PROCEEDINGS OF THE POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION. 357 



3 Similar flowers p^onerally produce somewhat more carbonic acid in the 

 light than in tlie darkneSvS ; nevertheless, in certain cases, the amount is 

 the same in each of these conditions. 



4. WluMi oxyg'en gas is substituted in place of normal air, the diiTerence 

 is more marked. 



5. The pr()p(nlion of carbonic acid is greatest when the development of 

 the flower is coMimeiicing. 



6. Every flower, UA'l in an inert gas, disengages small quantiti(;s of car- 

 bonic acid. 



7. Of the various elements constituting the flower, the parts in which 

 the greatest vitality resides — the pistil and stamina — are those which cbn- 

 6ume the most oxygen and produce the greatest quantity of carbonic acid. 



Magnus on the Sun. 



From recent experiments, M. Magnus concludes that as solid bodies 

 radiate much more heat than gaseous bodies, solar heat cannot reside in a 

 photosphere composed of gas or vapors. 



Action of Light on Santonin. 



M. Scstini states that Santonin crystals, when reduced to powder and 

 exposed to light, are changed to formic acid and an uncrystallizable sub. 

 Btance, very soluble in alcohol and ether, also a red resinous substance. 



Restoring Nerves. 



M. Sangier reports in the Com2^te.^ Rendus the particulars of the suc- 

 cessful suture of the median nerve of the hand. He believes the same 

 operation may be performed on the nerves of considerable size. 



Destruction of Tumors by Galvanic Action. 



M. Nelaton, a surgeon of great celebrity, has reported to the Paris 

 Academ}' of Sciences the cure of one of the most painful forms of disease 

 wiiich afllicts human nature. It has long been known that when two needles 

 cnnnrcted with the poles of a galvanic battery are placed in contact with 

 the human body, a slight destruction of the tissue occurs; but little import- 

 ance was attached to the fiict. M. Nelaton, however, conceived the idea 

 of attempting to destroy tumors by inserting needles in the parasitic mass 

 and placing them in communication with a powerful voltaic pile. His first 

 experiment was on a dog. His success led him to try his electro-puncturo 

 process, as he terms it, on a young man who was a tutor in his own family. 

 A large vascular tumor, in the roof of the mouth, had resisted the usual 

 ap|)liances. The needles were first inserted for ten minutes, and a white 

 frothiness soon made its appearance. The wire was afterwards applied 

 daily from three to five minutes. Tiie tumor began to diminish, and at the 

 end of four months the patient was cured without the loss of blood, 



A Cheap Carpet. 

 The Cosrr.os contains a letter from M. D. Thoreau, relating to a pattera 

 taken from a large tapis entirely due to the work of a group of spiders. 



