APRIL 2, 1914] 
partial rotations, as in the camphorsulphonate of 
menthol (Tschugaeff). It may also be produced by 
an absorption-band in the visible spectrum (Cotton’s 
phenomenon), or, as R. W. Wood has pointed out, bya 
band in the infra-red region. The view that anomalous 
rotatory dispersion is usually caused by the presence 
of two species of optically active molecules in the 
liquid was adopted by Armstrong, Grossman, Pickard, 
and other speakers; in support of the same view, it 
was stated in the discussion that nitrocamphor, which 
exists in two isodynamic forms, gives anomalous rota- 
tory dispersion in acetone, and that ethyl tartrate may 
be fractionated into portions which differ very widely 
in their rotatory power for violet light, although the 
differences are small when green or yellow light is 
used. 
LIZARD VENOM.! 
7] HE results of a comprehensive study of the poison 
of Heloderma, undertaken by several observers, 
under the direction of Prof. Leo Loeb, at the labora- 
tory for experimental pathology, University of Penn- 
sylvania, are published by the Carnegie Institution of 
Washington in the volume before us. 
Heloderma, or the Gila monster, is a lizard attain- 
ing the length of 2 or 3 ft., which inhabits the dry 
regions of Mexico and Arizona. It is of alarming 
appearance, and regarded by the:natives with the utmost 
dread, although the results of a bite from this reptile 
are not very serious to man. The two species of the 
genus are peculiar in that they are the only reptiles 
other than snakes which possess poison glands in 
relation to some of their teeth. Unlike the poison 
glands of snakes, those of Heloderma are situated in 
the lower jaw, and consist of four independent sacs 
on each side, which open into separate cup-like de- 
pressions of the mucous membrane just external to 
the anterior mandibular teeth. | When the jaw is 
closed the corresponding teeth project into these de- 
pressions and thus both upper and lower sets become 
bathed with the secretion. 
The first article contains a good account of the 
anatomy and histology of the poison gland, and is 
followed by one on the histological changes in the 
gland after stimulation by pilocarpine. Then 
follow papers on the general properties and action of 
the venom and on some experiments in immunisation. 
The general lines followed in these studies are those 
previously traversed by various observers with snake- 
poisons, with which Heloderma venom has many 
similarities. The venom is an albuminous fluid, but 
the albumen can be coagulated by boiling without 
destroying the toxic principle. The latter is, however, 
carried down in the precipitate, to which it apparently 
adheres. This toxin seems, in fact, to adhere to 
almost any kind of fine precipitate, and this property 
has led to difficulty in all attempts to separate the 
essential poison. 
The main poisonous constituent of the venom is a 
neurotoxin, and death is caused by gradual paralysis 
and ultimate cessation of respiration. From _ experi- 
ments upon isolated strips of cardiac muscle, the heart 
does not seem to be directly affected and the fall of 
blood pressure following the injection of the venom is 
presumably due to paralysis of the vasomotor centres. 
The nerve cells of animals killed by the venom show 
chromatolytic changes similar to those observed by 
Kilvington and Lamb and Hunter in snake poison- 
ing. The venom has no influence on the coagulation 
of blood, nor does it produce hemorrhages. It does 
not itself hamolyse blood corpuscles, but, if mixed 
1 ** The Venom of Heloderma.” 
a number of workers. 
Washington, 19713.) 
NO. 2318, VOL. 93]| 
By Leo Loeb, with the collaboration of 
Pp. vi+244. (Washington: Carnegie Institution of 
NATURE R23 
with lecithin it gives rise to a hamolytic substance. 
This, as has been shown to be the case with cobra 
venom, is presumably due to the action of the lipase it 
contains upon the lecithin. The subcutaneous injec- 
tion of subminimal lethal doses is followed by a con- 
siderable but temporary leucocytosis. Admixture of 
the venom with leucocytes and staphylococci does not 
hinder phagocytosis. 
The memoir concludes with an account of attempts 
to separate an active principle from the venom, using 
the methods by which Faust obtained a non-nitro- 
genous active body in the case of cobra and crotalus 
venoms. These methods proved to be unsuitable, but 
by dissolving the venom in glacial acetic acid and pre- 
cipitating, first with weak alcohol and then with 
stronger alcohols, and ultimately with ether, it was 
found that the successive precipitates with alcohol 
contained less protein and more active substance, and 
that the final precipitate with ether was protein free, 
but very active. 
The above short résumé gives some idea of the 
extent of these researches, although a number of 
papers included in the volume, of less general interest, 
have not been referred to. 
The work seems to have been carefully planned and 
performed, but the statements about snake venoms 
are occasionally inaccurate, as, for instance, the 
affirmation on p. 56 that the venoms of Hoplocephalus 
and Pseudechis may be heated without injury, and on 
p. 60, that the ‘“‘venom of Viperidz’’ does not pass 
through a Chamberland filter. 
C. J. MarrTINn. 
CHINESE PALASONTOLOGY.! 
HE volume before us contains the palzontological 
results of the Carnegie expedition to China in 
1903-4, and is an important contribution to our know- 
ledge of the Palaeozoic faunas of eastern Asia. The 
principal memoir is by Dr. Walcott, and deals with 
the Cambrian fossils which were found in large num- 
bers. A total of sixty-three genera and 245 species 
are described and figured, and of these thirty-six 
genera and 175 species are trilobites (including five 
genera peculiar to China) and thirteen genera and 
thirty-six species are brachiopods. The oldest fossil- 
iferous rocks are referred to the upper part of the Lower 
Cambrian and contain the Redlichia fauna, so that we 
are now acquainted with this fauna from Shantung, 
Yun-nan, Spiti, and western and southern Australia, 
as well as from the Salt Range where it was first 
found. It is, however, from the Middle Cambrian 
that the richest and most varied fauna was obtained 
in the Chinese provinces of Shantung, Shen-si, 
Shan-si, and in Manchuria, as was the case in the 
central Himalayas. A rapid process of evolution 
under new conditions of environment was originated 
at this period, accompanied by the more or less com- 
plete isolation of parts of the marine area, leading 
to the formation of local faunas. But on the whole 
the affinities of the Asiatic Cambrian fauna prove to 
be with the Cordilleran Province of western North 
America, and with the Upper Mississippian Province 
of the United States rather than with Europe. This 
is emphasised by the absence of the genus Paradoxides 
in western North America, China, and India, though 
other genera connect these areas with the Atlantic 
Province. In the Upper Cambrian a similar relation- 
ship is noticeable. From the evidence now available 
Dr. Walcott recognises three faunal provinces in Asia 
1 “Research in China.” Vol. iii., The Cambrian Faunas of China, by 
C. D. Walcott; A Report on Ordovician Fossils Collected in Eastern Asia 
in 1903-4, by S. Weller; A Report on Upper Paleozoic Fossils Collected in 
China in 1903-4, by H. Girty. Pp. vi+375-+29 plates. (Washington: 
Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1913.) 
