PHYSIOLOOICAL CHEMISTRY.P h y s i o l o g i c a l C h e m i s t r y .91Influence of Respiration on Elimination. By F. PENZOLDT andR. FLEISCHER (Ried. Centr., 1883, 285).-Want of oxygen sufficient toinduce the dyspnoeic condition, causes an increased excretion of urineand urea, as also of phosphoric acid ; the after-action is lowering ofphosphoric acid, but raising of urea, the absolute result being nochange in the total excretion of acid and urea, and no separation ofsugar or albumin. l f , however, the animal is fasting, then whilstthere is a want of oxygen, there is a slight increase in urine, a con-siderable rise in urea and phosphoric acid ; during the after-actionurea still increases, but phosphoric acid decreases, so that there is anabsolute increase in the excretion of urea, but no phosphoric acid,albumin, sugar, nor allanto’in.When no dyspnoea accompanied thewant of oxygen, then a well-nourished dog excreted more urine andphosphoric acid, but less urea, whilst during the after-action therewas an increase in water, urea, phosphoric and sulphuric acids. Onthe whole, an absolute increase of these four compounds with tracesof albumin; the case was similar when a fasting dog was experi-mented on, save that sodium chloride behaved as urea.The diminished supply of oxygen when accompanied by d-ppnaicaction affects birds, and causes them t o excrete an excess of uric acid.Apnma causes a rise of urea, a fall of phosphoric acid, and afterwardsa considerable increase of both. Increased elimination of water isaccompanied by a lowered excretion of urea.Increased -muscularaction induces great increase of urea, at first a large decrease, later onan increase, and on the whole a slight absolute increase of phosphoricacid. Reduction of the temperature of the body is followed by in-crease of urea. E. W. P.Exhalation of Carbonic Acid by Frogs. By H. AUBERT (Bied.Cewtr., 1883, 427).-The author finds that the process of exhalation isas active in an atmosphere which is deprived of oxygen as in onewhich contains it. The same observation has been made by Pfluger,and cnn only be explained on the supposition that the process dependson the decomposition of organic compounds independent of the pre-sence of atmospheric oxygen. J. F.Alteration of Cane-sugar in the Human Stomach.By W.LEUBE ( B i e d . Centr., 1883, 427).-100 C.C. of a 10-15 per cent. cane-sugar solution were introduced into an empty stomach seven hoursafter a previous meal, or in the morning before the subject had eaten,the stomach having been previously rinsed and the rinsings testedwith Trommer’s test to negative reaction. Half an hour after intro-ducing the sugar, there was no reaction, or very trifling, whereas in aknown unhealthy stomach the reaction was considerable. The expla-nation appears to be that in the healthy stomach the inverted sugar isabsorbed, which is not the case in the unhealthy one. The gastri92 ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PSPERS.juices of both healthy and sick persons cause the inversion of cane-sugar equally outside the body, but if a solution is introduced inequal parts into the stomachs of living subjects and withdrawn halfan hour afterwards, the difference in the reducing power is mostmarked, the healthy stomach showing no reaction, whilst the un-healthy does very strongly.Comparative Value of Artificial and Natural Butter asArticles of Food.By A. MAYER (Landw. Versuchs.-Stat., 29, 215--232).-In estimating the value of any article of food, the points tobe dwelt on are chiefly its nutritive qualities, taste, and action on thesystem, whether injurious or otherwise. In the case of butters ofvarious origin, the last two points are easily settled, as a positivelyinjurious influence has never been seriously ascribed to artificialbutter.The nutritive qualities of butter were therefore the subjectof this investigation.Experiments were made with a man and a boy, who received a cer-tain quantity of food per diem, as t o whether artificial or naturalbutter was the more easily absorbed by the system. The first threedays they were fed with various mixtures of bread, milk, eggs, andvegetables, together with natural butter ; then followed two days’ restwith ordinary diet, and afterwards three days with precisely the samediet as before, with the exception that, artificial was substitutled fornatural butter. On each successive day of the experiment the solidevacuations were collected and analysed, commencing 24 hours afterthe beginning of the experiment. The amount of fat in these wasestimated, and hence the quantity of fat absorbed into the system wasfound.This quantity is given in percentage of the whole amount inthe food in the table below :-J. F.Man.Day of experiment.r--h-- 71. 