L 
1885.] Fhystology: 727 
Fic. 5.—Transverse section through the head, showing the invagination and thick- 
ening of the epiblast to form the brain; my, myeloid substance of the ganglion. 
5 
All the longitudinal sections are from the same egg, and the transverse sections 
from another. The figures were all drawn by the author with the camera. 
—A, S. Packard. 
PHYSIOLOGY.’ 
SCIENCE VS. THE “ ZOOPHILIST.”—The believers in physiologi- 
cal experiment upon animals as a means for increasing our know- 
ledge of the body will all heartily indorse Professor Martin in 
his vigorous “ castigation” of the truth-distorting and fanatic 
Zobphilist, an English sheet whose ostensible object is the preven- 
tion of cruelty toward animals, People who are opposed to what 
is popularly known as “vivisection,” may be divided into two 
classes, the reasonable and the unreasonable. It is the duty of 
physiologists to maintain the respect of the former class by the 
presentation of the abundant arguments which defend the use of 
the lower animals, under proper conditions, for scientific pur- 
poses, The latter class could probably never be completely 
silenced except by a course of unresponsive contempt, but for all 
that one must occasionally be pleased. to see a fool get his just 
deserts. 
CONDITIONS MODIFYING THE DIASTATIC ACTION OF SALIVA— 
Messrs. Chittenden and Smith have extended the valuable re- 
searches of the former upon the diastati¢ action of saliva. The 
following are their conclusions; 
“1, The diastatic action of saliva can be taken as a definite 
measure of the amount of ferment present only when the dilution 
of the saliva in the digestive mixture is as 1:50 or 100. The 
limit of dilution at which decisive diastatic action will manifest 
itself with formation of reducing bodies is I : 2000-3000, under 
the conditions previously given. 2. The diastatic action of neu- 
1:50 or 100, and is apparently out of all proportion to the 
amount of alkalinity. 3. Sodium carbonate retards the diastatic 
