May 27, 1909] 



NA TURE 



387 



hs months and c 



6 — 



with experimentally induced acute or chronic pancreatitis 

 were found to give a characteristic reaction. A detailed 

 examination of a large quantity of urine from each of 

 eight patients giving a well-marked reaction showed that 

 it was due to a sugar having the reactions of a pentose, 

 and yielding an osazone with a melting point of 178° C. 

 to 180° C. Attempts to isolate the mother-substance were 

 not successful ; it would appear to be derived from the 

 pancreas, and is probably set free as the result of 

 degenerative changes in the gland, passing into the blood, 

 and being excreted in the urine. — -Trypanosoma ingeiis, 

 n.sp. : Sir David Bruce and Captains A. E. Hamerton, 

 H. R. Bateman, and F. P. Mackie. — The incidence of 

 cancer in mice of known age : Dr. E. F. Bashford and 

 Dr. J. A. Murray. The relative frequency of cancer at 

 different age periods in female mice has been determined 

 on animals bred for the purpose, the ages, sex, and 

 parentage being carefully recorded. The diagnoses have 

 been made by combining clinical observation with micro- 

 scopical examination and transplantation of the tumours, 

 and with post-mortem examination of the animals. 

 Following Jensen, the authors demonstrated in 1903-4 that 

 cancer can be transmitted artificially from one individual to 

 another of the same species by the implantation and con- 

 tinued growth of living cancer-cells, and have shown that 

 this form of transmission is not responsible for the great 

 frequency of the disease. Other authors have since 

 described " epidemics " of cancer in animals, especially 

 mice. In the course of a year the present authors observed 

 nineteen cases of cancer in their mice. This aggregation 

 of cases corresponds to the " epidemics " adduced as 

 evidence that the disease is infective. The cases have been 

 analysed with reference to the age at which the tumours 

 were first observed. The following table gives the liability 

 to cancer at different age-periods : — 



^* months months months months 



Total ... 135 no 94 21 



Cancer ... 3 4 7 3 2 — 



Percent.... 2-2 3-5 74 142 33-3 — 



The progressive increase shown in the table presents a 

 remarkable parallel with the age-incidence of cancer in 

 the human subject, and confirms the earlier statements 

 (Proc. Roy. Soc, .January, 1904, &c.) that in animals, 

 whatever their length of life, the recorded frequency of 

 cancer varies, as in man, with the opportunity for 

 examining a sufficiently large number of adult and aged 

 individuals. The observations also add a statistical con- 

 firmation to the results of the comparative histological and 

 biological studies of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, 

 which have shown the close parallel, amounting in many 

 particulars to complete identity, between malignant new 

 growths in man and other vertebrates. They demonstrate 

 that the law of the age-incidence of the disease holds for 

 the shortest-lived mammals as it holds for man. Since 

 the facts agree with the less perfect data for other verte- 

 brates, the general application of the law of age-incidence 

 ^s probable, and, therefore, any explanation of the etiology 

 of cancer must accord with the circumstance that, when 

 considered statistically cancer is a function of age, and 

 when considered biologically a function of senescence. — ■ 

 A method of estimating the total volume of blood con- 

 tained in the living body : Dr. J. O. W. Barratt and 

 Dr. W. Yorke. The principle employed in this method 

 is that of injecting into the blood stream a known amount 

 of dissolved hjemoglobin, and then determining the degree 

 of the resulting haemoglobinsemia. This enables the 

 volume of the blood plasma to be calculated, and, with 

 thf aid of a hsemocrit determination of the composition, by 

 volume, of the blood, the total amount of blood present 

 in the living body is ascertained. The ha2moglobin 

 employed is obtained from the red blood cells of the sub- 

 ject of observation. No ill-effect has been observed after 

 injection of dissolved haemoglobin. The estimation of 

 haemoglobin is generally made with von Fleischl's hsemo- 

 globinometer, the scale of the instrument having been 

 previously standardised by means of solutions containing 

 known amounts of red blood cells. When the depth of 

 the natural colour of the blood plasma, before injection, is 

 markedly increased, as sometimes happens, it is difficult to 



NO. 2065, VOL. 80] 



obtain haamoglobinometer readings of the amount of dis- 

 solved haemoglobin present after injection. In such cases 

 the blood plasma, suitably diluted, is matched, by means 

 of a comparison spectroscope, with solutions containing 

 known airiounts of dissolved hsemoglobin. 



