to the wasteful manner in which cinchona 

 bark was collected, this valuable drug was getting very scarce, it 

 was determined to introduce the plant into India. It has been 

 found that the change of habitat does not prevent the develop- 

 ment of quinine, and the valuable discovery has been made, that 

 covering the bark during its growth with moss increases the per- 

 centage of alkaloids. The cinchona plantations in India are now 

 so flourishing that there need be no apprehension of the supply 

 of quinine ever failing. 



BIOLOGICAL SUMMARY. 



Microscopic Examination of Nerves. Prof. Max Schultze, in his 

 recent observations on the structure of the retina, has used with 

 great advantage a solution of hyperosmic acid, OsO 4 , which colors 

 nerve tissue black, without producing much effect on connective 

 and fibrous tissue. This will prove of great importance to micro- 

 scopists. 



Sugar in Muscle. Dr. Rancke, of Munich, has by recent ex- 

 periments confirmed the discovery made by Meissner, that a true, 

 fermentable sugar exists in the muscle, which is increased by 

 muscular action (tetanization caused by strychnine or electricity), 

 and further that the liver has no effect in causing this increase, for 

 the sugar is proved to arise in the muscle itself, and not from mus- 

 cular substance. Medical and Surgical Reporter. 



Electricity and the Blood Corpuscles. Professor Newmann, of 

 Kbnigsberg, who has been working upon the subject of the action 

 of electricity on white blood-corpuscles, has pointed out some very 

 remarkable facts. He finds that under the influence of strong in- 

 duced currents the white corpuscles of the frog swell out, their 

 walls become quite smooth, and a clear space is left between the 

 wall and the granular nucleus in the interior. The molecules in 

 the cell commence, too, to exhibit rapid movements. 



The Nutrition of Teeth. Henry S. Chase writes, in a communi- 

 cation to the "Dental Cosmos," that he has ascertained, from 

 much observation, that one great cause of the early decay of teeth 

 is the insufficiency of phosphate of lime in the fine or bolted flour 

 upon which children are fed. The most nutritious and wholesome 

 part of the grain exists in the bran that is rejected. 



Fish Biscuit. Professor Rosing, of Asa, France, has invented 

 a process of making flour from a species of sea-fish, which he 

 forms into biscuit, thereby providing a very nutritious and com- 

 pact article of food. These biscuit are 4 times as rich in albu- 

 minoid substances as beef, 4 times as fresh codfish, and 16 times 

 as fresh milk. 



A New Gland in the Human Body. Von Luschka, of Tubingen, 

 has pointed out a hitherto undescribed gland at the end of the 



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