ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC, 381 



Action of Corpus Luteum.*— M. Itagaki finds that extract of corpus 

 luteum generally produces a distinct increase of tone in the plain muscle 

 of the uterus of rat, rabbit, cat, dog, and guinea-pig. Rarely, however, 

 the opposite effect is produced. It would appear that there are two 

 principles in the corpus luteum having an antagonistic action upon the 

 contractions of the uterus. These principles can be separated by 

 alcohol, the inhibitory or chalonic material, which is generally very small 

 in amount, going into alcoholic solution. The hormonic substance, 

 Avhich is generally much larger in amount, is soluble in water, bat not in 

 alcohol, nor in chloroform and ether. 



Occurrence of Spermine.f — Mary Christine Rosenheim points out 

 that, in spite of the results of Schreincr and Poehl, the assertion is often 

 made that spermine is confined to the sperm and the secretion of the 

 prostate. She finds that spermine is not confined to the male sex, nor, 

 indeed, to the animal kingdom. She has isolated it from testis, pancreas, 

 spleen, brain, cancerous lymphatic tissue, cod's ovary, yeast, etc. All the 

 evidence obtained up till now points to the view that spermine has the 

 constitution of a relatively simple aliphatic base. 



Chemical Composition of Ovaries. J — Yasaburo TaniguchI finds in 

 the corpora Intea of the cow's ovaries ten different ferments, and 

 almost the same in ovaries freed from corpora lutea. 



Life of Spermatozoa of Horse outside of the Body.§— Shigeo 

 Sato has observed the duration of life of horse spermatozoa in 1 • 1 NaCl. 

 solution (up to ten hours, rarely twenty-four), and in 5 "2 to 5*25 p.c. 

 dextrose solution (ten to thirty hours, rarely seventy). An alkalinity the 

 same as " 001 p.c, KOH is most suitable ; the optimum osmotic pressure 

 is that equal to b'2i p.c. dextrose; the suitable temperature is about 

 13° to 15° C. ; one atmosphere pressure is best ; the suitable percentage 

 of oxygen is much less than that in air. 



Life of Spermatozoa in Solution. || — Shin-Itsu Ochi finds that the 

 spermatozoa of the white rat from well-fed and well-developed animals 

 can live well for a time in a 3 • 3 p.c, dextrose solution, or a mixture of 

 • 7 p,c. salt solution and dextrose. The solution should be slightly 

 alkaline; acidity is injurious; the optimum temperature is 22*r)°C. ; 

 sunlight is injurious ; so is change in the atmospheric pressure. 



Sex Dimorphism in Sardine of Algerian Coasts. H — J. P, Bounhiol 

 calls attention to the fact that the males of Alosa sardina are always 

 much smaller than females of the same age, as estimated by scale- 



* Quart. Journ. Exper. Physiol., xi. (1917) pp. 1-25. 



+ Proc. Physiol. Soc, in Journ. of Physiology, 11. (1917) Nos. 1-2, ppi vi-vii, 



% Acta Scholas Med. Univ. Imp. Kioto, i. (1916) pp. 299-339. 



§ Acta Scholse Med. Univ. Imp. Kioto, i. (1916) pp. 361-74. 



fl Acta Scholse Med. Univ. Imp. Kioto, i. (1916) pp. 341-9. 



t C.R. Soc. Biol. Paris, Ixxx. (1917) pp. 77-80 (1 fig.). 



