18 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Jan., 



nemtous consequences as ought forever to invalidate the 

 testimony of one who should swear so recklessly. In a 

 case involving the issue of life and death it would be bet- 

 ter to measure several hundred corpuscles. 



An examinaton of the unabridged table of measure- 

 ments, from which the above summary is tabulated, dis- 

 closes the further fact, that by selecting the corpuscles 

 it would be possible for a dishonest observer to make the 

 average much larger or smaller than that above given, 

 without the possibility of detection ; a fact, the bearing 

 of which upon the value of expert testimony upon this 

 subject is so obvious as to need no comment. 



It will be seen that I have not attempted to draw any 

 inference as to the cause of the larger average size of the 

 corpuscles first measured. Whether it was or not due to 

 the drugs exhibited during the beginning of this work, is 

 an interesting subject of inquiry, which must be reserved 

 for future examination. I expect to continue these inves- 

 tigations, and at some future day will publish the result. 



Sarcina Ventriculi in Blood Stains. 



By W. N. SHERMAN, M. D. 



MERCED, CAL. 



[Abstract from paper read before the American Microscopical Society.] 

 Groodsir was the first to describe in the vomit of some 

 patients, peculiar groups of four cubical cells with 

 rounded edges, and closely placed against one another. 

 The flat surfaces of the groups are arranged in parallel 

 layers and firmly connected by a gelatinous membrane. 

 Klein states that, they are occasionally found on boiled 

 potatoes, egg albumen and gelatine exposed to the air, 

 but that such sarcinse are considerably smaller than the 

 sarcina ventriculi found in the stomach. They may be 

 successfully cultivated through many generations in pork 

 or beef broth, or gelatine at ordinary temperatures. They 



