3§4 



NA TURE 



\August 1 6, 1883 



Berlin 

 Physiological Society, July 20. — Prof. Kronecker reported 

 a number of investigations recently carried out in the divi- 

 sion of the Physiological Institute under his care : Dr. Open- 

 scbewsky had continued his observations, communicated at 

 the meeting of June 15 (Nature, vol. xxviii. p. 264), regarding 

 the influence of the vagus on rhythmical movements of the 

 cardia produced by artificial anaemia. As the result of his 

 further examination he found that the vagus sent two branches 

 of nerves to the cardia: one causing its contraction, the other, 

 when alone stimulated, its dilatation. In the vagus trunk the 

 enlarging nerves were in the preponderance, and, on the whole 

 of the vagus being stimulated, induced an interception of the 

 contractions of the cardia. In a demonstration of the experiment 

 it was shown that after destruction of the stimulating branch of 

 the vagus the irritation of its trunk invariably provoked dilata- 

 tions of the cardia. — Dr. Jacub had made experiments regard- 

 ing the strength and rhythm of the movements of the uterus, and 

 regarding the influence on these movements of a number of sub- 

 stances such as secale, ether, chloral, strychnine. — Herr Aron- 

 sohn had instituted a long series of observations on the physi- 

 ology of smell, observations which he himself communicated to 

 the meeting. It is well known that Weber, from experi- 

 ments made with eau-de-cologne, had laid down the state- 

 ment hitherto universally accepted that gaseous substances 

 were alone capable of stimulating the extremities of the olfac- 

 tory nerve!:. In opposition, however, to this doctrine there was 

 the fact of fishes being able to smell, a fact Herr Aronsohn 

 conclusively established. Ants' eggs, which a r e greedily de- 

 voured by goldfishes, he saturated with a strong flavuur of 

 asafcetida, and on placing them within reach of a number of 

 hungry goldfishes they all darted away from the otherwise 

 savoury food. He therefore repeated Weber's experiment ex- 

 actly in the manner prescribed, and had, like him, his sense of 

 smell affected only during the infusion of the eau-de-cologne 

 solution. Immediately, however, such an intense sensation 

 of pain was experienced, that the experiment had very soon 

 to be abandoned. It was evident that Weber's solution 

 was much too concentrated, and that in order to achieve trust- 

 worthy results dilutions of much larger proportion would have 

 to be made use of. Moreover, for the purpose of solution, 

 instead of the water which produced so powerful an effect on the 

 tissue, the common salt solution of '6 per cent., which was of 

 indifferent effect, would require to be employed. Finally the 

 due temperature would have to be imparted to the fluid. Under 

 these conditions a long series of experiments w as now instituted 

 with oil of nettles, camphor, eau-de-cologne, and other smelling 

 substances. In far the greater number of cases the e experi- 

 ments yielded positive results. Granted that the solutions had 

 the necessary degree of dilution (which among the different ma- 

 terials varied from - i to *ooi per cent.) and the due temperature 

 (which might nv ge from 37 to 62 C, though from 40 to 

 44 C. proved the most suitable), then on their application to 

 the nostrils a decided and lasting smell was perceived. These 

 experiments were not only carried out by Herr Aronsohn him- 

 self, but were repeated by other competent observers, the due 

 degrees of dilution and temperature, which differed according to 

 the different observers, producing always the same effect. The 

 re ult in the one case as in the other was invariably positive, and 

 went to refute the hitherto current notion that gaseous substances 

 alone affected the sense of smell and that fluids had no effect on the 

 olfactory nerves. On emptying out the fluid there was mostly 

 always left a scent of which one remained sensible for a very 

 considerable time. Contrary to former declarations, the breath 

 emitted from the lungs also decidedly affected the olfactory 

 nerves, provided the experiment were conducted in such a way 

 that the particles to be smelled on expiration could reach the 

 upper parts of the nostril. Herr Aronsohn finally made ob- 

 servations tending to establish the liability to weariness of the 

 sense of smell, a fact of which any one might readily convince 

 himself by the following experiment : — Let him take two roses, 

 A and B, as like each other as passible ; let him now first smell 

 A for fifteen consecutive seconds, and then on trying B he will 

 find it has very much less scent, or none at all. Let the olfactory 

 sense now recover itself, and then let him, conversely, first smell 

 B for fifteen seconds, and pass to A ; he will now find the 

 same defective or negative scent in A as formerly in B. — Dr. 

