106 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [March 



extent become immunized ag"ainst the action of the poison. 

 Having- in view the complications which arise in experi- 

 ments on animals, and with a view to substituting- as far 

 iis possible the reag-ent g-lassforthe animal org-anism, Ehr- 

 lich has experimented with ricin, a veg-etable tox-albumen, 

 concerning- which, he saySi there is no doubt that in its 

 principal features, immunity to it is similar to immunity 

 to diptheria and tetanus. Ricin possesses the property T)f 

 coag-ulating- the blood. The blood of a rabbit treated with 

 a series of mixtures of ricin in varying- porportions, was 

 injected into six mice. In those cases where the mixture 

 g-ave a precipitate with blood the animals died; in one 

 case, where the precipitate was very slig-ht, the result was 

 not fatal; in the three cases where the antitoxin was (ac- 

 cording- to the blood test) present in sufficient or excessive 

 quantity to neutralize the toxin, the animal was unharmed. 

 These facts militate ag-ainst the cellular theory of Roux 

 jind Buchner, and tend to confirm the chemical copulative 

 theory of Ehrlich and Behring-, at any rate so far as ricin 

 (castor-oil) is concerned. — B. C. Drug-g-ist. 



The Function of the Suprarenal Bodies. — Dubois has 

 showai that the principal function of the suprarenal bodies 

 is to destroy toxins present in the circulation, especially 

 those resulting- from muscular and nervous activity. The 

 jo-lands contain a peculiar ferment which is capable of mod- 

 ifying- org-anic poisons developed by the tissues or of bac- 

 terial orig-in, A considerable quantity of poisonous liquids 

 is found in the g-lands. 



Scarlet Fever by Mail. — Grasset, on investig-ating- the 

 source of infection in an instance'in which a child was at- 

 tacked by scarlet fever in a place where there had been no 

 case of the disease for years, found that, six days before 

 the child was taken sick, the parents had received a letter 

 from its g^rand-parents stating- that another child in the 

 family had had the disease and w^as peeling-. Two flakes of 

 the convalescent's skin were enclosed in the letter. The 

 parents had allowed the child to play with the letter.--An- 

 nales d'Hyg-iene Publique. 



