316 
POPULAR SCIENCE REVIEW. 
marrow consists almost entirely of fat-cells, whereas in summer it contains 
hardly anything but lymphoid cells. He examined the costal marrow and 
the spleen in five cases of death from typhus fever, and observed in both 
structures an enormous increase of cells containing blood-corpuscles. 
The Physiological Effects of Lightning. — Professor Pepper’s great induc- 
tion coil at the Polytechnic has afforded Dr. Richardson an opportunity of 
carrying out a number of extremely interesting experiments on the effects of 
powerful electric shocks on the animal body. In a lecture delivered at the 
Polytechnic, Dr. Richardson summarised the results of some of his researches, 
and of his summary of the effects of lightning shock the following is an 
abstract. 1. Absence of evidence of action of the heart : though it must be 
remembered that the heart-beat might continue, although it could not be 
heard. 2. Absence of reflex action : in batrachia, however, this did 
not always indicate death. 3. Diminution of the animal temperature in the 
cavities of the body. 4. Absence of colour in the semitransparent structures : 
this was not a reliable test. 5. General muscular rigidity was sufficient 
evidence of death ; but not local or partial rigidity, unless it affected the 
muscles essential to life, as the respiratory. 6. Coagulation of blood in the 
veins was a sure sign of death. If, on opening the largest vein that could-- 
be reached, the blood were found coagulated, there was no hope of restoring 
respiration. 7. Decomposition was the final proof of actual death. — Marks 
of various kinds had been described as being left on bodies struck by light- 
ning ; and the accounts of some of these had been regarded as chimerical or 
exaggerated. These marks were : 1, burns ; 2, impressions of metallic sub- 
stances j 3, ecchymoses ; 4, supposed impressions of such objects as trees or 
fences ; 5, loss of hair. — 1. Bui'ns were more likely to be severe when life 
was not destroyed than when the shock was fatal ; they varied in extent, 
from mere singeing to extensive cauterization. Pins and other metallic 
articles of dress often led to severe local injuries — the parts injured being 
those lying between the metallic points. — 2. Imp^'essions of Metallic Sub- 
stances. The occurrence of these had been doubted by Faraday and others j 
but Dr. Richardson had found, by experiment, that the impressions of orna- 
ments, &c., miglit be faintly struck on the surface of the body. The mark 
was a pure ecchymosis ; and for its production, resistance on the opposite 
side was neceasary. It was not a burn from heated metal j as, under favour- 
able conditions, a simple electric spark would produce it. — 3. Ecchymoses 
were sometimes found ; as was observed in the case of Professor Richmann 
of St. Petersburg, who was killed by an electric discharge in 1753, while 
performing experiments. — 4. Arborescent marks, wrongly supposed to be 
impressions of trees, t&c., were sometimes found. They were in reality, as was 
pointed out a hundred and ten years ago by Beccaria, the outlines of the 
superficial veins of tlie body. Dr. Richardson had succeeded in bringing out 
the outline of tlie veins in the ear of a rabbit, by means of the discharge 
from a Leyden jar. — 5. Loss of Hair was obsen ed in some cases where the 
nervous system was aflected. 
E.i'pcrimcnis with Ijiebig's Food for Children. — A\'e believe we were the 
first journal to call attention in this country to this valuable preparation. 
Indeed we were the first to do so, for it was in our pages that Baron Liebig 
himself described the substance as a soup for infants. Wo are, therefore, 
