Theories and Experiments 



299 



creased in capacity, in four months, in a rather large proportion, as a 

 result of their removal to a place the altitude of which is 1100 meters 

 higher than that in which they had formerly lived . . . . 



To get a more direct proof, in 1868, we made an experiment which 

 confirmed the former one, taking care to get the exact weight of the 

 subjects so as to compare their total material gain with the increase 

 in volume of the chest. 



We also wished this time to keep an account of the changes made 

 in the pulse rate and the respiratory movements by removal to high 

 altitudes. 



We subjected fourteen hospital attendants to a close observation, 

 before their departure for Bareges and after thirty-five days of resi- 

 dence there. 



The following table gives the details and the averages of our 

 observations: 



We see by this table that the increase in weight is, on the average, 

 1 kilogram and 286 grams, varying from 1 to 4 kilograms in 12 of these 

 soldiers, and showing a slight decrease in two of them, whereas the 

 increase in the volume of the chest is, on the average, nearly two 

 centimeters, which is relatively greater; this increase went as high as 

 7 centimeters in the first subject; finally, it is general and exists even 

 in those who lost weight, which is decisive. 



