30 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. bO 



They attributed the results to a volatile organic poison of the 

 nature of an alkaloid or ptomaine. The poison, they said, is re- 

 duced by ammoniacal nitrate of silver or chloride of gold solution. 

 Boiling made no difference to the toxic action of the trachea wash- 

 ings. The condensed liquid turned concentrated sulphuric acid 

 yellow. 



The boiled trachea washings might kill even when injected into 

 the rectum or stomach. Intraperitoneal injection killed a guinea-pig 

 in 12 hours. Injection of the liquid into the lungs produced inflam- 

 mation. Some of these results may be attributed to bacterial infec- 

 tion, others to the toxic effect which is known to follow injection of 

 foreign protein or water containing bacteria, and others to the large 

 doses of water injected at room temperature. 



An experiment with two dogs was so arranged that one breathed 

 the air exhaled from the lungs of the other. The experiment con- 

 tinued for nearly seven hours and no untoward results followed. 



Dastre and Loye 1 repeated these experiments, but with no result. 

 They inoculated animals with the condensation water of the breath 

 and obtained no effect when 33 to 75 cc. of the fluid was injected 

 into each of five rabbits and two dogs, and 5.7 cc. into each of two 

 guinea-pigs. Two rabbits were killed by the injection of 50 to 190 

 cc. (60 cc. per kilo) and one puppy by the injection of 30 cc. of 

 distilled water (25 cc. per kilo). The marvel is that all the animals 

 were not rendered severely ill by the injection of such large amounts 

 of water. An equivalent injection for a man would be 2 to 4 liters. 

 Russo-Gilberti and Alessi ' confirmed the negative findings of Dastre 

 and Loye. They obtained the condensation water from a crowded 

 schoolroom which was sealed up for 2 hours. The air produced 

 headache and was offensive. 



von Hofmann Wellenhof a obtained the symptoms noted by Brown- 

 Sequard and D'Arsonval when he injected not only large quantities 

 of condensation liquid, but also distilled water at the temperature of 

 the laboratory. There occurred muscular weakness, slowing of 

 respiration, fall of temperature, and dilatation of the pupils. When 

 he injected 10 rabbits with 6 to 30 cc. of the condensation fluid 

 warmed to body temperature, the results were negative. 



Lehmann and Jensen 4 likewise obtained wholly negative results 



1 Compt. Rend. Soc. de Biol. Paris, 1888 (8), v, 91. 

 - Bull. Soc. d'Igiene di Palermo, Vol. 3, 1888, p. 331. 

 3 Wien. Klin. Wochenschr., 1888, I, p. 753. 

 * Archiv. f . Hygiene, 1890, Vol. 10, p. 367. 



