334 



NA TURE 



[August 4, 1904 



behind by the posterior commissure, and a posterit.r portion 

 which he termed collectively the cord. He described several 

 new nuclei in the thalamus, and illustrated his conclusions 

 by a series of models, microscopic sections, and stereoscopic 

 photographs of the thalamus in monkeys and rabbits. 



Sir Victor Horsley dwelt on the necessity for making both 

 horizontal and sagittal sections of the thalamus, and for 

 directing attention to cell-systems rather than to tracts of 

 fibres. The current system of dividing the thalamus into 

 tracts of fibres is quite untrustworthy unless checked by 

 the degeneration method. His excitation experiments, so 

 far as they had gone, confirmed Dr. Mann's results. 



Dr. F. Griffiths and Dr. W. B. Warrington read an 

 interesting paper on the varieties of the cells of the spinal 

 ganglia and their relationship to axons of different dis- 

 tribution, and showed a useful series of illustrative micro- 

 scopical sections. 



Among many other valuable papers and discussions may 

 be mentioned the important debate on chloroform ansesthesia 

 and the demonstration given by Mr. Vernon Harcourt of his 

 apparatus for the administration of known percentages of 

 chloroform vapour. The apparatus is convenient and 

 compact, and guarantees that the amount of chloroform 

 administered is never in excess of 2 per cent, of the inspired 

 air. An apparatus of a similar purpose by Dubois v.'as 

 also shown by Dr. Chapman. 



In the section of pathology an unusual amount of valuable 

 new work was published. The discussion on immunity was 

 opened by the president. Dr. Ritchie, who began by point- 

 ing out what definite conclusions were now firmly estab- 

 lished, and what were the problems which awaited solution. 

 He then discussed the relation of the processes concerned 

 in the immunity reaction to normal physiological events, 

 and the general bearing on the question of the more 

 important recent work. Dr. Bulloch followed, dealing in 

 a masterly fashion with the cellular aspects of the problem 

 of immunity, and Dr. Dreyer, of Copenhagen, read an 

 important paper on agglutinins. 



Dr. Madsen, of Copenhagen, then described the steps by 

 which, in association with Prof. Arrhenius, he had shown 

 that the relation of toxin and antitoxin in the living body, 

 e.xemplified in what is known as " Ehrlich's phenomenon," 

 cannot be explained, as Ehrlich holds, as being due to the 

 presence of degenerated toxins in the crude bouillon from 

 diphtheria or tetanus cultures. While not denying the 

 existence of such degenerated toxins in the bouillon 

 cultures, they maintain that the phenomenon is due to the 

 fact that toxin possesses only a weak affinity for its corre- 

 sponding antito.xin. It thus results that dissociation 

 phenomena occur between the toxin, antito.xin, and the 

 toxin-antitoxin molecules. In support of this view new 

 evidence was submitted from investigations carried out upon 

 ricin and anti-ricin, snake venom and antivenene, and 

 saponin and its anti-body, cholesterin. 



Further contributions to the study of snake venoms were 

 communicated by Dr. C. J. Martin and Dr. Noguchi. 



Dr. Wright described the experiments which led to his 

 discovery of the bodies which he terms opsinines. These 

 bodies have the property of enabling phagocytes to attack 

 bacteria. They are present in the blood serum, but not in 

 the phagocytes themselves, and they can, like anti-bodies, 

 be transferred to foreign phagocytes, upon which they then 

 confer a like bacteriolytic power. 



At a later period of the meeting Dr. Wright gave a most 

 lucid demonstration of the numerous brilliant modifications 

 and new methods which he has introduced, and which have 

 simplified and much increased the accuracy of all kinds of 

 blood investigation and research into the mechanism of 

 bacteriolysis. 



.\ discussion was also held upon the role of the 

 lymphocyte. This was opened by Dr. Lovell Gulland and 

 Prof. Muir, and many valuable communications were con- 

 tributed, notably a paper by Dr. Beattie, of Edinburgh, in 

 which he concluded in favour of the endothelial origin of 

 many of the mononuclear cells in inflammation. The dis- 

 cussion revealed the fact that a considerably greater 

 uniformity of opinion as to the origin of the various kinds 

 of leucocytes is coming into existence among pathologists. 



