390 Miscellaneous. 



This Hippomane, therefore, secreted a volatile matter whicli was 

 taken up bj the moist skin in a dry atmosphere, and being absorbed 

 by the mucous membranes and sudorific glands caused them to be- 

 come diseased ; Jacqnin, on the contrarj-, detected nothing of the 

 kind, because the gaseous secretion was taken up by the rain-water, 

 and thus rendered innocuous to his body. 



The wood of this Hippomane also apparently contains a similar 

 volatile matter ; at least its combustion causes similar morbid phe- 

 nomena, especially inflammation of the eyes. 



Like the Manchineel, some other Euphorbiacese and Auacardiaceae, 

 especially species of the genus Blins {e. ^. R. juylandifoUa), are 

 dreaded in South America. Of the latter the author was also told 

 that people have died of the cutaneous sores which were produced 

 in consequence of the action of its shadow, i. e. its gaseous emana- 

 tion. 



The author finds an analogue of this deleterious exhalation of the 

 Hippomcme in the volatile organic bases, such as trimethylamine, 

 and he thinks that such nitrogenous volatile compounds (substitu- 

 tion-products of ammonia) are more generally diffused than we 

 suppose. They have probably been overlooked in the analysis of 

 the gases exhaled from living plants, because they were attracted 

 and retained by the water which the apparatus usually contains. 

 In all the plants which Karsten has investigated for this purpose, 

 in germinating Leguminosae (lentils, peas, lupines), in the develop- 

 ment of buds on trees and shrubs (^senilis, Syringa, Cratcegus, 

 Primus, Pyrus, Vihurnum) and on tubers (Helianthus, Solanum), 

 in fungi, &c. he detected volatile ammoniacal compounds, some of 

 which rendered turmeric paper faintly brown, when he placed very 

 dilute pure sulphuric acid upon the bottom of the air-tight receivers, 

 shut off by acids, which contained these plants, left it there for a 

 few days, and then mixed it with Nesler's reagent. 



As the tissue of the above-mentioned plants at the same time 

 always has an acid reaction, it is not probable that this volatile 

 nitrogenous compound is merely ammonia or an ammonical salt ; 

 but this further investigations must settle. 



His anatomical results led Karsten to the belief that these volatile 

 and, in part, basic nitrogenous compounds originate during the trans, 

 formation of the neutral proteine materials (which occur as thick- 

 walled content-cellules in the tissue-cells of the organs) into acid 

 compoimds which permanently redden blue litmus-paper, whilst new 

 generations of cells make their appearance in these cellules. 



The oxygen which is taken up during this vegetative process by 

 the embryos, buds, fungi, &c. which exhale this gaseous matter, 

 probably belonging to the amide series, in combination with car- 

 bonic acid, would therefore not, as has hitherto been supposed, 

 serve to convert certain carbon-compounds of the seed &c. directly 

 into carbonic acid and water, but, in the author's opinion, the oxygen 

 would rather act first of all upon the proteine materials present, 

 which would thus be oxidized, dissolved, and converted partly into 

 viscid compounds, dissolving the hydrates of carbon, fat, &c, (dia- 



