Jan. 30. 1879] 



NATURE 



307 



Concluiions. — I. That, in young dogs, the protoplasmic con- 

 stituent of the grey matter contracts imder the influinc« of strong 

 faradaic current?. 



2. That it contracts unequally and irregularly by rea on of its 

 unequal and irregular sectional area, causing thereby co dn^a- 

 tions at certain points — notably in the anterior horns and r.round 

 the central canal — and rarefaction at others — notably in the 

 middle of each crescent, such rarefaction going on sometimes to 

 rupture of tissues. 



3. That neive-corpuFcles contract in various degrees according 

 to the strength and duration of currents, and that while they 

 tend in contraction to become spherical, they also tend to become 

 vacuolated. 



4. That the vessels are in some places strongly contracted and 

 empty ; in others dilated and filled with blood-clot, having the 

 appearance of embolus. 



5. That the appearances correspond so decidedly with appear- 

 ances in chorea and tetanus as to give ground for the supposition 

 that contractions, such as are produced by electricity, do actually 

 occur during life under the effect of nervous 5-hock, and may be 

 phenomena, casual, or associate, of such diseases. 



" On some Points connected with the Anatomy of the Skin," 

 by George Thin, M.D. Communicated by Prof. Huxlev, 

 Sec. R.S. 



It is partly the object of this paper to describe some methods 

 by which it can be demonstrated that the connective tissue- 

 bundles of the cutis are, as has been long ago pointed out by 

 Rollett, composed of subdi^-isions, which are again composed of 

 minute fibrillse. These subdivisions the author terms primary- 

 bundles to distinguish them more markedly from the fibrillse, 

 and also to describe some other points in the anatomy of the 

 skin which were observed by means of these methods. 



The primary bundles isolated by these methods were flat- 

 tened, cylindrical elements, even contoured, homogeneous in 

 appearance, and uniform in breadth over the whole length iso- 

 lated. The difference in breadth between individual bundles 

 was very slight. By measurement he found that they were from 

 0'004 to 0*005 millim. broad. 



In gold preparations the following facts regarding the dispo- 

 sition of the elastic fibres were noted : — 



If a portion of skin is hardened in bichromate of potash, and 

 the sections mcderately stained by eosin, all the large elastic 

 fibres are stained much more intensely than the bundles, and it 

 is then observed that they lie on the surface of the bundles, and 

 run parallel to them. In the gold preparations, after macera- 

 tion in formic acid, further details regarding the fibres can be 

 detected. It is then seen that there is a close network of minute 

 elastic fibres, of which no traces are observed in eosin-stained 

 bichromate preparations, on the surface of the bimdles, and that 

 at certain points the larger fibres give off branches which join 

 this network. At these points the network is so dense over a 

 small defined space that the size of the meshes is nearly equalled 

 by that of the fibres. 



Elastic fibres which penetrate the bundles enter between the 

 primar}- bundles, and the primary bundles are embraced by the 

 fibres which entwine them very closely. 



The dark very finely granular deposit produced by the reduc- 

 tion of the gold chloride had a special relation to the elastic 

 fibres. Strictly defined narrow strips of this deposit were found 

 investing the fibres, and this so closely that it was only at points 

 where it had been disturbed in the preparation that the fibre 

 itself could be observed. 



The distinctly localised character of the deposit around the 

 elastic fibres supports, according to the author, the idea that the 

 larger ones are smrrounded by an albuminous fluid, of a like 

 nature to that shown by gold preparations, to be present between 

 the laminse of the cornea. 



The " spural" fibre, as obsened on the bundles of the skin, 

 is an elastic fibre that encircles the bundles like a ring, and is 

 stained yellow by pikro-carminate of ammonia. 



The cells seen in the preparations were in two positions. 

 Some of them were found in a delicate tissue between the 

 bundles ; other cells were found in direct connection with the 

 bundles. Of the latter cells the greater number seen were ap- 

 plied to the surface of the bundles, but others were found in the 

 substance of the bundles between the primary bundles. 



These cells were all of the endothelial type. In all of them 

 the cell-contour was clearly marked, and in none of those ob- 

 served was there a trace of a process, or of ridges and depres- 

 sions similar to those described by some histologists in tendon. 



" On Hyaline Cartilage and Deceptive Appearances produced 

 by Reagents, as obser\'ed in the Examination of a Cartilaginous 

 Tumour of the Lower Jaw." By George Thin, M.D. Com- 

 municated by Prof. Huxley, Sec. R.S. 



This paper is written with a twofold object : firstly, as a con- 

 tribution to the histolog)' of hyalme cartilage ; secondly, to illus- 

 trate how much the apparent structure of a tissue which is being 

 examined microscopically depends on methods of preparation. 



