26 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXI. No. 784 



not even the Himalayas interrupt the progress 

 of a pleion or an antipleion. This demon- 

 strates the fact that the thermopleions and 

 antipleions are products of temporary altera- 

 tions of the general circulation of o\ir atmos- 

 phere. A full discussion of the question of 

 which this is but a short summary is to be 

 found in my memoir " L'Enchainement des 

 Variations Climatiques," published recently 

 by the Belgian Astronomical Society. I am 

 working at present on the dynamical problems 

 connected with the results I have already ob- 

 tained and hope to be able, in a short time, to 

 propose a method of research by which it will 

 be possible to successfully predict, several 

 months in advance, the climatic anomalies of 

 the different seasons of the year. In connec- 

 tion with this study I intend to examine the 

 yield of cotton and grain. 



Henetk Aectowski 

 1006 Paek Road, 

 Washington, D. C. 



the effects of prolonged rapid and deep 

 breathing 



In Science, December 3, D. F. Comstock 

 calls attention to certain phenomena that fol- 

 low upon a few minutes of enforced deep 

 breathing. These phenomena, as he reports 

 them, are in brief: (1) an apnoeic pause, (2) 

 mental stimulation, (3) increased physical en- 

 durance and (4) increased pulse rate. 



Several years ago I published' the results 

 of fairly extensive experiments upon the ef- 

 fects of forced respiration. A comparison of 

 my results with those of Comstock may not be 

 without interest. 



In the first place, the apnoeic pause is un- 

 questioned. Some of my observers, without 

 endeavoring to hold the breath at all, as did 

 Comstock, furnished respiratory tracings in 

 which two minutes of forced breathing was 

 followed by two minutes of complete apnoea. 

 A very common result was, however, not a 

 pure apnoea, but a period of slow, shallow 

 respiration with long expiratory phases. 



Second, the immediate subjective effects of 

 forced breathing were more or less dizziness, 



' American Journal of Psychology, IX., July, 

 1898, 560-571. 



tingling and prickling sensations in the hands 

 and feet, blackness before the eyes, and a feel- 

 ing of confusion coupled with energy. There 

 was often, too, a secondary experience of ex- 

 hilaration. 



Third, immediately after the cessation of 

 forced breathing there was a noticeable im- 

 provement in strength and endurance of grip. 



Fourth, a slight quickening of pulse oc- 

 curred during the breathing, though not by 

 any means so pronounced as that reported by 

 Comstock. 



Fifth, and most interesting: actual tests of 

 reaction time, discrimination time, memory- 

 span, visual discrimination of forms and pre- 

 cision of movement, all showed more or less 

 impairment when administered immediately 

 after forced respiration. 



It is commonly stated that, while alcohol 

 produces for a time distinct exhilaration and 

 a feeling of exceptional mental readiness and 

 fluency of thought, the actual performance 

 under these conditions does not measure up to 

 one's subjective estimate of it. I suggest, 

 therefore, that, contrary to Comstock's view, 

 forced breathing is probably not so valuable 

 as a mental stimulant as it may appear on the 

 strength of the feeling of exhiliration which it 

 develops. My experiments, however, have no 

 bearing upon the effect of forced breathing 

 during longer intervals of time after normal 

 breathing has been resumed. 



Guy Montrose Whipple 



Cornell University, 

 December 6, 1909 



QUOTATIONS 



THE ANTrVn'ISECTION CAMPAIGN 



The antivivisectionists so-called, that is, the 

 misguided, ignorant, and the fanatics who 

 have no objection to live-broiled lobsters, " live 

 feather " pillows, spring traps for mice, sticky 

 fly paper and other forms innumerable of tor- 

 ture of the brute creation, but shudder at the 

 use of animals for the manufacture of vaccine 

 and antitoxins or for the gaining of knowledge 

 that will aid in saving human life, have 

 opened their annual campaign by an attack on 

 the Rockefeller Institute. A newspaper of 

 this city, whose proprietor is said to have a 



