554 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION I. 
The following Papers were then read :— 
1. The Problem of the Visual Requirements of the Sailor and the 
Railway Employee. By Dr. James W. Barrett, C.M.G. 
See Reports, p. 256. 
2. The Mechanism of Micturition Control in Human Beings. 
' By Dr. 8. SEwetu. 
A number of cases of lesions of the spinal cord above the lumbar enlarge- 
ment, in the lower lumbar region, and in the sacral region were described, 
illustrating the various effects upon the control of the function of micturition 
produced by lesions at these various levels. In lesions of the sacral cord, 
or cauda equina, reflex micturition is not established even after fifteen years, 
patients still maintaining absolute retention and requiring regular catheterisa- 
tion, possibly as a result of the still active lumbar innervation of the sphincter. 
Cases of supra-sacral lesion develop reflex incontinence of urine of which they 
are unconscious, thus suggesting that the spinal arc is sufficiently well laid 
down in human beings for the maintenance of this primitive function. 
3. The Biochemical Significance of Phosphorus. 
By Miss Hinpa Kincaip, D.Sc. 
The research can be divided into two parts :— 
I. The general zoological significance of phosphorus. 
IT. Its peculiar biochemical significance in Victoria. 
I. The fact that the framework of the lower animals is largely CaCO, 
and that of the higher animals Ca,(PO,), suggested that there might be a very 
gradually increasing use of Ca,(PO,), for framework purposes as we ascend 
the animal kingdom. Analysis of the exoskeleton of each class of invertebrates 
showed the very interesting fact that the phosphorus content increases steadily 
as we ascend the evolutionary scale, though never at any time large in the 
Invertebrata. 
When we come to the endoskeleton of the vertebrates, however, there is a 
sudden jump in phosphorus content, which remains practically constant through- 
out the vertebrate group. 
On the other hand, analyses showed that the phosphorus content of nerve 
tissue and muscle has a surprising uniformity throughout the whole animal 
kingdom. 
II. It has been realised for some time that Australian soils are lamentably 
poor in phosphorus, some even as low as 47 parts of phosphoric acid in 
100,000 parts of soil. Experiments were made with a view to determining 
whether the deficiency in phosphorus is also a feature of the products of the 
soil, viz., cereals, fodders, woods, &c. 
‘Analyses showed that Australian native grasses have a markedly lower 
phosphorus content than European; that acclimatised European grasses have a 
higher phosphorus content than native Australian, but lower than the same 
kinds of grasses grown in Europe; that the wood of the Australian trees has a 
lower phosphorus content than that of European trees, and also that the 
phosphorus content of Victorian wheat-flour is low. 
Lastly, it was urged that as the yearly loss of phosphorus from Victorian 
grazing lands by export of their products is considerable, it is a matter of 
economic importance that such phosphorus should be restored. 
4. An Experimental Investigation on Concussion of the Spinal Cord 
and Allied Conditions. By Auan Newton, M.S. 
In this investigation an attempt has been made to determine the effect upon 
the spinal cord of varying degrees of concussion and compression. 
aT 
