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POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
that the chief use of the lymphatics is to charge themselves with the excess 
of that portion of the blood plasma which reaches and issues from the capil- 
laries at each beat of the heart. — Vide Comptes Bendus , January 7. 
The Brain of the Cuttle-fish. — Mr. Lockhart Clarke, F.R.S., has published 
a valuable memoir on the optic lobes of tb e cuttle-fish. In this he gives a 
general account of the brain of this creature. The brain, he says, consists of 
several ganglia closely aggregated round the upper part of the oesophagus. 
The foremost or pharyngeal ganglia, which is much the smallest, is bilobed, 
and somewhat quadrangular. The next is a large bilobed ganglia, which 
forms the roof of the canal for the oesophagus. Beneath the oesophagus is 
another large and broad mass, which is connected on each side with the 
supra-oesophageal masses by bands that complete the oesophageal ring. 
From each side of the cephalic mass springs a thick optic peduncle which 
ends in the optic lobe. Strange to say, each optic lobe is larger than all the 
other cerebral masses taken together. It resembles the human kidney. “It 
is completely enveloped in a thick layer of optic nerves, disposed in flat- 
tened bands which issue from all parts of its substance, and pierced to the 
back of the eye in a fan-shaped expansion, the upper and lower bands cross- 
ing each other in their course. The substance of each lobe consists of two 
distinct portions, which differ from each other entirely in appearance. The 
outer portion resembles a very thin rind or shell, is extremely delicate, and 
is very easily torn from the cerebral substance which it encloses. It con- 
sists of three layers — an external, an internal, and a middle pale and 
broader layer, containing thin and concentric bands of fibres. 
The Accoucheur's Air-pump. — M. Kaufmann says that the difficulties of 
parturition are often caused by the existence of a vacuum, which prevents 
the expulsion of the child. He therefore proposes to employ an air syringe 
with which to prevent so unfortunate an obstruction. This will no doubt 
astonish some of our medical readers. 
Tobacco Smoking Injurious to the Eyes. — In a recent number (February 
15) of the Bulletin de Therapeutique , M. Viardin describes two cases of 
serious eye affection (Amblyopia) resulting from the habit of smoking. 
M. Viardin at once, on learning the habits of the patients, induced them to 
smoke a much smaller quantity of tobacco than usual, and the result was 
a complete restoration of vision in a few weeks from the date of their 
application. 
Ergotine after Operations. — M. Labat asserts that ergotine should be 
given after every surgical operation. He says that if completely prevents 
the development of morbid products likely to be detrimental. 
Action of the Curara Poison on the Human Body. — When not given in 
absolutely poisonous doses, the effects of curara on the human system are 
peculiar, and have been quite recently studied by MM. Voisin and Liouville. 
The therapeutic effects appear to be twofold, according to the dose adminis- 
tered. The doses producing these effects vary from 5 centigrammes to 135 
milligrammes. In these doses the substance was administered (after filtra- 
tion) by subcutaneous injection. The rapidity of the appearance of the 
effects and their intensity were proportionate to the dose. They have been 
divided by the authors into two categories. The first of these is charac- 
terised by a disturbance of vision, a sense of weight in the eyelids, which 
