NotEs ON INDIGESTIBLE STRUCTURES IN ARTICLES OF A VEGETABLE DIeEvT. 
By Joun S. Wricurt. 
Many articles of a vegetable diet, especially those which are con- 
sumed in a crude or raw state, contain tissue elements which pass through 
the alimentary canal without losing their identity. Examinations of 
fecal matter show that all of the tissue elements from parenchyma to 
sclerenchyma may under yarious conditions pass through the entire diges- 
tive tract almost unaltered so far as general character is concerned. In 
some diseases of children and in disorders of the digestive organs it is 
necessary to make fecal examinations to complete the diagnosis. In sev- 
eral such cases which have come to my knowledge the presence of these 
vegetable cells has given rise to considerable speculation, particularly 
where the physicians were not familiar with plant histology. 
In one case the presence of what afterwards proved to be parts of 
orange pulp was very perplexing; in another the attending physician was 
concerned over the repeated occurrence in the stools of shredded or fibrous 
matter. As the patient, a man, was being treated for dyspepsia, he was 
of the opinion that these fibres resulted from the epithelial layer of the 
intestines. On submitting them for examination, they proved to consist 
wholly of tracheary tissue, mostly pitted vessels. In Ms examination, the 
physician had taken each pit to represent an animal cell. On inquiry it 
was learned that the patient, during the time his feces contained this 
material had eaten freely of small, fibrous sweet potatoes, which were 
likely the source of these pitted vessels. The above and other cases have 
suggested to me that further histological studies of the common articles 
-of our vegetable diet would prove of practical value fiom both the medi- 
eal and botanical standpoint. 
Tur Action oF MERCURY AND AMALGAMS ON ALUMINUM. 
By Geo. W. BEnTOoN. 
Some Fretp ExeerRtMENTS With ForMALIN. By Mason B. THomas. 
At the last December meeting of the Academy we made a preliminary 
report on the effects of formalin on germinating seeds. As stated at that 
time, the experiments were conducted in the greenhouse, where all of the 