 Kireef directed his observations towards the discovery of 

 the conditions determining the fact that now and again, 

 by the cutting of one carotid animals could not be bled, 



but in order to this end a second carotid must also be 

 cut. In the pursuit of this problem a series of important 

 facts came to light demanding further searching study, and which 

 therefore can here for the present only be alluded to. In all the 

 larger arteries it has been observed that on the cutting of a blood 

 vessel only a certain fraction of the total blood, from about two- 

 thirds to five-sevenths, runs away, and then without any visible cause 

 the bleeding stops, though the wound is still gaping wide, and no 

 trombus is forthcoming. Let another equally large artery be 

 opened, and a quantity of blood, often considerable, will issue 

 from it in turn, and then of i'self cease ; and still a third artery 

 may be cut, which will again yield a further bleeding. The 

 quantity of blood circulating in the body has.no influence on 

 this phenomenon. From a certain artery the same quantity of 

 blood was discharged, alike whether a 6 per cent solution of 

 common salt was beforehand largely injected into the animal, or 

 a portion of blood withdiawn from it beforehand. Just as little 

 influence has the blood pres-ure on the quantity of blood shed 

 through the cutting of a larger artery. In an animal one arteria 

 femoralis was freely cleared out of its integuments for a con- 

 siderable extent of its surroundings, while another was left in its 

 natural position. The last on being cut shed a certain quantity 

 of blood at double the speed, i.e. in half the time taken by the 

 freely cleared artery. The vagus showed a very remarkable 

 influence on the bleeding from a cut artery, an influence to be 

 further traced and demonstrated in the continuation of the 

 experiments. 



CONTENTS page 



Recent Travel in Eastern Asia 361 



Elementary Applied Mechanics. By J. F. Main . 364 

 Our Book Shelf:— 



Everett's " Text-Book of Physics" . ., . . . . 364 

 Hospitaller's " Formulaire Pratique de 1'Electricien" 365 

 Letters to the Editor : — 



" Elevation and Subsidence." — John Murray ; Rev. 



O. Fisher; R. Mountford Deeley .... 365 

 " The Speke and Grant Zebra."— Col. J. A. Grant 366 

 The Fisheries Exhibition. — D. Honeyman . . . 366 



Birds and Cholera.— H. M. C 366 



M. Wolf's New Apparatus. — Dr. G. H. Darwin, 



F.R.S 366 



Double Shadows.— D. B. (With Diagram). ... 366 

 Regnard's Incandescent Lamp. — Arthur E. Shipley 366 



DiseaseofPotatc.es. — Prof. A Blytt 367 



Determination of " //." — Frederic John Smith. . 367 



Fireball.— Charles F. Casella 367 



Palaeolithic Implements at Stratford. — G. F. Law- 

 rence 367 



Earth Pulsations. By Prof. John Milne .... 367 

 On the Supposed Human Footprints recently found 

 in Nevada. By Prof. O. C. Marsh (With Illustra- 

 tions 370 



Winter Life at Fort Rae. By Capt. Henry P. 



Dawson, R.A 371 



The Norwegian North Sea Expedition, II. [With 



Illustrntiojis) 371 



Science at Cambridge. By Prof. M. Foster, 



F-R.S 374 



The Ischia Earthquake 374 



Notes 375 



Our Astronomical Column : — 



The Satellites of Saturn 377 



Tempel's Comet of Short Period (1873 II.) . . . . 377 



The Bischoffsheim Obseivatory at Nice 377 



The Late Transit of Venus 377 



A Contribution to the Study of the Transmission 

 Eastwards round the Globe of Barometric Ab- 

 normal Movements, II. By A. N. Pearson, Acg. 

 Meteorological Reporter for Western India . . 377 



Science in Russia 379 



Experimental Researches on the Electric Discharge 

 with the Chloride of Silver Battery. By Dr. 

 Warren De La Rue, F.R.S., and Dr. Hugo W. 



Muller, F.R.S. (With Diagrams) 381 



University and Educational Intelligence .... 383 



Scientific Serials 3S3 



Societies and Academies 383 



