Microscopical Society of Victoria. 
3 
(5.) We must now, for a moment, engage in a theoretical view 
of the change of the white corpuscle into the red, and afterwards 
revert to the experiments supposed to illustrate these changes. 
The cell wall of the white corpuscle, it appears to me, gradually 
condenses and contracts upon the nucleus, and the interspace is 
thus destroyed. When this has proceeded to a certain extent, 
the cell wall becomes adherent to the nucleus, and the whole 
constitutes a solid spherule, the red corpuscle. In process of time 
the solid material of this red corpuscle, or former nucleus of the 
white, acquires the property of passing out and thus renders the 
corpuscle flaccid, and in this condition it is ready to assume the 
bi-concave form on escaping from the vessel in which it has been 
circulating; and according to the amount of solid material retained 
will the corpuscle measure a greater or lesser diameter. When 
the corpuscle is quite emptied, there remains only a ghost of a 
corpuscle, represented under the microscope by a clear fine ring, 
without any contents. 
(6) Thus far the theory. We now proceed to test our position 
by experiments— 
Firstly—Withdraw a specimen or specimens of blood on a slide 
and prepare them for exhibition under the microscope, premising 
that the blood is healthy and no alcoholic or vinous fluids have 
been recently imbibed. These specimens will then be standards 
for comparison during the experiment. With the same blood 
drawn at the same time on a slide, add either directly (or by 
means of vapour) some prussic acid (about nearly equal bulk.) If 
the vapour is employed, the slide should be held over a bottle of 
the acid for about a minute or more, and then the covering glass 
placed on. 
The first thing to be noticed, after the lapse of a short time, is 
that such specimens of blood exhibit a larger amount of white 
corpuscles than those which havo not been so treated. This 
experiment should not be confined to one slide only, but extended 
to three or more, or repeated on a further occasion. Having 
noted this feature, the next, which is a very delicate experiment 
to be carried out, may be tried, i.e ., the use of magenta, diluted 
considerably from the strength usually sold in a fluid state, so as 
2 B 
