988 



SCIENCE. 



[X. S. Vol. XXI. No. 548. 



The Changes in the Viscosity of the Blood 

 during Narcosis: Hussell Burton-Opitz. 

 It was found that the viscosity of the blood 

 is increased by deep ether or chloroform nar- 

 cosis and lessened during light anesthesia. 

 Specific gravity of the blood was increased by 

 deep and lessened by light ether narcosis. 

 Chloroform, on the other hand, produces a 

 slight decrease during deep and an increase 

 during light narcosis. Hence the specific 

 gravity can not be regarded as a perfectly ac- 

 curate index of the viscosity. 



Studies of the Effects of Radium on Plants 

 and Animals, with Demonstrations : Com- 

 municated by William J. Gies. 



I. Preliminary notes on the effects of 

 radium rays on plants. C. Stuart Gager. 

 Plants are stimulated. For this stimulus 

 there are minimum, optimum and maximum 

 points, depending upon the proximity of the 

 radium to the plant, the strength, quantity 

 and condition of the radium salt, the time of 

 exposure and the nature and condition of the 

 tissue. 



II. The action of radium rays on Amceha 

 proteus and upon other microorganisms. 

 Louis Hussakof. No visible effects were pro- 

 duced, by even the strongest radium prepara- 

 tions, during periods of observation of about 

 an hour. The water surrounding the animal 

 in each experiment may have prevented ra- 

 diant effects. 



III. The effects of intravenous injections of 

 radium bromid. Russell Burton-Opitz and 

 G. M. Meyer. Increased blood pressure, 

 caused by general vasoconstriction, always 

 promptly followed injection of radium prepara- 

 tions in small dogs. This effect was soon 

 followed by a fall of pressure, due to decrease 

 in frequency and accompanied by irregularity 

 of the heart. The variations in blood pressure 

 were extreme. These effects occur after divi- 

 sion of both vagi. Respiration gradually de- 

 creases in frequency until respiratory paral- 

 ysis results. A striking qualitative similarity 

 was found to exist between the effects of 

 pure barium bromid and radium bromid 

 preparations of low activity (240 and 1,000). 

 Radium bromid of 10,000 activity, however. 



differed from barium bromid in failing to 

 cause irregularity in the action of the heart. 

 Quantitative differences were also noted. 



IV. The radioactivity of the different organs 

 after intravenous injections of radium bromid. 

 Gustave M. Meyer. Thus far determinations 

 have been made only on the dog-s used in the 

 experiments of Burton-Opitz and Meyer (IH). 

 Practically all parts except the brain were 

 found to be radioactive. The blood always 

 manifested the greatest radioactivity. 



V. The influence of radium bromid on me- 

 tabolism in dogs. William N. Berg and Will- 

 iam H. Welker. Feeding experiments have 

 thus far failed to show appreciable results, 

 except an increase in elimination of total sul- 

 fate in the urine. William J. Gies, 



Secretary. 



THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. SECTION 

 OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 



At the meeting of April 3, 1905, Professor 

 Stevenson presiding, the following papers were 

 read: 



The Physiography of the Adirondacks : J. F. 

 Kemp. 



The Adirondacks cover some 10,000 square 

 miles, and except for the White Mountains 

 of New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge of 

 North Carolina, are the loftiest summits east 

 of the Black Hills of South Dakota. They 

 are metamorphosed Precambrian sediments 

 and eruptives with a surrounding fringe of 

 Paleozoics beginning with the Potsdam and 

 ending with the Utica, except for the Glacial 

 drift. The eastern portion is mountainous, 

 the western a high plateau which slopes to 

 Lake Ontario. Three peaks exceed 5,000 

 feet. The general profile of the mountains 

 is serrate, but there is great variety of shape. 

 There are two contrasted types of valleys. 

 One type, doubtless an instance of greater 

 geological antiquity, presents gentle sloi)es and 

 great maturity of form. Its members run 

 east and west, and north and south, and are 

 occupied in some cases by the larger lakes. 



The second type is more recent, and is due 

 to faulting. The valleys have on one or both 

 sides precipitous escarpments. The cliffs run 



