836 
FACTS AND OBSERVATIONS. 
affected with the sang cle rate. Portions of putrid liver from 
healthy animals did not, when swallowed by others, produce 
anything like the mortality occasioned by pieces of non- 
putrid liver containing the bacterides. Females with young 
did not communicate the disease to their foetal offspring. 
The Alkaloids of Opium. —M. Claude Bernard states, 
in Comptes Rendus , that out of the six proximate principles 
found in opium, only three, morphine , narceine , and codeine , 
produce sleep. Narcotine, papaverine, and thebaine, have no 
soporific properties. Morphine produces the most profound 
sleep. Codeine leaves the nervous system excitable, and 
when the animal wakes up from its action it is in a natural 
state, not frightened and scared as by morphine. Narceine 
produces sleep in smaller doses than codeine, and the sleep 
is sounder, but not so leaden as when morphine is employed. 
There is also an absence of excitability by noises which is 
noticeable in morphine sleep, and still more so in that of 
codeine. The awakening is natural. 
M. C. Bernard recognises three properties in these alka¬ 
loids— soporific, convulsing and exciting, and poisonous. 
In soporific power narceine stands first, then morphine, then 
codeine. The convulsive series runs—l,thebaine; ^papa¬ 
verine; 3, narcotine ; 4, codeine; 3, morphine; 6, narceine. 
The poisoning properties are shown in the order—thebaine 
codeine, papaverine, narceine, morphine, narcotine. 
A Source of Ozone. — Cosmos mentions a process of M. 
Baelger for obtaining a continuous supply of ozone. He 
mixes two parts by weight of finely powdered permanganate 
of potash with three of sulphuric acid. A mixture of one 
part of the permanganate with that of the acid is so powerful 
an oxidizer as to produce inflammation and explosion if 
brought into contact with essential oils. 
Poisoning from Contact with Tobacco.—M. Namias 
communicates to the French Academy the case of a smuggler 
who suffered under strong symptoms of tobacco poisoning, 
through hiding under his clothes, and all over his body, in 
contact with his skin, a quantity of the leaves of that plant. 
Fermentation of Wine. —M.Berthelot finds that theskin 
of grapes bears on its surface, not only spoils of ferments, but 
often actual globule s, and hence fermentation is easily excited 
as soon as the grapes are crushed, notwithstanding any pre¬ 
cautions to exclude germs floating in the air. 
