162 Analysis of Scientific Books. 
now before us appears to us to contain, along with several curious 
observations, two discoveries of the first magnitude, as connected 
with the laws of animal life ; the first is, that when the nerves 
of the eighth pair are divided in the neck of a rabbit, and the 
ends not displaced, the animal being allowed to live for some 
hours, it was found that food swallowed immediately before 
the division of the nerves, was considerably digested, even when 
the divided ends of the nerves had retracted to the distance of a 
quarter of an inch from each other. When, however, the divided 
ends of the nerves were turned completely away from each other, 
no perfectly digested food was fownd, the animal having been 
kept alive as before. In an experiment, in which, under such 
circumstances, the stomach was exposed, from the time of the 
division of the nerves, to the influence of a voltarc battery sent 
through the lower portion of the divided nerves, its contents were 
apparently as much changed as they would have been in the same 
time in the healthy animal. If no source of error has crept into 
these inquiries, and we are told by Dr. Philip that the experi- 
ments were made with Mr. Brodie’s assistance, and that, with 
respect to the results, Mr. Brodie agrees with him, (and we 
consider Mr. Brodie to be very high authority here) we repeat 
that Dr. Philip has established two entirely new and important 
physiological facts, sufficient to place him high among the dis- 
coverers of the age; the first is, that the nervous energy, or 
power, is not entirely interrupted or cut off when the nerve is 
divided, provided its divided ends be not forcibly and exten- 
sively separated from each other; the second, that electricity is 
capable, under certain circumstances, of causing the extremity 
of the divided nerve to maintain the most essential of those 
functions which it enjoyed in an undivided state. 
3. Onsome Alvine Concretions, found in the Colon of a young 
Man in Lancashire, after Death. By J. G. Children, Esq., 
F.R.S. Communicated by the Society for promoting Animal 
Chemistry. 
Mr. Children here relates the case of a young man, who, 
during the hot weather of July, 1814, was in the habit of eating 
large quantities of unripe plums, and swallowing the stones, 
under the notion that they would assist digestion. This is often 
done with impunity, but the danger of the practice is shewn in 
the unfortunate person before us, whose health became seri- 
ously disordered in February, 1815, and he lingered in great 
suffering till the 6th of May following, on which day he expired. 
His symptoms were diarrhea, pain and tension of the abdomen, 
emaciation, and a hard circumscribed tumour in the region of 
the colon. On opening the body, four concretions were found 
in the arch of the colon, three closely compacted together, the 
fourth lower, and near the termination of that intestine. Their 
