41 



MODELS OF MULTIPOLAR CELLS. 



Professor a. L. Herrera, to whose cuvioaa experimeuts 

 on the pi-odaction of artificial simulations of orgauic structures 

 we veferred in Febniary last (vol. xii., p. 74 ), has sent to us 

 from the National iVínseum at Mexieo an account of a uew re 

 sulthe has obtained. He noticed accidentally that when a gre- 

 asy solid is lightly dabbed with abrush dipped in a viscous H- 

 quid. the liquid rapidly assumes the form of a iiet Tvork of multi- 

 polar ganglion cells. He sent us along with the letter a shallow 

 tin box, the bottora oE which, ou its inner surface had beeii 

 greased -with but-ter and then had received an application of 

 some colouved viseóos fluid. This fluid had assumed tke configu- 

 ration of a group of multipolar cellí!, and when it reached us, 

 still retained that appearance. Dr. Herrera wishes to correlate 

 this observation -with the older experimenta upon the artificial 

 production of nervous simulacra out of myelin, as describedia 

 Robiu's treatise on the microscope (Paris, 1871, p. 569). We 

 are not prepared to go so far as the Professor in believiug that 

 such experimenta throw light upon histogenesis, but they are 

 interesting and ingenious. 



•'Natural Scieuce." London, August 1898. 



STNTHETIC PROTOPLASM. 



Professor Herrera also sent us a letter contaiuing an 

 account of some experimenta he has made ou what he calis, a 

 "syuthetic protoplasm" made by him by mixing pepsina, pepto- 



RevUta [1897-1898J— 6 



