520 



NA TURE 



[April 3, 1902 



diplococcus said to be invariably present in cases of scarlatina 

 and found in the throat secretions, blood, scales and urine of 

 persons suffering from scarlet fever. lie has spent much labour 

 and time in endeavouring to place the title of this Diplococcus 

 scarlatinae beyond dispute. The papers submitted, judging by 

 the abstracts supplied by Prof. Conn, were of a high order, and 

 the existence of such a society suggests that bacteriology in this 

 country might well be accorded a more important place amongst 

 the sciences than it at present occupies. 



The ninth edition of Mr. Bennett H. Brough's deservedly 

 successful "Treatise on Mine-Surveying" has been published 

 by Messrs. C. Griffin and Co. The book has been carefully 

 revised, and new devices and appliances of importance are 

 described. " The chief additions," we read, "consist of notices 

 of the use of a spring balance for maintaining steel bands at a 

 constant tension, of Mr. Langer's method of surveying with the 

 hanging compass in the presence of iron, of Mr. Troye's 

 method of marking underground stations, and of Mr. Landis's 

 method of determining the volume excavated in open workings." 

 By keeping his book up to date in this way, Mr. Brough makes 

 his manual most valuable to mining students and mine-agents, 

 who regard it as an essential volume for their libraries. 



The additions to the Zoological Society's Garden, during the 

 past week include a Brown-headed Stork-billed Kingfisher 

 (Pelargopsis giirial), an Eastern Calandra Lark (Melatiocorypha 

 himaciilata), an Eastern Linnet (Acanthis friiigi/Ziroslris), a 

 Glossy Calornis {Calornis ckalyheius), a Small- billed Mountain 

 Thrush (Oreocincla dauma), a Large Pied Wagtail (Molacilla 

 maderaspalensis), an Ashy Wood Swallow (Ar/amus fiisciis), 

 a Bay-backed Shrike (Laiiiiis vil/a/us), an Indian Great Reed 

 Warbler (Acrocephalus slentoreiis) from British India, a Pale 

 Rose-finch (A'kodosfiha obso/ela) from Afghanistan, presented by 

 Mr. E. W. Harper; three Changeable Lizards (Calo/es versi- 

 color) from India, presented by Mr. R. C. McLaren ; four Two- 

 banded Monitors ( Varaniis salvator) from the East Indies, a 

 Stump-tailed Lizard {Trachydosaurtis rugosus) from Australia, 

 four Changeable Lizards (Caloles versicolor] from India, 

 twenty-four Black-spotted Lizards {Algiroides nigio-piinctalus) 

 from the Borders of the Adriatic, deposited ; a Tasnianian 

 Wolf {Thylaciims cynocephaliis) from Tasmania, purchased; 

 two Barbary Wild Sheep (Ovis Iragelaphus) born in the 

 Gardens. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 Distortion of Sun's Disc at Horizon. — Prof. W. Prinz, 

 of the Royal Observatory of Belgium (Bru.ssels), has ob- 

 tained several large-scale photographs of the .setting sun, which 

 show most distinctly the considerable deformation of the disc 

 when near the horizon. The instrument employed was a photo- 

 heliograph by Steinheil. A reproduction of one of the photo- 

 graphs accompanies the note in Mem. delta Soc. degli Spel- 

 troscopisli Itatiani, vol. xxxi. pp. 36-39. In this case the 

 ratio of the vertical diameter to the horizontal one is as 

 75:84 = 0-893. 



THE CROONIAN LECTURE? 



A PECULIAR interest— the parallel of that which in the 

 plant organism belongs to chlorophyll — attaches to h;vmo- 

 globin, for, unlike any other chemical component of the animal 

 body, in virtue of its special chemical and physical attributes, 

 this remarkable substance may in the strictest sense be said to 

 possess a definite and unique physiological function. 



The region of the solar spectrum which the author formerly 

 investigated was that comprised between the lines F and C) 



1 " On Certain Chemical and Physical Proprrties of Hajmoglobin ' Hy 

 Dr. Arthur Gamgcc, F.R.S., Professor Emeritus of Physiology in the 

 Owens College. Read before the Royal Society on March 13. 



NO. 1692, VOL. 65"! 