2. 3.Natural butter .......... 97*0 99.4 98.7Artificial ,, .......... 94.6 97.9 96.7Boy.Natural butter .......... 97.8 94.8 98-7Artificial , , .......... 9 5 . 3 94-6 97.6On the average, therefore, about 1.6 per cent. less of the artificialbutter was absorbed than of the natural. As this quantity is, how-ever, very small in comparison to the total amount absorbed, thedifference in value of the two substances as articles of food can beset down as only trifling, and except in cases of illness may be over-looked with safety.Digestive Fluid and Digestive Power of the Horse.ByELLENBERGER and HOFMJCISTER ( B i d Centr., 1883,386-589) .-It beingdifficult to obtain the natural digestive fluid of the horse, an artificialJ. K. CPHYSIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY. 93one was prepared by cutting up the coating of the stomach containingthe ducts into very small bits ; it was then washed and neutralised,either at once or after treatment with alcohol, dried, and left from24 hours to eight days in contact with an extracting fluid, whichtreatment dissolves out all the ferments and acids. The flnids usedwere :-1. Water ; 2, glycerol ; 3, 0.2 to 0.5 per cent. HCl ; 4, 0.2 to0.5 per cent. lactic acid ; 5, 0.2 t o 0.5 HCI in glycerol ; 6, same pro-portion lactic acid in glycerol.The extract obtained from the part near the intestine containedmore mucin, acids.and ferments, and dissolved albumin more easilythan the extract from the region of the pylorus.The extract from the whole stomach contains both hydrochloricand lactic acids, but not more than 0.04 per cent. apparently. It alsocontains a very active ferment, which alters albuminous substances t opeptones, and so changes gelatin that it becomes easily diffusible andloses its properties. The ferment is sparingly soluble in water,glycerol, hydrochloric acid, or in alkaline solutions, and it is precipi-tated by alcohol, lead acetate, carbonate of magnesia, &c. It is onlyactive in presence of acids, and is destroyed by putrefaction andalcoholic yeasts. Lactic ferments do not influence its activity whenthe lactic acid is not too highly concentrated.Its activity is greatestic presence of 0.15 to 0.5 pel- cent. hydrochloric acid ; too much or toolittle acid impedes the action of the pepsin, much lactic acid in thestomach disturbs the digestion through irritation of the coating of thestomach.Pepsin must be present in certain quantity in the digestive fluid ;its activity increases according t o its quantity up t o a certain point,when further quantity is injurious. It works only in presence ofwater, and best at a temperature of 37" to 55" ; raising and loweringthe temperature disturbs the operation ; at 60" it becomes quite inert.Pure gastric juice contains rennet, lactic acid, fat and starch ferment,the two 1at)ter in unimportant quantity.The gastric juice of the horse does not dissolve cellulose, and withdifficulty the substance of bone or horn, but acks readily on muscle,sinew, fat, and flesh.Pepsin extract may be preserved for a longtime in weak carbolic or salicylic acid solution, and even in pureglycerol without losing its properties. J. F.Milk Secretion. By SCHMIDT (Bied. Centr., 1883, 382-386) .-The author, after reviewing much of the previous literature of thesubject, reports the result of his own investigations on the activity oft,he milk glands of the cow : the experimental animal was of Dutchbreed, middle aged, yielding 12 litres of milk daily. The experi-ments were conducted thus: 500 C.C. were taken from the two hinderspins of the udder at the commencement of the morning milking, andthe same quantity from the same spins at the conclusion of the milk-ing ; both were carefully anslysed according to the usual methods.Only the results of the first day's analysis are given, the others differ-ing slightly, if at all, and not affecting the author's conclusions.100 grams of the milk contained94 ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PAPERS.First milk.Last milk.Total solids ........ 9.20 grams. 13.64 grams.Case’in ............ 2.24 ,, 2.11 ,,Albumin .......... 0.31 ,, 0.29 ,,Peptone .......... 0.10 ,, 0.12 ,,Pat .............. 0.76 .. 5.60 ,,Sugar ............ 5-08 ,, 4.92 ,,Ash ............. 