!»-«>] ANIMAL PRf)I)l-(TI()N. 371 



resjK'cis from llio Rciiodict lospii-iilion cliiiiiilKT. One <tf tlio features of the 

 coolinjj system is a tliin Ilannel l)lariket wliieli fits closely the entire chamber top 

 and is wet thoroughly when the chamber is closed. It is kept cool by a sprink- 

 ling device consistiiij; of a pail of ice water which drains into a perforated pipe 

 riinnlnj: a few inches above the chamber. liesults of check experiments with 

 tlie respiratinn apparatus are presented and discussed. 



II. Aretj/l.s(iliri/lir acid and heat ref/ulaiion in normal individuals, by H. G. 

 Barbour and M. M. Devenis (pp. G17-G2.S.)— The effect of aspirin on the heat 

 retaliation of normal subjects was studied by determining with the above appa- 

 ratus the resjiiratory quotient and heat output of 5 normal subjects for several 

 half-hour i)eriods following the administration by mouth of 1 to 1.25 gm. of 

 acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). 



In all cases the administration of aspirin was followed by an increase in the 

 carbon dioxid output and heat production which reached its maximum during 

 the fourth haif-h(uir after administration. The average basal heat production 

 of the 5 sul)jects of 37.8 calories per s(iuare meter per hour was increased to 

 40.3 calories. In spite of the increased metabolism the heat dissipation was not 

 significantly altered. Tlie respiratory quotient and the pulse rate were also not 

 altered. There was no depression of metabolism in two experiments in which 

 the subject was allowed to sleep after taking aspirin. This is thought to indi- 

 cate that sleep is not a factor in tlie antipyretic action of the drug. 



III. AcctyUaJiriiVtc arid and heat recjulation in fever casess by H. G. Barbour 

 (pp. 624-G.32). — This paper reports the effects of aspirin given in the same 

 amounts in fever cases. 



Tlie average heat eliiiiination in six experiments on 4 subjects was 52.1 

 calories per square meter per hour following tlie administration of aspirin as 

 compared with 37.7 for the control periods. In 1.5 hours tlie temperature 

 changes averaged —0.81° C. as against an average rise of 0.18° on 4 control 

 days. The fall in temperature was accompanied by a heat production of 3S.8 

 calories as jigainst 40.2 calories on the control days. The drug caused an aver- 

 age decrease in tlie lailse rate of 10 beats per minute. 



" Sensitivity of febrile, temporarily afelirile, and convalescent subjects to 

 antipyretics is not yet explained. These drugs do not ' stimulate' a ' depressed * 

 heat-regulating mechanism, nor is sensitivity due to a lack of readily com- 

 bustible material (dextrose) ; but the respiratory quotient of antipyretic sensi- 

 tive individuals appears to be increased by doses of acetylsalicylic acid which 

 do not affect the quotient of normal persons. Further studies of the carbo- 

 hydrate metabolism may elucidate the question of sensitivit.v." ^ 



ANIMAL PRODTJCTION". 



Moat production, J. A. Mukray (.sVi. Protj. [London'\, 12 (1918), No. 4^, pp. 

 665-4)71 ). — Tlie author deals mostly with the distinction between fattening and 

 growth, and presents two methods of estimating the chemical composition of 

 the increase due to growth from analyses of lean and fat animals. By one 

 method only the nonfatty increase is considered growth, the basis of reference 

 l>eiiig the fat-free weight of the lean animal, and by the other method the 

 growth increase is assumed to have the same composition as the lean animal. 

 The oxen, sheep, and pigs analyzed by Lawes and Gilbert ' furnish the data 



'IMill. Trans. Roy. Soc. London, 149 (1859), pp. 493-G80 ; also Issued In Rothamstcd 

 Memoirs, Quarto Ser., 3 (1890). 



24.S2°— 20 6 



