160 REPORT — 1859. 



tion to it, and the remainder of the litter being speedily destroyed, there ensued a 

 curious struggle between the cat and the dog for its possession. In this the 

 greyhound succeeded ; and the cat was only replaced in enjoyment of her maternal 

 rights, by placing the kitten in a box with an entrance hole large enough only to 

 admit the real parent. 



The greyhound whined piteously, and was disconsolate for a whole night and day, 

 but in the end again took to her former foster pup, and to the present time she 

 nurses it, even although it has grown into nearly a full-sized cat. 



The milk-glands of the bitch were the size of large figs, and the posterior four 

 only are excited, viz. those taken by the kitten. The other and anterior glands are 

 not affected, but only indicated, as were the others before the sucking, by the posi- 

 tion of the small teat. 



On the Repair of Tendons after their Subcutaneous Division. 

 By Bernard E. Brodhurst, F.R.C.S. 



Attention was drawn to this subject by the author four years ago, when he dis- 

 played the ordinary mode of healing after subcutaneous division of tendons. In the 

 present communication, the experiments above referred to are detailed, and the 

 question is examined whether, " after subcutaneous section of tendons for the cure of 

 deformity, the necessary extension for the removal of distortion can be made without 

 a cicatrix being apparent in the tendon which has been divided." And, further, 

 whether " the new material between the divided ends of the tendon subsequently 

 contracts or elongates." 



From various experiments which the author has made, he deduces the following 

 conclusions : — 



1st. When a tendon has been divided subcutaneously, if its divided ends are 

 approximated and the limb is kept at rest, reunion will take place, and probably 

 without new material or cicatrix being apparent. 



2nd. The new material which is formed between the divided ends of the tendon 

 may be drawn out to any required length; having been extended, it remains a 

 permanent structure, and it may afterwards be recognized as a new deposit. 



3rd. There is a tendency, during some months, and whilst consolidation is taking 

 place, for this new tissue to contract. 



4th. Should extension have been commenced too early, or should it have been 

 carried on too rapidly, paralysis will result ; and if a limb be used immediately 

 after the division of a tendon, reunion may be prevented. Also, if it be used before 

 the tendon has gained sufficient consistence, so great elongation of the new tissue 

 may result, as to cause weakness of the limb ; but, on the other hand, should the 

 extension be insufficient, distortion will recur. 



On the Beat of the Snail's Heart. By Michael Foster, M.D. 



In the heart of the common snail {Helix hortensis), the force of each beat is in 

 direct proportion to the distension of the cavities during the preceding diastole. 



Any part of the heart separated from the rest will beat rythmically, provided too 

 much injury be not inflicted upon it by the act of division, the likelihood of which 

 increases rapidly with the smallness of the piece operated upon. 



If the heart bedivided in anyway,the resulting pieces will each contract rythmically, 

 not necessarily synchronously with each other, but each having the whole of its 

 tissue occupied in the production of every beat. 



Hence the beat cannot be the result of any localized mechanism, but is probably 

 the peculiar property of the general cardiac tissue. 



A Second Physiological Attempt to unravel some of the Perplexities of the 

 Berkeleyan Hypothesis. By Richard Fowler, M.D., F.R.S. §c. 



I should not venture to ask for the attention of the Section to, apparently, so psycho- 

 logical a subject as the Berkeleyan hypothesis, if I did not think to satisfy others, 

 as I have satisfied myself, that some of its obscurities could be cleared by a reference 



