46 THE BIOLOGY OF DAILY LIFE. 



of shrinking they lose their discoial form, and 

 become smaller and spherical, but beset all 

 over their surfaces with minute processes. 



" This shape is called the horse-chestnut shape. 

 It is probably due to the corpuscles losing 

 carbonic acid, as its addition brings back their 

 discoial shape, and smooth circular outline. On 

 abstracting the carbonic acid they return to the 

 horse-chestnut shape. Water, acid, alcohol, 

 ether, the electric current, and many other re- 

 agents produce discoloration of the red corpus- 

 cles ; the coloured matter generally the com- 

 bination of the blood colouring matter with 

 globuline, known as hamo-globine becoming 

 dissolved in the plasma. What is left of the 

 corpuscles is called the stroma. . . . Dis- 

 coloration of the blood corpuscles can also be 

 observed without the addition of any re-agents, 

 or with that of indifferent fluids, such as the 

 aqueous humour of the eye, hydrocele fluid 

 [the water of a kind of drospy], etc. The 

 number of corpuscles undergoing discoloration 

 is, however, small." 



We come to the white corpuscle. As old Polonius 

 says, I will be brief i.e., as brief as I can. Like the 

 same fine old character, making as few comments as 

 I can. 



" 13. The white or colourless blood cor- 

 puscles are in human blood of about ^Vfr to 

 ^oir of an inch in diameter, and are spherical 

 in the circulating blood, or in blood that has 

 just been removed from the vessels. Their 

 substance is transparent, granular-looking pro- 



