, MisceUane&us, 375 



the contents of the receiver and those of the retort with dilute sul- 

 phuric acid, so as to extract all the alkaloid in the form of the hy- 

 drate C'° IP' N- 0\ 6 HO, of which he then determines the quantity 

 after desiccation at 212°. 



This analysis proves that the parenchyma contains 9 "876 per 

 cent, of quinine, whilst the lil)er only contains 2*462 per cent., 

 or about one-fourth of the quantity that exists in the parenchyma. 

 This result is therefore precisely the reverse of that which would 

 have been expected from M. Wigand's experiments. It is clear 

 also that the quinine, although much more abundant in the paren- 

 chyma, does exist in the liber. It even appears that it is the more 

 abundant in proportion as the bark is more developed, which 

 would lead one to suppose that the production of quinine is in 

 relation with the formation of the liber. This consideration has 

 naturally led M. Midler to inquire at what period and in what 

 region of the bark the first appearance of the quinine takes place ; 

 and he proposes to take up this question as soon as he can procure 

 a sufficient number of living Cinchona-plants. — Pringsheims Jahv' 

 bucher, 1866; Bibl. Univ. Bull. Sci. February 2'), 1S67, pp. 182-184. 



On the Cephalic Disk of the Remora (Echencis), 

 By E. Baudelot. 



The disk on the head of the Remora has from the earliest period 

 attracted the attention of observers. Among modern naturalists, 

 some, such as Vogt and Stannius, have expressed the opinion that 

 this disk might be regarded as the equivalent of a dorsal tin ; but 

 this view has not been supported by a rigorous determination, cer- 

 tain internal pieces of the disk having remained undetermined. 

 Moreover the mechanism by means of which the fixation is effected 

 has never been analyzed and explained satisfactorily. 



The investigations which I have the honour to submit to the 

 Academy had for their object the solution of these still obscure 

 questions. 



The disk of the Remora, as is well known, occupies the upper 

 surface of its head. Its form is a very elongated oval, of which the 

 slightly raised margins are formed by a fold of skin arranged so as to 

 form all round the organ a sort of moveable frame. The upper sur- 

 face of the disk is flat ; on each side of the median line it presents a 

 series of little transverse plates, which are nearly parallel and a little 

 inclined backwards, so as partially to cover each other, like the laths 

 of a Venetian blind. Between these laminae there are the same 

 number of corresponding empty spaces. 



Except at its margins, the disk is sustained by an internal frame- 

 work, formed by a considerable number of small bones distributed 

 in a series of similar segments regularly arranged {cchelonnh) from 

 behind forwards. Each segment consists of the following pieces, four 

 in number — an interspinous bone, two rays, and an articular ossicle. 



a. The interspinous bone is a small unpaired median piece, placed 

 at the lower surface of the disk, of the form of a slender spiue, with 



