September 23, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



411 



greater to the naturalist than to the argo- 

 naut. The charms of discovery here seem 

 endless and enthralling, and it is hard to call 

 to mind a passage more replete with pioneer 

 enthusiasm than this one. But each succeed- 

 ing chapter carries new charm, and it is per- 

 haps unfair to select any one as distinguished 

 by its interest from the others. The river 

 journey from the mines to the coast by canoe 

 is as delightful a piece of descriptive writing 

 as it has been our fortune to read. A real 

 contribution, too, is the chapter on " The Life 

 of the Abary Savannas," which contains a 

 large amount of fine and original observation 

 on the Hoatzin, an anomalous bird with rep- 

 tilian tendencies and no close avian relation- 

 ships. 



The book is illustrated with well selected 

 photographic half-tones, mostly by Mr. Beebe, 

 and closes with a very complete and usable 

 index. For the casual reader, as well as for 

 the naturalist, it is replete with interest, and 

 in places the excitement of scientific research, 

 so generally quashed or altogether lacking, 

 carries the reader into a new sympathy with 

 the longing which leads men and women into 

 the strange places of the earth. 



Louis Agassiz Fuertes 



Duval; "Intracellular Proteolytic Enzymes of 

 Liver," by A. R. Dochez ; " The Cell Changes 

 in Amaurotic Family Idiocy," by B. Sachs 

 and I. Strauss ; " A Transmissible Avian 

 Neoplasm. (Sarcoma of the Common Fowl)," 

 by Peyton Eous. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES 

 The Journal of Experimental Medicine for 

 September contains the following articles: 

 '■ Eft'ect of Various Agents on the Blood Flow 

 through the Coronary Arteries and Veins," by 

 G. S. Bond; "'Another Point of Eesemblance 

 Between Anaphylactic Intoxication and Pois- 

 oning with Witte's Pepton," by Arthur D. 

 Hirsehf elder ; " Studies on Immunity in 

 Cancers of the White Eat," by Isaac Levin; 

 " The Relation of Fatty Degeneration to the 

 Oxidation of Purines by Liver Cells," by H. 

 Gideon Wells ; " Experimental Taws in the 

 ilonkey and Rabbit," by Henry J. Nichols; 

 " Changes in the Hemosiderin Content of the 

 Rabbit's Liver during Autolysis," by W. H. 

 Brown ; " The Etl'ect of Vagus Section upon 

 Anaphylaxis in Guinea Pigs," by John Auer; 

 " The Cultivation of the Leprosy Bacillus and 

 the Experimental Production of Leprosy in 

 the Japanese Dancing Mouse," by Charles W. 



SPECIAL ARTICLES 



THE PREVENTION OP THE TOXIC ACTION OF VARIOUS 



AGENCIES UPON THE FERTILIZED EGG THROUGH 



THE SUPPRESSION OF OXIDATION IN THE CELL 



In former papers I had shown that the toxic 

 effects of certain solutions on the fertilized 

 eggs of the Californian sea urchin could be 

 prevented by suppressing the oxidations in the 

 eggs; either by depriving them of oxygen or 

 by adding KCN to the solution. The solu- 

 tions for which this was proved were : (1) 

 hypertonic solutions, (2) hyperalkaline solu- 

 tions and (3) solutions of certain neutral salts 

 like LiCl, NaCl, KCl and others. The same 

 observation as far as NaCl is concerned was 

 made previously by O. Warburg. 



I have continued these experiments this 

 summer on the eggs of Arhacia in Woods Hole 

 and find that the facts mentioned above are 

 only special cases of a more general law. It 

 is possible to prevent or diminish the toxic 

 effects of the following agencies through the 

 prevention of oxidation. 



1. Neutral and alkaline salt solutions (with 

 the exception of the salts of heavy metals). 



2. Solutions of grape sugar (and probably 

 other non-conductors). 



3. Hypotonic solutions (e. g., sea water 

 diluted with equal parts of distilled water or 

 a |m solution of ethylalcohol). 



4. Narcotics (chloral hydrate, phenylure- 

 thane, chloroform and alcohol dissolved in sea 

 water). 



In former papers I had shown that without 

 oxygen no development of the egg is possible 

 and it remained doubtful whether the life- 

 saving effect of lack of oxygen under the con- 

 ditions mentioned above was due merely to the 

 inhibition of the morphological phenomena of 

 development in the egg or to an inhibition of 



