1913] General 3 ^ 9 



of Arts (August, 1848, page 42) contains an article which shows 

 that the real inventor of gelatin capsules was James Murdoch, of 

 London. In England he was granted a patent in May, 1848, enti- 

 tled "An invention for preserving medicines, etc., in solid, liquid, 

 or powdered form, protected from the air." The description fol- 

 lows. "The capsule consists of two parts, which fit together; one 

 part forms a case to receive the substance to be preserved, and the 

 other forms the cover, which fits tightly over the case; by simply 

 moistening the edges, the capsule can be closed airtight. The most 

 suitable form is a cylinder with hemispherical ends. They are made 

 as follows: "Polished metallic rods, of the form and size of the 

 case and cover, are dipped by pairs in a Solution of gelatin, which 

 is drawn off from the rods after drying. In order to facilitate the 

 loosening of the capsules, the rod may be slightly smeared with oil 

 or fat. Each rod must have an opening from end to end, to allow 

 the air to escape after dipping in the gelatin. In addition to animal 

 jellies, starch paste and other mucilaginous liquids can be used. For 

 medicinal substances Iceland moss is best." F. M. Feldhaus (Chem- 

 iker Zeitung, No. 74, 1912), 



The prevention of senility. Dr. Metchnikoff recently ad- 

 dressed a letter to a leading Hungarian daily paper in which he pub- 

 lished the results of his latest investigations. His scientific discov- 

 eries, he says, have been so exaggerated in lay papers that he has 

 resolved henceforth to write direct to the public. After mentioning 

 his early theory that the length of lifeamonganimals variesinversely 

 with the length of the large intestine, and his later theory that sen- 

 ility is the consequence of the effects of toxins (chiefly phenols) 

 produced by the intestinal bacteria, Metchnikoff refers to experi- 

 ments in which he actually succeeded in producing, in apes, senile 

 degeneration by giving them for some time small doses of />-cresol. 

 These were the fundamental investigations which led to the Solution 

 of the question as to how the action of the intestinal bacteria might 

 be checked or diminished. The lactic acid bacillus has proved to 

 be the best for this purpose. An obstacle to the work of the lactic 

 acid bacilli has been their need of sugar, which does not reach the 

 rectum in a usable form. Dr. Metchnikoff and Dr. Wollman, his 

 pupil, have overcome this difficulty by cultivating bacteria that pro- 