The author was able to isolate the cells from the cartilaginous 

 substance of the tumour after the action of osmic acid. All the 

 cells thus isolated were flattened, rounded, or somewhat poly- 

 gonal bodies, with round nuclei. Their contours did not 

 correspond exactly with those of the rounded cartilage "cap- 

 sules." 



The examination of this tumour showed that most delusive 

 appearances as regards the nature of cartilage cells may be some 

 limes produced by staining and hardening agents. Carmine and 

 eosin by staining an unformed substance that exists in the struc- 

 ture in a localised form, may simulate branched protoplasmic 

 cells, and bichromate and logwood preparations, either in sec- 

 tions or teased out, may as closely simulate cells with fibre 

 processes. 



The facts adduced by the author justify, as he believes, serious 

 doubts as to the correctness of interpretation in all cases in which 

 histologists have described branched cells in hyaline cartilage, 

 whether the latter existed as a normal structure or as a patholo- 

 gical growth. They further show that, taken alone, carmine or 

 eosin staining should not be held as conclusive e^-idence of the 

 existence or limits of cellular protoplasm in any animal tissue. 



Meteorological Society, Januar}' 15. — Annual Meeting. — 



Mr. C. Greaves, president, in the chair. — The Report of the 



i Council showed that the chief features of the proceedings during 



: the year 1878 had been the final completion, on a comprehensive 



and well-organised basis, of. the arrangements for systematic 



inspection of the Society's stations, an object which has engaged 



1 the sedulous attention of successive Councils for the last four 



years ; and the delivery of a series of lectures on Meteorology by 



j certain Members of the Council. The total number of Fellovs 



; now amounts to 425, forty-one having been elected during the 



' year. — The President having delivered his address on Dryness 



, versus Humidity, the following gentlemen were elected officers 



! and Council for the ensuing year : — President : Charles Greaves, 



M. Inst. C.E„ F.G.S. Vice-Presidents : Charles Brooke, M.A., 



F.R.S., F.R.C.S., Henry Storks Eaton, M.A., Rev. William 



Clement Ley, M. A., Capt. Henry To>-nbee,F.R.A.S. Treasurer: 



; HenryPerigal, F.R.A.S. Trustees: Sir Antonio Brady, F.G.S. , 



Stephen William Silver, F.R.G.S. Secretaries : George James 



S>-mons, F.R.S., John W. Tripe, M.D. Foreign Secretary : 



Robert H. Scott, M.A., F.R.S. Council : Arthur Brewin, 



I F.R.A.S., Edward Ernest D>-mond, William Ellis, F.R.A.S., 



I Rogers Field, B.A., M.Inst.C.E.,Rev. Charles Higman Griffith, 



j William John Harris, M.R.C.S., James Park Harrton, M.A., 



I John Knox Laughton, M.A., F.R'.A.S., Robert John Lecky, 



i F.R.A.S., Hon. Francis A. Rollo Russell, Richard Sb-achan, 



Henr}' Samuel Tabor. 



i Royal Microscopical Society, January 8.— J. W. Stephen- 

 - son, treasurer, in the chair. — Five gentlemen were proposed for 

 election as Fellows, and the list of nominations for the Council 

 ! was read. — The following papers were read : — Observations on 

 i Dactylocalyx pumicms {%iyxs:^i!o\irj), with description of a new 

 I variety, D. ^ttuhburyi, by Mr. W. J. Sollas. — Note on a re- 

 I volver immersion prism for sub-stage illumination, by Dr. James 

 I Edmunds. — Immersion illuminators, by Mr. J. Mayall, jun. — Is 

 not the genus Pedalion of Hudson synonymous with Hexarthra 

 of Schmarda ? by Mr. J. Deby. — The thallus of Diatoms, by Mr. 

 F. Kitton- — Mr. Crisp (secretary^) described the two new sense- 

 organs in insects discovered by Prof. Graber, of Czernowitz. — 

 The following were exhibited : — Specimens showing parasitism 

 of a coral on a sponge (Dr. Matthews) ; the Sorby miniature 

 micro-spectroscope ; Recklinghausen and Meyer's pathological 

 micro-photographs and specimens of microscopic printing (Mr. 

 Crisp) ; sections of mistletoe on an apple tree double stained 

 (Mr. Ward) ; Amici's original form of camera lucida referred to 

 at the December meeting (Mr. Ingpen). 



Entomological Society, 'January 15. — Anniversary meeting. 

 H. W. Bates, F.L.S., F.Z.S., president, in the chair,— The 

 following gentlemen w ere elected Members of the Council for the 

 ensuing year, viz. : — H. W. Bates, F.L.S., F.Z.S., W. L. Dis- 

 tant, Rev. A. E. Eaton, M.A., E. A. Fitch, Ferd. Grut, F.L.S., 



