upon the Animal System, 5 



on. The diaphragm, however, ceased to act some time 

 before the heart discontinued to contract. The body was of a 

 bright scarlet hue throughout. A sparrow and another rabbit 

 were successively immersed in the same gas from which this 

 rabbit was removed, and they each breathed freely during about 

 an hour. 



EXPERIMENT V. 



A guinea-pig was immersed in a gallon of oxygen at two 

 o'clock in the afternoon. It was near four o'clock before any 

 inconvenience was manifested in its state, when its breathing 

 became hurried. In somewhat less than three hours it was 

 very weak, and gasped ; and, in less than half an hour more, 

 it was altogether apparently insensible. Its eyes were glazed, 

 and no sign of motion appeared, but the slight contractions of 

 the diaphragm, at long intervals. After having been in the 

 gas about three hours and a half, it was removed in this state, 

 and was soon reanimated by inflating the lungs with atmos- 

 pheric air, from an elastic gum bottle, through the nostrils. 

 The glaziness of the eyes was removed, and it began to breathe 

 regularly, and was completely restored, but remained very 

 weak all the evening, and in the morning was found dead. 



EXPERIMENT VI. 



A guinea-pig was placed in the same jar of oxygen from 

 which the last was removed — about two pints of the gas being 

 jadded, to make up for losses in testing and the rising of the 

 water during the experiment. It was seized with hurried 

 breathing, in about the same time as the last guinea-pig, and 

 was removed, after three hours had elapsed, in a state of abso- 

 lute insensibility ; the diaphragm acting slowly, at long intervals, 

 before its removal. On opening the chest, the diaphragm was, 

 however, quite still, but the heart was acting forcibly : the 

 blood was universally arterial. 



EXPERIMENT VII, 



A rabbit of about three weeks old was immersed in about 

 two gallons of oxygen, at half-past eleven in the forenoon. At 

 three o'clock the animal was still apparently lively and unaf 

 fected, and it ate some oals and cabbage, introduced through 

 the water under the glass. At seven, the animal's breathing 



