Death in Closed Vessels 575 



nothing could be simpler; I needed only to plan the experiments so 

 that the carbonic acid would be eliminated as it was formed, so 

 that it could not interfere with the result. But the very low 

 capacity of the receivers which I had at my disposal made the task 

 quite difficult, because the bird, as it stirred about, almost always 

 finally came in contact with the potash, with resultant burns, con- 

 siderable uneasiness, and often premature death. 



I did not get a series of satisfactory results until I used an 

 apparatus whose receiver is a mercury bottle; it then was easy for 

 me to perform a large number of experiments, thanks to the 

 capacity and the wide opening of my receiver. Besides, its great 

 strength permitted me to carry the compression much higher than 

 in glass apparatuses. The only inconvenience was the opacity, 

 which prevented me from following the phases of the experiment 

 and determining the precise moment of the death of the birds. 



I filled a part of the cylinder with water containing potash in 

 solution. The sparrow, enclosed in a little wire mesh ball, was 

 suspended above the liquid. Under these conditions, there was 

 no trace of carbonic acid in the air in which it stayed and died. 



I report here a series of experiments that are quite character- 

 istic. 



Experiment CXLVII. September 18. Sparrow at 3Vi atmospheres. 



Left in the air in which it died 1 per cent of oxygen. 

 Oxygen tension: O* x P = 1 x 3.25 = 3.25. 



Experiment CXLVIII. September 22. Sparrow at 6V4 atmospheres. 

 Left 0.8 per cent of oxygen. 



0=xP = 5. 



Experiment CXLIX. October 3. Sparrow at 9 atmospheres. 

 Left 2.2 percent of oxygen. 

 O2 x P = 20.8. 



Experiment CL. October 7. Sparrow at 12 atmospheres. 

 Left 5.6 per cent of oxygen. 

 OaP = 67.2. 



Experiment CLI. January 6. Sparrow at 15 atmospheres. 

 Left 14.5 per cent of oxygen. 

 O2 x P = 217.5. 



Experiment CL1I. September 30. Sparrow at 20 atmospheres. 

 Left 18.3 per cent of oxygen. 

 2 x P = 366.0. 



Experiment CLIII. October 1. Sparrow at 24 atmospheres. 

 Left 20.3 per cent of oxygen. 

 Os x P = 487.2. 



