544 IntelUgence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



results. Macfarlane, and one of my former laboratory and Aga- 

 memnon assistants, Russel, came down to Arran for the purpose. 

 Mr, Russel and I -went up Goatfell on the 10th inst. with the port- 

 able electrometer and made observations, while Mr. Macfarlane 

 remained at Invercloy, constantly observing and recording the in- 

 dications of tlie house electrometer. On the 11th inst. the same 

 process, of observing simultaneously at the house and at one or other 

 of several stations on the way up Goatfell, was continued. I have 

 not yet reduced all the observations, but I see enough to leave no 

 doubt whatever that cloudless masses of air at no great distance from 

 the earth, certainly not more than a mile or two, influence the elec- 

 trometer largely by the electricity which they carrj'. This I conclude 

 because I find no constancy in the relation between the simultaneous 

 electrometric indications at the diff"erent stations. Between the 

 house and the nearest station the relative variation was least. 

 Between the house and a station about halfway up Goatfell, at a 

 distance estimated at two miles and a half in a right line, the number 

 expressing the ratio varied from about 113 to 360 in the course of 

 about three hours. On two different mornings the ratio of house 

 to a station about sixty yards distant on the road beside the sea was 

 97 and 96 respectively. On the afternoon of the 4th inst., during 

 a fresh temporary breeze of east wind, blowing up a little spray as 

 far as the road station, most of which would fall short of the house, 

 the ratio was 108 in favour of the house electrometer — both stand- 

 ing at the time very high — the house about 350°. I have no doubt 

 that this was owing to the negative electricity carried by the spray 

 from the sea, which would diminish relatively the indications of the 

 road electrometer. — Proceedings of the Litei-ary and Philosophical 

 Society of Manchester, October 18, 1859. 



OX THE SUPPOSED ACID REACTION OF MUSCULAR FIBRE. 

 BY E. DU BOIS-REYMOND. 



Since the investigation of Berzelius in 1807 an acid reaction has 

 been ascribed to muscular fibre, and chemists have only disagreed as 

 to the nature of the acid contained in the muscles. Most authors 

 attribute the acidity of the muscles to lactic acid, or at least to acid 

 lactates of the alkalies. Liebig, who supposes that there exists in the 

 muscles a quantity of lactic acid sufficient to neutralize all the alka- 

 line bases of the blood, even thinks that it may be assumed that the 

 so-called muscular current results simply from the electro-chemical 

 action of this acid upon the bases of the blood and lymph, through 

 the sarcolemma and the walls of the vessels. 



Notwithstanding the unanimity which has prevailed for half a 

 century amongst chemists and physiologists as to the acid character 

 of the muscular fibre, the recent investigations of M. du Bois-Rey- 

 mond show beyond a doubt that this acidity is null in the normal 

 state. He proves that the acid which has hitherto engaged the 

 attention of chemists, is only developed in the muscles at the moment 



