252 Dr. J. Haldane. An Enquiry into the [Jan. 24, 



LillesTiall Colliery, Shropshire. 



The part of the heading nearest the pipe had, at Mr. Atkinson's 

 request, been bratticed (curtained) off, so that a chamber was pro- 

 vided in which the black-damp could be allowed gradually to accu- 

 mulate. The heading was about 3J ft. high. As the mine is not a 

 fiery one, it was possible to use naked lights. 



The gas from the pipe at once extinguished a candle. On 

 breathing the gas I found that my respirations rapidly became deeper 

 and more frequent, so that after a short time I .was panting violently. 

 The panting, however, did not increase beyond a certain point, and 

 was not distinctly accompanied by the peculiar feelings character- 

 istic of distress from want of oxygen. After breathing the black- 

 damp for two minutes it seemed to me that the distress was, if 

 anything, diminishing, and that I might have continued to breathe 

 from the pipe for a considerable time without injury. The panting 

 was accompanied by blueness of the face, which did not, however, 

 seem to Mr. Atkinson to be so marked as it was at the Podmore Pit, 

 although the change of colour when I ceased to breathe from the 

 mpe was quite distinct. A similar result was obtained when the 

 r as was breathed by Mr. Richard Warren, who had accompanied 

 rae. 



The effect of the black-damp on a mouse was then observed. Tho 

 animal was placed in a piece of wide glass tubing, over one end of 

 which gauze had been tied. The end of this tubing was then luted 

 with clay to the opening of the pipe (which was directed upwards), 

 and the gas allowed to pass through the gauze, on which the animal 

 sat. It at once began to pant violently, but did not lose power over 

 its limbs, or seem to become otherwise seriously affected, although 

 exposed to the black-damp for eleven minutes. The panting did not 

 increase after the first few seconds, and ceased at once when the 

 animal was taken out. It was in no way injured by the experi- 

 ment. 



With Mr. Warren's help a graphic record was then taken, by means 

 of a Marey's recording stethograph, of the effect of the black-damp 

 on my respirations. The tracing obtained is reproduced below. An 



interval of two or three seconds (while the pen was being shifted) 

 elapsed between the end of the upper tracing and the beginning of 