The subject of the third discussion was the chemical 

 pathology of gout. This was opened with a most able paper 

 from Prof, von Noorden, and in the course of the discussion 



NO. 18 14, VOL. 70] 



Dr. Walker liall gave a demonstration of his simple 

 apparatus for the rapid determination of the urinary purins. 



In the section of tropical diseases Colonel Bruce opened 

 the discussion on trypanosomiasis with a suggestive paper, ia 

 the course of which he stated that trypanosomal fever is- 

 in all probability the first stage of sleeping sickness, and 

 that the Glossina palpalis is the medium of transmission. 



A discussion was also held on the significance of the- 

 Leishman-Donovan bodies. This was introduced by Major 

 Leishman, who pointed out the occurrence of these 

 bodies in kala-azar, and maintained that they probably re- 

 present a stage in the life-history of a flagellate organism 

 closely resembling a trypanosome. Dr. G. C. Low 

 exhibited sections of the spleen from a case of kala-azar, 

 showing these bodies in silii. He also exhibited a number 

 of specimens showing the perivascular infiltration in the 

 brain and cord in sleeping sickness. 



Very instructive exhibits illustrating the conditions inr 

 ankylostomiasis and bilharzia infection were shown by Dr. 

 Armand Ruffer and by Dr. Sandwith ; and Dr. Nabarro 

 showed specimens of trypanosoma from Uganda. 



In the section of State medicine the president. Dr. J. S. 

 Haldane, opened a discussion on standards of ventilation, 

 discussing the effect upon the human system of poisonous 

 gases and dust. The dust nuisances he considered could be 

 better prevented by special measures, such as water sprays, 

 than by a general increase of the ventilation. Subsequently 

 he dealt with the effects of breathing air contaminated with 

 an excess of carbonic acid gas, or containing a deficiency 

 of oxygen or an increase of organic matter. The reat 

 pathological effects of such conditions, he held, were slight. 

 The discussion was continued by Dr. Jones, Dr. Oliver, Dr. 

 Hay, and others. 



Dr. Newman opened a discussion on the control of the 

 milk supply. Having reviewed the dangers to the nation 

 which spring from the present inadequate and contaminated- 

 milk supply, he urged that the initiative for reform must 

 come in the first place from the consumer. .So far as 

 legislation is concerned, he thought that all that could be 

 expected was a systematic and universal enforcement of 

 the Dairies Order. Dr. Henri de Rothschild agreed with Dr. 

 Newman that the demand for reform must come from the 

 consumer. The chief difficulty appeared to him to lie in the 

 fact that the consumer wanted good milk at a price for 

 which only bad milk could be purchased. 



GEOLOGICAL NOTES. 

 " 'T'HE Stone Reefs of Brazil, their Geological and Geo- 

 graphical Relations, with a Chapter on the Coral 

 Reefs," is the title of a memoir by Mr. J. C. Branner {Bull. 

 Mus. Comp. Zoo!. Harvard Coll., vol. xliv., geological 

 series, vol. vii.). These stone reefs form striking features- 

 along the Brazilian coast from near CearA to Porto Seguro ; 

 they are formed of sandstone, in places almost a quartzite, 

 and stand flush with the water at high tide, while at: 

 low tide they are left exposed like long, low, flat-topped 

 walls. The ports and towns behind these reefs owe their 

 existence to them, as they form natural breakwaters, usually 

 standing across the mouths of streams and estuaries. 



In origin they are due to the solidification of beach sands. 

 Coral reefs are now growing over and upon the stone reefs 

 in some places, while at other places there are stone reefs 

 overlying dead coral reefs. 



Evidences of great depression and subsequent elevation 

 occurred in late geologic times, and the sandstone reefs 

 were formed when the land had finally risen. The author 

 points out that in a region of concentrated rainfall and 

 long droughts the river mouths had become temporarily 

 closed, and the abundant aquatic and other life in the 

 lagoons thus formed contributed to the organic acids of 

 the waters. These waters, upon penetrating the dam of 

 beach sand, first dissolved the carbonate of lime in it, and 

 re-deposited this as cement when in contact with the dense 

 sea-water on the ocean side. In this manner some portions 

 of the beaches have been hardened, while others have re- 

 mained incoherent. 



In an able article on the modes of occurrence of intrusive 

 rocks, Mr. J. G. Goodchild discusses the question whether 

 they displace or replace the rocks which they invade (Proc. 

 Roy. Soc. Edin., xxv., No. 3). He cites and figures 



