Am.  Jour.  Phatm. 
Nov.,  1880 
Varieties, 
579 
distribution  of  the  blood  must  necessarily  have  a  very  beneficent  influence  in  some 
forms  of  asthma;  for,  by  attracting  a  large  volume  of  blood  to  the  skin  and  to  the 
salivary  glands,  and  by  diminishing  its  volume  through  the  copious  perspiration  and 
salivation,  the  congested  internal  organs  are  relieved  in  a  corresponding  degree." 
Within  a  few  minutes  there  is  marked  improvement  both  in  subjective  symptoms 
and  physical  signs.  Alarming  symptoms  may  be  developed  in  cases  where  there  is 
fatty  degeneration  of  the  heart,  but  these  will  soon  subside  spontaneously,  or  may 
be  relieved  at  once  by  a  subcutaneous  injection  of  i-i  20th  or  i-6oth  grain  of  atropin. 
The  dose  of  pilocarpin  should  not  exceed  one  third  of  a  grain.  Berkart  never  gives 
more  than  10  drops  of  a  2  per  cent,  solution.  During  the  action  of  the  drug  tlie 
patient  should  preserve  the  recumbent  posture — which  the  almost  immediate  relief 
will  enable  him  to  do — and  he  should  be  carefully  watched  until  the  effect  has 
passed  off.  It  is  well  also  not  to  use  pilocarpin  soon  after  the  patient's  meals. — 
Brit.  Med.  Journ.^  June  19,  1880,  from  St.  Louis  Courier  of  Med.  and  Collat.  Sci., 
July,  1880. 
To  Preserve  and  Renovate  Rubber  Instruments— It  is  well  known  that  many 
articles  and  instruments  made  of  rubber  are  apt  to  become  dry  with  time,  and  to 
•crack,  grow  brittle  and  lose  all  elasticity.  According  to  a  Russian  journal,  this 
maybe  prevented  by  the  use  of  a  simple  mixture  of  i  part  aqua  ammoniae  with  2 
parts  of  water,  in  which  the  articles  should  be  immersed  for  a  length  of  time,  vary- 
ing from  a  few  minutes  to  one-half  or  one  hour,  until  they  resume  their  former 
•elasticity,  smoothness  and  softness.  —  T/ie  Druggist. 
How  Nature  Moulds  her  Living  Forms. — What  does  the  story  of  life  upon 
the  earth  teach  us  concerning  the  unfoldment  of  organic  form  Is  the  human  figure 
a  chance  result  of  an  evolutionary  force  which  might  have  pursued  some  quite  dif- 
ferent direction  ;  or  are  the  laws  of  development  such  as  to  lead  inevitably  toward 
the  form  of  man  as  their  highest  organic  product?  This  is  a  question  admitting  of 
a  more  definite  answer  than  may  at  first  thought  appear,  as  we  hope  to  show  by  a 
rapid  survey  of  the  various  steps  of  the  process. 
And,  first,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Nature's  efforts  at  animal  and  plant  for- 
mation have  been  on  no  contracted  scale.  The  varying  forms  produced  have  been 
almost  multitudinous.  They  exist  at  present  In  the  greatest  variety.  But  the  pre- 
sent is  only  the  apex  of  a  long  succession  of  life-epochs,  each  with  its  special  organic 
group.  We  must  multiply  the  existing  forms  for  thousands  of  such  epochs  to  obtain 
any  adequate  idea  of  the  whole  broad  field  of  life.  Plainly,  then,  Nature  has  not 
dealt  spaisely  with  the  subject,  but  has  produced  a  most  generous  profusion  of  dif- 
fering forms.  Hence,  narrow  as  is  the  field  of  the  earth,  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  form-evolving  principle  has  had  full  opportunity  here  to  act,  and  that  it  has 
selected  out  the  most  favorable  line  of  development  from  the  many  directions 
attempted. 
Life  is  an  incessant  battle — a  battle  for  food,  and  a  battle  for  safety.  The  total 
quantity  of  food  is  limited.  The  powers  of  organic  increase  are  unlimited.  Thus 
a  fight  for  food  becomes  necessary  ;  a  conflict  in  which  no  quarter  is  asked  and 
none  given.  Victory  inclines  to  the  strongest  and  best  armed.  The  successful 
combatant  must  have  powers  of  defence  against  all  Nature's  attacks,  and  of  assault 
against  all  Nature's  defences.  In  other  words,  the  organism  best  adapted  to  its 
environment  will  win.— Charles  Morris  in  Popular  Science  Monthly  for  November. 
