1863.] 405 



The water (one and a half pint) into which the digested albumen 

 had passed was concentrated at a temperature of not more than 

 80 Fahr.; and the concentrated solution being afterwards oxi- 

 dized, I found that fibrin was formed, notwithstanding the changes 

 it had undergone by digestion, which had rendered it capable of 

 dialysis. During the process of passing oxygen into albumen, I found 

 that carbonic acid was evolved. This was ascertained by passing 

 the oxygen, after it liad escaped from the albumen, through lime- 

 water. I also found that phosphoric acid was evolved, by subjecting 

 the effluent oxygen to the molybdate-of-ammonia test. Carbonic 

 acid and phosphoric acid were also found when blood- serum was 

 used, by the same tests as those employed when egg-albumen was 

 the material used for experiment. In some cases common air was 

 driven through albumen in the place of oxygen, at a temperature be- 

 tween 95 and 110 Fahr., and then I found the formation of fibrin 

 differed but little from the quantity produced when oxygen alone was 

 used. To ascertain whether the formation of fibrin was due really to 

 oxygen alone, I tried hydrogen gas in the place of oxygen or common 

 air, and at the same temperature. When hydrogen was passed into 

 blood-cells sulphur was evolved. This was detected by passing the 

 hydrogen, after it had traversed the serum, into a solution of lead- 

 salt, and also by suspending over the serum strips of lead paper, 

 when they soon became blackened by the sulphur. 



When egg-albumen was employed instead of the blood-serum, 

 sulphur was again detected. 



Fibrin was not formed by the action of hydrogen on blood-serum 

 or egg-albumen, although in some cases the hydrogen was passed 

 continuously for forty-eight hours through the fluids. The action of 

 carbonic acid gas on egg-albumen under the same condition of tem- 

 perature produces no fibrin, but sulphur was again detected by sus- 

 pending strips of lead paper over the albumen, which in a few hours 

 became tinged. 



The same result was obtained when defibrinated blood was used ; 

 but in this case, in addition to the sulphur, a minute trace of phos- 

 phoric acid was found. Not the slightest trace of fibrin was 

 detected. 



I conceived, from the result of my experiments on the oxidation 

 of albumen, that, if oxygen was passed into milk, fibrin might be 



VOL. XII. 2 G 



