476 Chronicles of Science. [July, 



Symptoms the same as in the last case. Neither of them slept at 

 all, and both were well the next day. Pigeon received under skin, 

 in three localities in all, two grains of sulphate of morphia dissolved 

 in water slightly acidulated with acetic acid. No effects were seen 

 other than those described in the former cases. Pigeon took inter- 

 nally three grains of sulphate of morphia dissolved ; recovery 

 without notable symptoms. Pigeon took at 8.30 a.m. 272 drops 

 of black-drop ; he retained it during an hour, but at twelve was 

 found to have vomited an unknown amount of it, by estimate at least 

 half; recovered after remaining all day quiet in the corner of his 

 cage, not asleep, and capable of being easily aroused, and then 

 able to execute every usual movement, as flying, walking, and the 

 Hke. The final experiment seems to me decisive. To a large 

 pigeon, which within the two preceding days had swallowed 42 di'ops 

 of black-drop, I gave, between two p.m. and six o'clock, 21 grains of 

 powdered opium in soft pills of three grains each. Except the 

 usual tendency to remain quiet, none of the common evidences of 

 opium-poisoning appeared, and the pigeon was well and active 

 next day." 



Cause of Death when the Shin is covered ivith Varnish. — A 

 writer in the 'Journal of Anatomy' observes that some persons 

 have supposed that when an animal dies from the effects of having 

 its skin covered with varnish, its death must be ascribed to the 

 retention of deleterious matters given off by the skin. Edenhuizen 

 thought that the noxious matter is volatile alkah. Gerlach and 

 others thought that death was due to suppression of the respu-atory 

 functions of the skin; while Valentine had, on the other hand, 

 shown that the morbid symptoms manifested by a varnished animal 

 disappear if the animal be placed in a higher temperature, thereby 

 leading to the notion that death in such a case results from increased 

 loss of heat. Laschkewitsch, of St. Petersburg, has by recent re- 

 searches confirmed the truth of the last-mentioned theory. A 

 varnished animal, when surrounded by cotton-wadding, suffered no 

 harm, though it died when the wadding was removed. He foimd 

 the blood-vessels much dilated below the varnish ; he supposes that 

 the dilatation of cutaneous vessels favours the loss of heat by the skin. 

 He has found that the volatile alkali spoken of by Edenhuizen 

 results from the decomposition of hair and epidennis. He further 

 disproved Gerlach's view that asphyxia is the cause of death, by 

 placing an animal in an atmosphere of hydi'ogen, taking care to 

 cover the animal's mouth with an elastic funnel communicating 

 with the external atmosphere. The animal lived in this medium 

 for six hours without suffering any deleterious effects. 



