364 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. 



ceutag*B appeared in uric acid and puriu bases. The puriu bases of the urine 

 consisted chiefly of hypoxanthin and some adeuin. Guauin was not present. 



Notes on the creatinin excretion of the pig, E. V. McColltjm (Amer. Jour. 

 Physiol., 29 (J91I), Xo. 2, pp. 210-21 Jt). — A nearly constant ratio of creatinin 

 nitrogen was found when pigs were supplied salts and energy in the form of 

 starch but no nitrogen. It is suggested that if this ratio is determined for a 

 number of different species of animals it will be an easy method for determin- 

 ing the endogenous nitrogen metabolism and also serve as a basis for calculating 

 rations for animals employed in exact nutrition studies. 



Contribution to the knowledg'e of the function of the liver, E. Wehrle 

 (Biochem. Ztschr., 3Jf {1911), No. 3-ff, pp. 233-241).— The action of the liver in 

 geese was studied by tying 2 ligatures to the portal vein. 



Analysis of the urine showed that carbohydrates were assimilated even when 

 the liver did not function. The tolerance to some sugars, particularly levulose, 

 was not much different than that under normal conditions. There was an in- 

 crease of ammonia excretion, and after the addition of glycocoll the excretion 

 of amino acid was greater than normal. 



Spontaneous generation and a physico-chemical theory of life, S. Ledtjc 

 {Theorie Physico-Chimique de la Vie et generations Spontanees, Paris, 1910, 

 pp. 202, figs. 57; rev. m Rev. 06rv. Bel., 22 {1911), No. 1, p. 41; Science, n. ser., 

 S3 {1911), No. 843, pp. 304, 305). — This summarizes recent investigations in 

 synthetic biology. 



Life is described as a transformer of matter and energy, and hence the science 

 of biology is considered as a department of the phy si co-chemistry of fluids. The 

 author has artiflcially produced nucleated cells with gelatin and a few drops 

 of potassium ferro-cyanid, and points out that the immediate task of synthetists 

 is not the production of albuminoids but a chlorophyllian substance which will 

 decompose carbon dioxygen dissolved in water and be capable of assimilating 

 carbon. 



The mechanism of life, S. Leduc, trans, by D. Butcher {London, 1911, pp. 

 190). — This is an English translation of the work noted above. 



Studies on the size of the cells, A. Berezowski {Arch. Zellforsch., 7 {1911), 

 No. 2, pp. 185-189). — Studies on the influence of castration on the size of the 

 cells are reported. 



The cells of intestinal epithelium of castrated mice were measured and found 

 to be both longer and broader, and therefore contained a much larger surface 

 than in uncastrated mice. The size of the nucleus remained practically the 

 same. 



Cell changes in the tests due to X-rays, J. O. W. Barratt and C. Arnold 

 {Arch. Zellforsch., 7 {1911), No. 2, pp. 242-276, pis. 2). — The changes in struc- 

 ture and function of the testis are reported in experiments with normal full- 

 grown rats. 



Interstitial testicular cells and secondary sex characters, L. Mazzetti 

 {Anat. Anz., 3S {1911), No. 14-15, pp. 361-387, figs. 14; ahs. in Jour. Roy. 

 Micros. Soc, 1911, No. 3, p. 348). — From a study of these cells in various verte- 

 brate types the author finds that they arise from the transformation of con- 

 nective tissue cells which lie between the proliferative tubules and in the 

 lymphatic lacunse. They seem to have but little connection with the develop- 

 ment of the secondary sex characters. This was affected by the reabsorption 

 of the seminal fluid, seminal cells, and their secreted products. 



The sexual cells and the determination of sex, E. Bugnion {Bui. Soc. Vaud. 

 Sci. Nat., 5. ser., 46 {1910), No. 169, pp. 263-316).— A review of the principal 

 theories of the determination of sex which have been offered. A list of 250 

 references is appended. 