(4861 — 3280). The question whether oxy-hremoglobin presents 

 definite absorption for light of shorter wave-lengths has since 

 been examined. Soret, whose observations were not conducted 

 with solutions of ha;moglobin, but merely with diluted blood, 

 observing by the aid of his fluorescent eye-piece the cadmium 

 spark s]>ectrum, found that diluted blood, in addition to the 

 absorption band in the extreme violet, exhibiled two additional 

 bands. One of these, coinciding with the I2lh cadmium line 

 (3247), he considered lo be probably due to h.-emoglobin ; the 

 other, coinciding with the 17th cadmium line {2743), he assumed 

 to he caused by serum albumin, his observations having pre- 

 viously shown that all albuminous and albuminoid bodies, with 

 the exception of gelatin, are characterised by an absorption band 

 in the position of the I7lh cadmium line. 



Employing solutions of many times crystallised oxy-ha."mo- 

 globin of great puiity and of varying concentration, and with 

 the aid of the sparks of a powerful induction coil, the author has 

 obtained a series of photographs of (he cadmium spark spectrum 

 with and without the interposition of the solutions. The ex- 

 amination of these photographs shows that solutions of oxy- 

 ha.'moglobin which are sufficiently transparent to allow the 

 ultra-violet spectrum of cadmium to be photographed present 

 no absorption bands corresponding either to the 14th or the 17th 

 cadmium lines. The absorption band observed by Soret in 

 correspondence with line 14 is, therefore, not due to the blood 

 colouring matter, but to some other organic constituent present 

 in the blood. 



Having referred to his researches communicated to the Royal 

 Society in June 1901, and illustrated the main facts by actual 

 demonstrations, the author discussed (l) observations on the in- 

 fluence of temperature on the behaviour of oxy-hafmoglobin in 

 the inagnetic field ; (2) observations on the ferro-magnetism of 

 the ferro-albuminates. 



He next dealt with the question of the specific conductivity 

 of solutions of pure oxy-hajmoglobin. After a laborious in- 

 vestigation on this branch of the subject, the following con- 

 clusions were arrived at : — 



(1) Although solutions of oxy-hcemoglobin possess a low 

 conductivity, this is very much higher than has been found in 

 the previous observations of Stewart, all of which were made 

 at 5° C. 



(2) The conductivity of solutions of oxy-h.x-moglobin in- 

 creases rapidly with increase of temperature, and undergoes 

 remarkable and permanent changes when the solution is kept 

 for even short periods at any temperature above o" C. 



These results explain the impossibility of obtaining data 

 which can be considered trustworthy concerning the absotuU 

 specific resistance of solutions of oxy-hremoglobin. 



Continuing the researches contained in his first communi- 

 cation to the Royal Society on the results of the electrolysis of 

 oxy-hiemoglobin, the author has found that when pure solutions 

 of oxyha;inoglobin are subjected to electrolysis, there occurs a 

 separation of oxyha-moglobin in a colloidal, but perfectly 

 soluble form. He has worked with currents of from 12 to 24 

 volts, and the intensity of the electrolysing current measured by 

 a millianipere-meter placed in the circuit has varied in different 

 experiments between 01 and 30 milliamperes. 



By employing an electrolytic cell in which the anode is 

 separated from the kathode by an animal membrane (sheep's 

 intestine or pig's bladder), it is seen that the first action of the 

 current is to cause a separation of colloidal ha'moglobin in the 

 anode cell. This colloidal hremoglobin falls as a beautiful red 

 cloud, leaving a perfectly colourless, supernatant liquid. On 

 stirring it instantly dissolves. 



The further action of the current is to cause a rapid and 

 entire transfer of the colloidal haemoglobin from the anode to 

 the kathode cell. With an electrolytic cell, of which each 

 compartment had a width of 5 mm. and contained 25 c.c. of 

 a I per cent, solution of 0._,Hb, complale precipitation and 

 transfer occurs within 60 minutes. 



On reversing the direction of the current by means of a 

 communicator, the ha;nioglobin returns again in the direction 

 of the positive current into the original cell from which it 

 started. 



The author adduced evidence which proves that the pre- 

 cipitated colloidal, but yet perfectly soluble, hxmoglobin re- 

 presents the undecomposed molecule of the blood-colouring 

 matter. 



The probable nature of the process which occurs under the 

 influence of the current was discussed, as well as the character of 



