24 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 22. 



or prostoma) is represented by various parts in verte- 

 brates. In Pretromyzon, sturgeons, and Ampliibia it 

 is undivided. lu sharks it is divided into two parts ; 

 i.e., primitive furrow, and posterior marginal open- 

 ing. In birds it consists of the primitive furrow and 

 marginal notch of the germinal area, and includes 

 also the various small openings formed at the termi- 

 nal swelling of the embryo ; viz., tlie neurenteric 

 canal, the passage observed by Gasser in the embryo 

 of tlie Cochin-China breed of hens, and the break 

 which sometimes occurs between the allantois sack 

 and the ectodermal ingrowth behind the tail (caudal 

 sack). 



Rauber also asserts in the same paper that the 

 bilateral outgrowths from the primitive streak of 

 amniote embryos are homologous with the divestic- 

 iila forming the mesoderm in Amphioxus. — {Zool. 

 anz., vi. 143, 163.) [33 



Venom of serpents. — The constitution of the 

 venom of certain of the poisonous serpents has been 

 examined by Mitchell and Eeichert witli interesting 

 and somewhat remarkable results. According to 

 them, three distibct proteids may be isolated from 

 the venom of the moccason and the rattlesnake (C. 

 adamanteus). These they propose to call respective- 

 ly, venom-peptone, venom-globulin, and venom-albu- 

 men. The venom-peptone may be obtained from 

 fresh venom, or from the aqueous solution of the 

 dried material by dialysis, or by boiling and filtering 

 oS from the precipitated proteids. It is soluble In 

 water, not coagulated by boiling, and readily dialyza- 

 ble. Its solutions, while answering to all the general 

 tests for peptones, exhibit certain peculiar reactions 

 which distinguish it from tlie class of peptones as 

 usually understood. The most marked of these spe- 

 cific reactions are its precipitation from aqueous 

 solutions by saturation with potassium hydroxide or 

 sodium chloride, and by the addition of dilute acetic 

 acid. Its solutions possess the poisonous properties 

 of venom, though in a less marked degree, giving 

 rise to putrefactive changes when injected into the 

 living animal. 



The solution of the peptone obtained by boiling 

 venom, and filtering from the precipitate of coagu- 

 lated proteids, breaks up on drying with the forma- 

 tion of two proteids, one of whicli is soluble, and 

 gives all the reactions of the original substance, with 

 the exception that it is not poisonous. The other is 

 insoluble in water, and likewise innocuous. 



If an aqueous solution of venom is allowed to 

 stand for some time, a precipitate occurs which gives 

 the usual reactions of globulins. This substance 

 possesses all the toxic powers of fresh venom. 



After the separation of the i^eptone and globulin, 

 a third proteid remains in solution wliich is apparent- 

 ly closely connected with the albumens, though the 

 authors have not been able to obtain it in a state of 

 sufficient purity to make decisive tests. It is soluble 

 in water, coagulates below 70° C, and is precipitated 

 from its solutions by weak alkalies and acids. It is 

 probably not poisonous. — (Medical news, April 28, 

 1883.) w. H. H. [34 



Cutaneous nerves in mammals. — Dr. Harrison 

 Allen has succeeded in tracing neiwe-filaments to the 

 larger setae-bearing hair-follicles in mammals as ex- 

 posed after depilation. He believes that the hair- 

 follicles of the oral, the mental, the supra-orbital and 

 tlie disto-carpal tufts, as well as those placed on the lat- 

 eral aspects of the limbs, are in all cases supplied with 

 nerve-filaments, as are the pteryls of birds. In speci- 

 mens in which the follicles are rudimentary there is 

 a corresponding failure of the nerve, thus indicating 

 a close relation between the two. — {Acad. nat. sc. 

 Philad. ; meeting June 12. ) [35 



Nerves of the human eyelid. — Von Mises de- 

 scribes the results of his studies. The nerves enter 

 in bundles from the sides as well as from above, and 

 are distributed more or less parallel with the blood- 

 vessels, and form a rich plexus along the edge of the 

 lid. Some details are given as to the distribution of 

 the nerves to the conjunctiva. — {Sitzungsb. akad. 

 wiss. Wien,lxxxY.,abtk.,m.Tp.lT2.) c. s. m. [36 



ANTHROPOLOGY. 

 The autochthones of America. — Dr. J. Koll- 

 man of Basel gives his views of American craniol- 

 ogy, based on a study of tlie breadtli indices of 1,500 

 crania, quoted from published measurements, and 

 representing all the countries between Bering Strait 

 and Tierra del Fuego. Five curves are appended, 



ifj l li 



Y{^}. 



;t:^ 



which reproduce graphically the breadth indices of 

 five groups of American skulls. Curve I. represents 

 1,292 crania of aborigines of America, whether from 



