THE ELECTRICAL SPASM OF DEATH 



203 



degree centigrade of temperature apart These interruptions, 

 however, were not made after the occurrence of the inversion. 

 As soon as the death-point was reached, in the present case 

 at 59'5 C-> there was a sudden inversion of the electrical 

 curve (fig. 132), corresponding with the point of inversion of 

 the thermo-mechanical curve (fig. 129). Each of these 

 curves is seen to bear a striking resemblance to the other. 

 In both cases, the inversion was due to the same fact of 

 sudden excitation, finding expression in the one, in induced 

 galvanometric negativity, and in the other, in mechanical 

 contraction. 



In the case of organs which are more or less radial, and 

 in which there is little differential excitability, it is necessary 

 to abolish the excitability of one 

 contact, as, say, by previous scalding. 

 For this experiment I took a leaf of 

 Amaranth^ and injured a portion of 

 the lamina by immersion in boiling 

 water. The two contacts were 

 made, one with the petiole, and the 

 other with the injured lamina. On 

 raising the temperature continuously, 

 the more excitable petiole became 

 increasingly positive. The photo- 

 graphic record in this case was com- 

 menced only on reaching 55 C., and 

 the death-inversion took place at 



59'5 C. (fig. 133). 



We have already seen that, besides 



this electrical reversal, there is another 



means of detection of the death-point, afforded by the con- 

 version of the response to external stimulus from the normal 

 negative into positive. Now it occurred to me that it would 

 be interesting, if in the same specimen, both these tests could 

 be applied at the same time. We could then see whether 

 two methods so independent of each other furnished mutual 

 corroboration or not. For this purpose I took a stem of 



version at Death-point, 



JJl the 



