Chap. VL DIGESTION. 105 



lie reports that the two which had been subjected to 

 artificial gastric juice were " in that state of diges- 

 tion in which we find connective tissue when treated 

 with an acid, yiz. swollen, more or less hyaline, the 

 fibrillar bundles haying become homogeneous and lost 

 their fibrillar structure." In the specimens which had 

 been left on the leaves of Drosera, until they re- 

 expanded, "parts were altered, though only slightly 

 so, in the same manner as those subjected to the 

 gastric juice, as they had become more transparent, 

 almost hyaline, with the fibrillation of the bundles 

 indistinct." Eibro-cartilage is therefore acted on in 

 nearly the same manner by gastric juice and by the 

 secretion of Drosera. 



Bone. — Small smooth bits of the dried hyoidal 

 bone of a fowl moistened with saliva were placed on 

 two leaves, and a similarly moistened splinter of an 

 extremely hard, broiled mutton-chop bone on a third 

 leaf. These leaves soon became strongly inflected, 

 and remained so for an unusual length of time ; 

 namely, one leaf for ten and the other two for nine 

 days. The bits of bone were surrounded all the time 

 by acid secretion. When examined under a weak 

 power, they were found quite softened, so that they 

 were readily penetrated by a blunt needle, torn into 

 fibres, or compressed. Dr. Klein was so kind as to 

 make sections of both bones and examine them. He 

 informs me that both presented the normal appearance 

 of decalcified bone, with traces of the earthy salts 

 occasionally left. The corpuscles with their processes 

 were very distinct in most parts ; but in some parts, 

 especially near the periphery of the hyoidal bone, 

 none could be seen. Other parts again appeared 

 amorphous, with even the longitudinal striation of 

 bone not distinguishable. This amorphous structure, 



