ZOOLOGY. 301 



WOUNDS OF THE BRAIN. 



A recent number of the Comptes Rendus contains an account of 

 observations and experiments by M. Flourens, showing that wounds 

 of the brain are easily cured. He cites several instances of human 

 beings who have recovered from injuries involving loss of a portion 

 of their brains, and adverts to his own proceedings in introducing 

 leaden balls into the brains of rabbits and dogs. He made a hole in 

 the skull with a trepan, cut through the dura mater, and made a slight 

 incision into the brain itself, in which he placed the ball, which grad- 

 ually sank into the cerebral substance, making a land of fistula that 

 cicatrized. If the ball was not too big, the whole thickness of the 

 cerebrum or cerebellum might be traversed without being accompa- 

 nied or followed by any bad symptom or disturbance of functions. 

 He states that, in 1822, he removed one lobe from the brain of various 

 animals, who recovered perfectly, and only lost the sight of the oppo- 

 site side ; and he adds, " but the most remarkable thing was when I 

 removed the whole cerebrum, or both lobes. The animal deprived 

 of his brain survived more than a year, but he had lost all his senses 

 and intelligence, and was reduced to an automaton." In another 

 instance, he took away all the cerebellum, and this creature lived a 

 year. It never regained regularity of movements. It was reduced 

 to the condition of a drunken man. 



GIGANTIC CEPHALOPOD. 



M. Flourens has recently communicated to the French Academy 

 an account of an enormous cephalopod, seen by Lieut. Bouyer, about 

 forty leagues north of Teneriffe. It appeared to be about ten to 

 fifteen metres in length (from thirty-one to forty-six feet), having a 

 soft, gelatinous body of a reddish color, and shaped like an immense 

 horn, the widest part being about two yards in diameter, and sur- 

 rounded by very strong arms or tentacles. It was repeatedly shot at, 

 and the balls passed through it without doing much harm. On one 

 occasion, however, a quantity of blood and froth, of a musky odor, 

 flowed from the wound. After being harpooned several times, the 

 body of the creature was surrounded by a rope, and efforts were made 

 to haul it on board. Unfortunately the rope cut the soft flesh, and 

 only the posterior part was secured. The sailors wished to pursue 

 the remainder of the monster in a boat, but Lieut. Bouyer was afraid 

 that its long tentacles, armed with suckers, might enable it to swamp 

 them ; and it was, therefore, permitted to escape. He observed that 

 the fishermen of the Canaries often met with similar creatures, ex- 

 ceeding one or even two yards in length ; but they were afraid to 

 attack them. M. Milne Edwards recited numerous instances of the 

 appearance of monster eephalopods. Rang had seen one with a 

 body as big as a hogshead ; and Steenstrup examined the body of 

 another, which was thrown on the shores of Jutland, and which he 

 denominated Architeuthis dux. M. Milne Edwards considered there 

 was reason to believe that these large eephalopods were not all of the 

 same species ; and he had no doubt that many kinds, which existed in 

 the depths of the sea, far exceeded the bulk of any known inverte- 

 brate animal. 



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