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STRUCTURE OF THE MUCOUS MEMBRANE. 
It will be unnecessary to point out to the agriculturist the 
important practical relations which the subject of hereditary 
disease bears to his pursuits, it being one that cannot fail to 
enter as an element in his estimate of the purity and value 
of an animal’s breed, and to form an object of special regard 
in the breeding of stock. It will prove to him, also, that 
breeding is not so dependent entirely on chance as many 
persons believe. Events may, and doubtless will, arise to 
baffle human foresight; but even these will serve as beacons 
for future guidance, if but fairly considered and understood. 
Discrepancies of this character are but too commonly set 
down as the caprice of nature, which may oftentimes be 
easily accounted for if such persons will take the trouble to 
search and examine for themselves. As a golden rule in 
breeding, the old Yorkshire adage, ‘‘that like produces like,” 
may be safely acted on at all times, and should never be lost 
sight of by the breeder. 
ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE MUCOUS MEMBRANE OF THE 
ALIMENTARY CANAL. 
By Erasmus Wilson, Esq., F.R.S. 
[From the ‘Medical Times and Gazette?) 
Having recently had occasion, in the preparation of a 
new’ edition (6th) of the c Anatomist’s Vade-mecum,’ to re- 
examine the mucous membrane of the alimentary canal, and 
make some drawings to illustrate its structure, I beg to lay 
the results of my survey, with the accompanying drawings, 
before the Profession. The importance of the mucous mem- 
brane of the alimentary canal, in its physiological and 
pathological relations, might alone warrant the publication of 
any researches made into its structure ; but, as I have been 
led to conclusions differing from those generally entertained, 
their publication becomes a duty w T hich I ow^e to the profes- 
sion, and the more so as I have merely broken ground in a 
field of investigation which I hope will be explored by others 
younger than myself, and having at their disposal more 
leisure for such pursuits. The latter circumstance, deficient 
leisure, I must plead as an excuse for the imperfection and 
limited extent of my present observations. 
The mucous membrane of the alimentary canal presents, 
on its surface, two apparent differences of structure which 
have caused its distinction into alveolar (figs. 1, 2) ; and 
