286 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE.—1912. 
aneesthetic power of ether with special reference to the clinical pro- 
cedure known as ‘ open ether administration.’ 
The Committee desires to be reappointed for the coming year, at 
the end of which it is intended to present its final report. 
Calorimetric Observations on Man.—Report of the Committee, 
consisting of Professor J. 8. MAcponaLp (Chairman), Dr. G. 
CHAPMAN (Secretary), and Dr. Keira Lucas, appointed to 
make Calorimetric Observations on Man in Health and in 
Febrile Conditions. (Drawn up by the Chairman.) 
Ir was our original intention to conduct a series of experiments, first 
upon normal subjects and later upon subjects in definitely febrile 
conditions, but at the commencement of the year I was unfortunate in 
losing the co-operation of Dr. Chapman owing to his assumption of 
the duties of a new and busy post, and have therefore confined my 
attention to the normal subject. Numerous experiments have been 
carried out with the calorimeter previously described, but with some 
little alteration in technique, as in the insertion of a fan within it to 
produce a thorough admixture of its air content, and the substitution 
of wet and dry bulb readings for the process of absorption with sul- 
phuric acid, and weighing, which was used at first to estimate the 
excess aqueous vapour leaving the calorimeter. 
In each experiment the following sets of observations have been 
made every five minutes, in a definite order more or less closely 
adhered to:— 
(a) The temperature of the water entering, and that of the water 
leaving, an internal radiator system placed beneath the roof of the 
calorimeter. 
(b) The resistance of some 600 ohms of iron wire placed in three 
coils close to the walls of the calorimeter, and dealt with as giving 
the mean temperature of its walls and the basis for corrections due to 
variations in this temperature. 
(c) Temperatures indicated by wet and dry bulb thermometers in the 
room air and by similar thermometers placed in the air stream passing 
from the calorimeter to the suction pump determining its air-supply. 
(d) The current in, and voltage across, the variable incandescent 
lamps and fan, &c., placed within the calorimeter, so that a sub- 
traction might be made for their value as an accessory source of heat. 
(e) The current in the electrical brake of the cycle ergometer. 
(f) The number of revolutions of the cycle as registered upon an 
automatic ‘ counter.’ 
(g) The galvanometric deflection due to a thermo-couple (rectal) 
giving the deep temperature of the subject. 
(hk) The galvanometric deflection due to another similar thermo- 
couple (skin) giving the surface temperature of the subject. 
