ANIMAL, PRODUCTION. 671 



On the ovarian factor concerned in the recurrence of oestrus, F. H. A. 

 Marshall {Jour. Physiol, J,3 (1911), .A^o. ,5, pp. XXI, XXII).— The ovaries of 

 dogs were exposed and every follicle showing ou the surface was pricked with a 

 knife or needle. The subsequent period of heat was of normal duration and 

 severity. Post-mortem examinations revealed the remains of the artificially 

 ruptured follicles. 



It is thought that heat in dogs is not brought about by the ripening follicles, 

 and that the phenomena of prooestrum and oestrus are both results of some 

 further factor which is probably to be sought for in the ovarian interstitial 

 cells. This conclusion, though contrary to the prevalent view, is in conformity 

 with Heape's observations upon monkeys, in which menstruation was found not 

 to be necessarily associated with either mature follicles or corpora lutea. 



The permeability of the ovarian eg'g' membranes of the fowl, O. Riddle 

 (Science, n. sei\, 34 (1911), No. 886, pp. 887-889). — Laying hens receiving a 

 normal ration were arranged in 5 lots each. To one lot hexamethylentetramin 

 (urotropin) was fed; to another, sodium benzoate; and to a third, sodium 

 salicylate. The test lasted for a period of 8 or 10 days, and all of the eggs laid 

 during the week preceding the beginning and all laid during the second week 

 after the close of the period were kept as control. The amount of drugs given 

 in each case was 0.4 gm., administered in gelatin capsules twice each day. 

 Two birds were not in good condition on the fifth day of the dosing and were 

 withdrawn from the experiment. All eggs were kept at moderate temperatures 

 (12 to 18° C.) until the last of the control eggs were laid, then all were placed 

 at a temperature which fluctuated from 20 to 32°, in order to compare the 

 keeping qualities. The eggs of the series were laid between June 30 and July 

 30, and known therefore as summer eggs, which are sj^ecially difficult to keep. 



Comparisons of the eggs were made August 20, September 17, October 12, 

 and November 10. Those from the lot fed hexamethylentetramin were more 

 palatable and left no doubt whatever as to the preservative effect. On the 

 latter dates eggs from the control lot almost without exception were quite 

 unpalatable, while the dosed eggs could be eaten, although they would ne^-er be 

 mistaken for really fresh eggs. The albumin had also been changed somewhat 

 in consistency. When tested for formaldehyde by the Rimini and other tests, 

 abundant quantities were yielded. In fact, such eggs were spontaneously 

 giving off formaldehyde in quantities sufficient to be absorbed by and detected 

 in some control eggs left in the same box. 



The eggs from hens dosed with salicylate, and less markedly than from 

 those dosed with benzoate, appeared better preserved than the control eggs, 

 though numerous chemical tests failed to demonstrate the presence of either 

 benzoate or salicylate from birds fed these substances. It is suggested that 

 larger doses of these substances would probably yield more striking i-esults. 



From this work it would appear that hexamethylentetramin when fed to hens 

 passes through the follicular and vitellin membranes and is deposited in the 

 egg, where it undergoes decomposition, setting free formalin, which acts as a 

 preservative. 



The behavior of fat-soluble dyes in the org'anif m, L. B. Mendel and Amy L. 

 Daniels (Proc. 8oc. Expt. Biol, and 21e(l., 8 (1911), No. 5, pp. 126, 127).— A 

 study was made of the movements of the dye Sudan III in starvation and in 

 phlorhizin and phosphorus poisoning. It was found to migrate readily into the 

 blood with the fat under these conditions, but is rarely found in the liver tissue 

 because it is excreted with the bile into the intestine, from which it may be 

 reabsorbed. It is insoluble in water and is not excreted through the kidneys 

 except where alimentary lipuria is induced. Thus, a path of elimination for 

 fat-soluble substances is provided for through the biliary secretion. 



38038°— No. 7—12 6 



