Jdly 27, 1917] 



SCIENCE 



83 



action indicating that sufficient alkali has 

 been provided, and if the reaction does not 

 become more alkaline than this there seems 

 to be no danger of injuring the kidney. 



Of course this method may be inadequate 

 to cope with the more complex problems of 

 diabetic acidosis, and it is very doubtful 

 if the alkali can always penetrate in suffi- 

 cient quantities to the seat of acid pro- 

 duction. There is, moreover, no reason to 

 suppose that it can influence the cause of 

 the condition. Indeed this is rather a 

 matter of proper feeding than a thera- 

 peutic measure. For next to water and 

 sodium chloride the concentration of so- 

 dium bicai'bonate is the greatest in blood, 

 and it seems not unreasonable to care for 

 a sufficient supply of this substance as one 

 does for a supply of water. 



There is the more reason for bearing 

 these conclusions in mind because acidosis 

 is one of the commonest of pathological 

 states. Indeed I think that it is probably 

 more common than fever. Therefore one 

 may conclude that in serious illness the 

 test for acidosis should always be made, 

 especially because it is often a very simple 

 matter to repair the defect. And I think 

 there is some reason to suppose that such 

 action may occasionally be of the greatest 

 importance. 



But the use of alkali must always be de- 

 liberate and founded upon the urinary re- 

 action, for too much alkali may be very 

 harmful indeed. As employed by Martin 

 Fischer in nephritis, experience has con- 

 vinced me that it is a source of grave 

 danger and, if possible, graver suffering to 

 patients who can often expect from the 

 physician little more than some relief from 

 pain. Yet even in nephritis there is at pres- 

 ent no reason to avoid the proper use of al- 

 kali. In fact, I have never known a kidney 

 to be unable to excrete a small excess of it, 

 and I think that we may therefore always 



undertake the administration of soda ac- 

 cording to the rule above laid down, with 

 the conviction that when the quantity of 

 sodium bicarbonate in the body is below 

 normal, no harm is to be expected from the 

 action of sodium bicarbonate. 



Finally, if I may be permitted to express 

 as a precept my. own conclusion of the 

 bearing of all these intricate facts upon 

 medical practise, it is as follows : The duty 

 of the physician is to discover that the 

 quantity of sodium bicarbonate in the 

 blood is diminished, to restore that quan- 

 tity to normal, and to hold it there. But 

 while restoring it, he must never increase 

 the quantity above normal. Thus found- 

 ing practise upon exact knowledge, upon 

 theory fully confirmed, and upon an under- 

 standing, however imperfect, of the organi- 

 zation of all the manifold processes of meta- 

 bolism, he may hope sometimes to block a 

 cycle of chaxiges leading to final disinte- 

 gration, and perhaps more often to alle- 

 viate discomfort and pain. 



L. J. Henderson 

 Harvaed Uniteksitt 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



THE IRON INDUSTRY 



Abnormal conditions prevailed in the iron 

 industry during the first half of 1917, mainly 

 on account of the wax in Europe. At the 

 beginning of the year, when pig iron was 

 being made at the average rate of about 102,- 

 000 gross tons daily, the blast furnaces were 

 operated at slightly reduced capacity, accord- 

 ing to E. F. Burehard, of the Geological 

 Survey. This rate dropped to less than 95,000 

 tons daily in February, but in March the rate 

 rose to 105,000 tons daily, and in April and 

 May it stood at more than 110,000 tons, com- 

 pared with the maximum rate of 113,000 tons 

 in October, 1916. 



The prospective ' blast-furnace capacity 

 seems not to have kept pace with the demand, 

 however, as is indicated by the enormous in- 



