1042 APPENDIX II 



From these figures we draw the following conclusions: 



1. The volume of air circulating in the lungs during a given 

 time and that which is brought in by a single inspiration are 

 greater at Sainte-Croix than at Strassburg; but their weight is 

 smaller; 



2. The quantity of carbonic acid exhaled in a given time and 

 its proportion in the expired air are greater at Sainte-Croix than 

 at Strassburg. 



I have no criticisms to make of the experimental and analytical 

 methods used by M. Mermod, and I consider his results accurate 

 under the conditions in which he obtained them. 



But perhaps it would be premature to consider the preceding 

 conclusions general, even for the variations of altitude at which he 

 made the observations. 



The author does not give us sufficient information about the 

 conditions and the time of his researches; he merely says that he 

 worked at Strassburg during the winter, and at Sainte-Croix dur- 

 ing the autumn. But was it in the same year or in different years? 

 In the latter case, his constitution might have undergone changes 

 which would explain the differences in the experimental results; 

 moreover, M. Mermod does not even speak of the weight of his 

 body. It is probable, besides, that the routine of his life, aside 

 from his diet about which he gives a few details, was not the same 

 on the mountain as in the city, and that might have a certain effect 

 upon the production of carbonic acid in a given time. 



With even greater reason it seems unwarranted to apply the 

 preceding results, as M. Mermod has a tendency to do, to a resi- 

 dence in very lofty regions, where the bis or the soroche is preva- 

 lent. There, the sickly condition of travellers and even natives is 

 in marked contrast to the feeling of well-being which almost 

 everyone experiences at the low altitudes at which our author 

 made his observations. We refer the reader to what we said pre- 

 viously (page 998 et seq.) about the comparison of low altitudes 

 (below 2000 meters) with great altitudes, from the standpoint of 

 the effects of prolonged residence. 



I am very anxious that M. Mermod should complete his inter- 

 esting experiments by closing the circle, that is, by repeating his 

 analyses beginning with Sainte-Croix, the place where he worked 

 before Strassburg; if he gets the same numbers, he will have re- 

 moved all objections, as far as low levels are concerned. It would, 

 finally, be extremely important to make observations following 