Zoological Society, May 11. — Piof. E. A. Minchin, vice- 

 president, in the chair. — (i.) Hitherto unrecorded specimens 

 of Eqiiiis quagga; (ii.) differentiation of the three species 

 of zebras ; (iii.) a portion of a fossil jaw of one of the 

 Equidce : Prof. W. Ridgreway. — The batrachians and 

 reptiles of Matabeleland : E. C. Chubb. 



Royal Astronomical Society, May 14.— Sir David Gill, 

 K.C.B., F.R.S., president, in the chair. — Spectroscopic 

 comparison of Ceti with titanium oxide : A. Fowler. 

 The spectrum of the star had been taken by Mr. Slipher 

 at the Lowell Observatory, and that of titanium oxide at 

 j South Kensington. The two spectra were, for the most 

 part, identical, and their comparison forms a contribution 

 to the analysis of the third type of spectra, showing the 

 titanium oxide origin of many bands in the red, the details 

 of which are no"t given by Vogel and Dun^r. — Solar 

 parallax papers. No. 7 : A. R. Hinks. The present paper 

 gives the details of the general solution from the photo- 

 graphic right ascensions of Eros at the opposition of igoo, 

 the resulting parallax being about 8-807". A further com- 

 munication, giving results from micrometric observations, 

 will shortly be presented. — An easily constructed sun-dial : 

 W. E. Cooke. The sun-dial shown was of wood ; it could 

 be made by an ordinary carpenter, and was being intro- 

 duced among the planters and farmers of Western 

 Australia. An adjustment, to be made once for all, re- 

 duced local to standard time, and a further adjustment 

 for the equation of time enabled the dial to be read to 

 within about half a minute without the necessity of con- 

 sulting tables. — Researches on the solar atmosphere : H. 

 Deslandres. M. Deslandres gave an account of his 

 spectrographic work at Meudon Observatory, illustrated by 

 photographs showing the faculas, &c., in monochromatic 

 light. 



Royal Anthropological Institute, May 18.— Prof. W. 

 Ridgeway, president, in the chair. — Tibetan and Burmese 

 amulets : Dr. W. L. Hildburgh. The author first referred 

 briefly to the general principles underlying the employ- 

 ment of amulets. He touched on the beliefs in demons or 

 evil spirits as producers of certain diseases, and on the 

 use of protections against such diseases and against others 

 not necessarily caused by similar influences. He also out- 

 lined the principal reasons guiding primitive peoples in 

 their choice of amulets. Passing to Tibetan amulets, the 

 author divided them, for convenience of reference, into 

 religious, secular, and natural amulets. The religious 

 amulets consist principally of the well-known printed paper 

 charms, of which a considerable number were exhibited, 

 small images of deities or the like, and relics and other 

 articles with which religious ideas are associated. The 

 secular amulets are such as are formed artificially, but in 

 which the intercession of supernatural beings is not 

 immediatelv concerned. Such are twisted met.al bracelets 

 against strains in the arms, or charms of plaited cords. 

 The natural amulets consist of natural substances in which 

 the protective or curative virtues are inherent, frequently 

 so because of supposed svmpathetic connection. Such are 

 parts of the tiger, the elephant, the musk-deer, and other 

 animals, particularly such parts as the teeth, claws, bones, 

 or hairs. The medicinal use of such objects was also 

 mentioned. The oaper on Burmese amulets covered the 

 9-round in much the same manner. Amongst the principal 

 Burmese amulets referred to by the author were rings made 

 of genuine or imitation elephant hair, ornaments of 

 elephant-nail, parts of various animals, coral, amo^r 

 ornaments, representations of animals, and objects which 

 had been subjected to magical ceremonies. 



Royal Meteorological Society, May 19.— Mr. H. 

 Mellish, president, in the chair.— The anticyclonic belt 

 of the northern hemisphere : Colonel H. E. Ravwson. In 

 a previous communication the author brought forward 

 some facts regarding the anticyclonic belt of the southern 

 hemisphere, derived from an examination of the South 



