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accords with my general experience. Into the liver of a small dog, 

 about ten minutes after the destruction of its life, 100 grains of car- 

 bonate of soda in half an ounce of water were injected through the 

 portal vein ; in a couple of hours an examination was made ; the 

 decoction of liver, prepared as I have recommended, gave the usual 

 orange-red reduction with the copper-solution that is observed where 

 the post-mortem change has been allowed to take place. Should 

 hepatine in fact be transformed into sugar, the latter will unquestion- 

 ably be discoverable, notwithstanding the presence of an alkali or 

 alkaline carbonate. 



I have tried the effect of injecting grape-sugar along with car- 

 bonate of soda into the liver during life, and the result was in strict 

 accordance with what I have just stated. 200 grains of each were 

 dissolved together in an ounce of water, and injected into one of the 

 mesenteric veins of a good-sized healthy dog ; some blood taken from 

 the carotid artery after the operation was found to be charged with 

 sugar to a large extent. In one hour's time the animal was killed. 

 The liver and blood were both found saccharine. The urine con- 

 tained in the bladder was mixed with blood, which I have observed 

 always to be the case when such an amount as 200 grains of the 

 carbonate of soda has been employed. After being boiled and filtered, 

 it was tested with the copper solution, and gave a strong reaction of 

 the presence of sugar. 



The evidence before us tends, I think, satisfactorily to prove that 

 the hepatine is neither concealed nor transformed into sugar when 

 lost sight of after injection of the carbonate of soda. Again, it does 

 not seem that its disappearance can be owing to any direct chemical 

 action of the carbonated alkali. It is one of the most striking pro- 

 perties of hepatine to resist the action of even the caustic alkali at a 

 boiling temperature, and I certainly have not been able to perceive 

 that the carbonated alkali is capable of exercising any direct chemical 

 influence upon it up to a boiling heat. 



Looking to all the facts in my possession, I am inclined to believe, 

 although I cannot at present substantiate the opinion, that.the rapid 

 disappearance of hepatine which has been noticed, is due to one of 

 those catalytic actions of which we have such numerous examples 

 occurring amongst the phenomena of life. It is well known that sugar, 

 under the influence of certain catalytic conditions, is transformed 



