Decembee 22, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



887 



kations, impermeable or less permeable for 

 anions. Jacques Loeb, 



Eeinhard Bedtner 

 Department op Espeeimental Biology, 

 kockefeller institute 



ike permeability of the ovarian egg-mem- 

 branes of the fowl 



I 



Very ordinary eggs have long been the sub- 

 ject of very much noise-making; the cackling 

 hen, the cold-storage man, and the public each 

 playing in this an individual, different and 

 discordant part. One wonders therefore 

 whether the quiet of the earth might be in any 

 measure restored if ordinary eggs were made 

 different ; particularly if the egg were so much 

 metamorphosed as to be born in a fully pre- 

 served and stable state. Would the noisily 

 expressed solicitude of the persevering egg- 

 maker then abate? Would the cold-storage 

 man then "fold his tent like the Arabs, and 

 as silently steal away"? Would the voiceful 

 public then wait with less impatience " for its 

 ships to come from sea " ? 



With something of this thought — -of pos- 

 sibly contributing a modicum to the quiet of 

 our planet — the undersigned, in an odd mo- 

 ment, set to the present task many months ago. 

 Despite the generally rough exterior of the 

 common barn-yard fowl, is it not possible to 

 bring about some very nice adjustments be- 

 tween its blood and its growing ova, such as 

 will effect the formation of eggs thus capable 

 of maintaining themselves against the ravages 

 of time and the decomposing influences of 

 temperature ? 



To some veteran doubters, however, it may 

 seem that the triumph of the experiment 

 would bring no blessings whatever; and some 

 there may be who would even assert that its 

 success and utilization really but spells new 

 calamity to egg-users. We do not know; we 

 repose in our innocent intentions, in our 

 wonder, and in our questions. 



— the germ-plasm? Supposing that it can do 

 so, will this substance decompose spontane- 

 ously within the egg — as it is known to do in 

 some tissues — setting free formaldehyde ? And 

 will not the formaldehyde thus liberated exer- 

 cise a preserving action on the elements of tie 

 egg? Again, can sodium benzoate pass 

 through the egg-envelopes and enter the grow- 

 ing egg? If so, will it do duty as a preserva- 

 tive there ? What will sodium salicylate do in 

 a similar way? 



The pnswer to these questions in so far as it 

 is supplied by our experiments may be given 

 at once; the details and the evidence being- 

 presented later. 



When hexamethylentetramine (urotropin) 

 is fed to laying hens it passes through the 

 follicular and vitelline membranes surround- 

 ing the egg and is deposited in the egg. It 

 undergoes decomposition there ; formalin being 

 set free. It acts as a preservative; i. e., it 

 lengthens the time which normally intervenes 

 between the fresh and the unpalatable egg. 



Numerous chemical tests have failed to 

 demonstrate the presence of either benzoate or 

 salicylate in eggs from birds fed with these 

 substances. Whether the latter actually en- 

 tered the egg, but in another form or combina- 

 tion, e. g., as hippuric and salicyluric acids 

 respectively, has not been determined; our 

 supply of eggs having been exhausted in 

 making other tests. Quite probably the ben- 

 zoate would give rise to ornithuric acid, since 

 it is known that this acid is formed when ben- 

 zoate is excreted through the kidneys of birds. 

 Some other evidence, however, is afforded by 

 the eggs from birds fed with sodium benzoate 

 and sodium salicylate that such eggs, particu- 

 larly those supposed to contain salicylate, 

 withstand the effects of summer temperatures 

 better than do the untreated control eggs. 



Can hexamethylentetramine leave the blood 

 «nd penetrate the cells which guard the germ 



Something is intimated above as to rea- 

 sons for the expectation that the feeding of 

 urotropin to birds would result in its penetra- 

 tion and preservation of the growing egg. A 



