Death in Closed Vessels 513 



took care never to record. The reader will see, when I discuss the 

 results of the experiments, how circumstances which it is impos- 

 sible to foresee and very often impossible to explain can cause 

 variations in the numbers furnished by the analyses in the first 

 decimal or even in the units. Worrying about a third decimal 

 would be silly. 



These observations refer, of course, to all the gas analyses enu- 

 merated in the present work, whether of compressed or expanded 

 air, gases extracted from the blood, etc. 



2. Experiments. 



A. Experiments on Birds. 



These are much the most numerous. 



Sparrows (house sparrow, Fringilla domestica, Lin. and moun- 

 tain sparrow, Fringilla montana, Lin.) were chiefly used in these 

 experiments and in those relating to increased pressure. 



I will begin by giving details of experiments in which death 

 in confined air took place at normal pressure. They will serve as 

 comparison for the others. 



Experiment I. March 21, temp. 15°. House sparrow, vigorous, 

 weighing 31 gm. Placed on the mercury reservoir in a bell measuring 

 1 liter; a cork ring separates it from the mercury. 



Entered at 1:40; died at 2:45; duration of life, 1 hour 5 minutes. 



Composition of lethal air : O2 3.0; CO 14.8, 



Addition of oxygen remaining and carbonic acid formed: 



CO + O* = 17.8 



Proportion of carbonic acid formed to oxygen disappeared: 



CO 14.8 



= = 0.82 



O 17.9 



Experiment II. March 18. House sparrow. 



Bell of 1.9 liters. Entered at 1:10, dead at 3:05. Final decompres- 

 sion results from absorption of 2.3 cm. There is no bloody spot on 

 the head. 



Lethal air : O 4.2; CO- 14.6 

 CO2 



CO + O = 18.8; = 0.87 



O2 



Experiment III. July 20; temp. 24°. House sparrow. 



Bell of 1.3 liters. Entered at 3:15, normal pressure. Not dead at 

 6:15, dies about 7. 



Lethal air : O2 3.3; CO2 16.0 



CO 



CO + 02 = 19.3; = 0.86 



O 



