384 Medico-Legal 



Ziemke (27. vi. '01) next published an extensive series of tests 

 possessing especial medico-legal interest. Using anti-human serum, he 

 tested bloods which had been dried for years. Human blood dried for 

 2 years, reacted in 3 hours by clouding, the cloud persisting after 

 24 hours. Ox blood dating from 1863, 1869, 1876 gave no reaction 

 with anti-human serum either at room temperature or at 37 C. Human 

 bloods dried on various fabrics and dating from 1878 to 1899 (shirting, 

 gauze, linen) were extracted with soda solution and gave reactions after 

 several hours, excepting a sample of the year 1883 which did not go into 

 solution. None of the samples gave more than a clouding which 

 persisted 24 hours. Of the other bloods tested by way of control (sheep, 

 calf, pig, dog, ox, horse, rabbit) and which had been dried 2 months on 

 linen, only the rabbit blood gave a slight " Opazitat." Human blood 

 mixed in garden earth since 1898 and 1900, gave a slight but distinct 

 clouding which persisted after 24 hours. This blood was soluble in soda 

 solution, not soluble in saline. As controls he used the bloods of the 

 horse, ox, sheep, calf and pig, which had been kept in garden earth for 

 8 weeks, but none of these gave a reaction. Soda solution of human 

 blood from a case of CO-poisoning, kept 8 weeks on linen and in earth 

 gave a moderate reaction in one hour, the clouding persisting 24 hours ; 

 saline dilutions gave negative results. Human blood dried on instru- 

 ments such as a rusty knife (1896) and clean axe (1896), gave moderate 

 reactions in 1 hour, clouding persisting after 24 hours. He only used 

 soda dilutions, finding that rust and soda solution alone produced no 

 reaction. Washed human blood-stains, still possessing a pale yellow 

 colour (1883) gave slight clouding in one hour, control tests with rust- 

 spots on linen were negative. Human blood from a white-washed cellar 

 wall (1899), gave rather marked clouding in 3 hours, both in soda and 

 saline dilutions ; but he does not state that he controlled the effect of 

 the white-wash. Human blood dried on wooden matches for 1 year, 

 gave moderate reactions in soda dilutions in 3 hours, whilst blood on a 

 tree branch gave a slight clouding in saline solution after 3 hours. 

 Human blood dried 3 months on glass, gave great clouding after one 

 hour at room temperature. Human blood exposed for 7 months on 

 linen in the open, gave marked clouding in soda dilution in 3 hours 

 at room temperature. Human blood dried 10 years on paper, gave 

 slight clouding in 3 hours in soda dilution. Human blood from a 

 cadaver, 3 days old, gave a great clouding in a few minutes and a 

 flocculent precipitum after 24 hours at 37 C. Putrid human blood, 

 diluted in saline and tested at 37 C. reacted, whereas putrid pigeon, 



