MARCEL NENCKI, 1847— 1901 529 



Researches on other pigments were also carried out in 

 Nencki's laboratory, such as those on urobilin, the melanines, 

 and hair pigments. The results are not of the same general 

 interest as those relating to the blood-pigments. 



Before concluding this review, it is necessary to mention 

 other researches on physiological chemistry, which do not fall 

 under any of the four headings mentioned above. Amongst 

 these are the investigations on the chemical nature of pepsin, 

 carried out principally by Madame Schumow-Simanowski, and 

 those on the excretion of hydrochloric acid and other haloid 

 acids by the mucous membrane of the stomach. It was shown 

 that if chlorides be partially substituted by bromides in the 

 salts of the foods ingested, hydrobromic acid is excreted by the 

 gastric mucous membrane, together with hydrochloric acid. 

 The latter acid cannot, however, be replaced by hydriodic acid. 



There are also other researches of interest which might be 

 mentioned, but sufficient has already been discussed to indicate 

 the great scope of Nencki's work. 



It remains now to attempt to assign to Nencki his position 

 as an investigator. There is no epoch-making discovery of 

 far-reaching influence which is associated with his name, and for 

 this reason he cannot be placed in the front rank of scientific 

 workers. Furthermore, he owed much, when generalising his 

 results, to the labours of his contemporaries working in the 

 same fields. Valuable as were the conclusions that he could 

 draw from his own investigations on putrefaction, he owed 

 much to the labours of Salkowski, whose results supplemented 

 his own. Similar remarks may apply to his pharmacological 

 investigations, and the relation of his work on this subject to 

 that of Baumann and others. In his conclusions on the chemistry 

 of haematin, he owed much to the results obtained by Kiister. 



If, however, we cannot assign to Nencki a position in the 

 front rank, his skill as an organic chemist, his great grasp of 

 biological problems, his versatility and industry, and, above 

 all, the success which attended his work, will entitle him to 

 a highly honourable place amongst the pioneers of physiological 

 chemistry. 



