SCIENTIFIC SUMMARY. 
431 
the use of this medicated beverage ; and MM. Feltz and Ritter have accord- 
ingly made some experiments in order to ascertain how far the added 
colouring-matter ought to be blamed for them ('* Comptes Rendus,” Juin 
26, 1876). They found that half a gramme of fuchsine in solution, taken 
on an empty stomach, caused deep redness of the ears, intense itching of the 
mouth, and slight swelling of the gums. The wine was stained of a deep red 
colour. When the dose was repeated day after day for a fortnight, diarrhoea 
and albuminuria were developed in addition to the above symptoms. When 
fuchsine was injected into the stomach or the veins of a dog, it produced 
effects similar to those observed in the human subject; when the dose was 
sufficiently large or frequently repeated, albumen invariably made . its 
appearance in the urine ; and this symptom was found to be due to a peculiar 
degeneration of the cortical substance of the kidneys. See also “ Academy,” 
Aug. 12. 
Rescuing Drowning Persons. — M. Woilley is reported to have devised an 
instrument which he calls a spirophore, for resuscitating drowned persons and 
warding off the risk of death by asphyxia in certain diseases. (“ Comptes 
Rendus,” Juin 19, 1876). It consists essentially of a metal cylinder, closed 
at its lower end, and large enough to contain the body of a full-grown man. 
The upper end of the cylinder is closed by an elastic india-rubber diaphragm, 
with a hole in the middle, through which the head of the patient projects. 
The interior of the cylinder is then partially exhausted by a sort of air- 
pump ; with each stroke of the piston the chest of the patient expands, his 
diaphragm sinks, and air rushes into his respiratory passages. One advantage 
of this method of performing artificial respiration is that the air is never 
forced inte the lungs under a pressure higher ;than that of the atmosphere ; 
there is no risk of damage being inflicted on the delicate pulmonary tissues, 
as sometimes happens when insufflation is resorted to. Experiments on the 
dead subject showed that the average amount of air introduced at each in- 
spiration was nearly twice as great as that drawn in during ordinary breath- 
ing. The main objection to this ingenious contrivance lies on the surface— it 
is not likely to be at hand when wanted, and cannot therefore compete with 
methods of artificial respiration which, like those of Marshall Hall and 
Silvester, require nothing more than a certain degree of skill and readiness 
on the part of the bystanders. 
METALLURGY, MINERALOGY, AND MINING. 
Roscoelite a Vanadium Mineral . — In “ Silliman’s American Journal ” 
(July) Mr. F. A. Genth says that he is indebted to Dr. James Blake, of San 
Francisco, California, for a small quantity of the very interesting mineral, 
which he called u Roscoelite,” in honour of Professor Roscoe, whose impor- 
tant investigations have put vanadium in its proper place among the 
elements. Roscoelite occurs in small seams, varying in thickness from ~ 
to ~ of an inch in a decomposed yellowish, brownish, or greenish rock. 
These seams are made up of small micaceous scales, sometimes 4 of an 
inch in length, mostly smaller and frequently arranged in stellate or fan- 