0.69 ,, 0.66 ,,It wiil be seen that the difference between the total solids consistsalmost entirely in the fat, which is almost absent from the first milk ;this is explained by the theory that the fat corpuscles of the milkadhere to the walls of the ducts, and besides that in the udder itselfa certain separation takes place.The author had an opportunity ofexamining the udder of a cow killed immediately after milking, andfound that the ducts did actually contain a notable residue of richmilk.The fat excepted, the great body of milk secreted by a cow appearsto have a tolerably uniform composition, and the separation of the fatin the udder to be a mechanical operation, and that the whole of thefat is rarely obtained in the milking. J. P.Percentage of Fat in Milk of Cows of Different Breeds.(Bied. Cent,*., 1883, 285.)-Pnre Simmenthal gave 13 per cent.cream,after 12 hours’ standing ; Dutch, 7 per cent. cream, afier 24 hours,8 per cent.; cross between Simmenthal and Graabiinden, 12 percent., after 24 hours, 12.5 per cent. ; cross of Dutch and Simmenthal,9 to 9.5 per cent. ; pure Granbiinden, 13 per cent.; cross betweenDutch and Graubiinden, 10 per cent.By A. B. GRIFFITHS (Chem. News, 48, 37).-The author observed somepeculiar roundish masses of a dark-coloured substance in the anteriorportion of the liver of the cuttle fish ; some of these were collectedand examined. When ignited, they charred, and left an ash, whichcontained copper. The following are the results of observations madeunder the microscope : the masses were stained brown by a solutionof iodine in pota,ssium iodide ; potash dissolved them ; a red colourwas produced with Millon’s reagent; and nitric acid produced ayellow coloration, which was turned red by potash.On boiling themwith hydrochloric acid, a blue colour is formed, which changes to violet,and finally beconies brown. On heating them with solid potash,ammonia is evolved. By boiling a solution of the substance in potashwith lead hydroxide, lead sulphide is produced. From these resultsthe author infers that these masses are albumindid in character, andassuming them to be deposited from the secretion, it is evident thatthe secretion must contain albumin; and as the pancreatic fluid inhigher animals is one of the few secretions which contain solublealbumin, the author is of opinion that this investigation suppliesfurther support to the supposition that the liver of the cephalopod isnot a true liver, but is pancreatic in function.The copper is derivedE. W. P.Excretory Product from the Liver of the Cuttle FishPHYSIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY. 95from the blood.superficial covering. D. A. L.The dark colour of the masses was a very thinBehaviour of Blood with Ozone, By BINY (Ried. Centr.,1883, 283).-The red corpuscles i n blood are unaffected by remainingfor an hour in contact with ozone, unless the quantity of blood issmall, or the duration of contact long; then a gradual change ofcolour and shape occurs. Oeonised air passed through blood is notcompletely altered. E. W. P.Cattle Disease occasioned by Town Sewage.(Bied. Cetitr.,18133, 285.)-The death of many cows was occasioned by fungoidgrowths in the grass of meadows irrigated with sewage.E. W. P.Observations on Different Diseases of Animals. By RQLOFFand others (Bied. Centr., 1883, 389-393).-Experiments were madeat the Veterinary School, Berlin, by RolofF, on the protective inocula-tion of cattle against lung disease. Two cows, two heifers, and twocalvcs were inoculated with the preparation and placed in infectedstables ; none of them took the disease, but neither did a non-inoculated animal placed in the same stable: the experiment wastherefore abortive. Opinions of other observers are cited OIL thequestion of protective inoculation against this particular disease.Pasteur finds that the specific poison cannot be cultivated in chickenor veal broth; that it preserves its vitality when kept at a hightemperature in a dry room, and does not produce micrococci, but that,when kept without such precaution, it does produce them and losesits vit,ality.If the poison is fouled by the addition of a few cow hairs beforeuse, it is harmless ; the portion kept at ordinary temperatures repro-duces itself in the inoculated animal, and lymph taken from thatanimal communicates it to others, After six to eight weeks fromtaking the poison from an infected animal, it loses its vitality : a calfinto whose jugular vein such old poison was injected, withstood it.The discovery of the bacillus of glanders by Lofler and Schutz is nextnoticed ; the rods were isolated from sections of a diseased organ, andcultivated in the blood of horses and sheep.It was tried on rabbits,mice, and guinea-pigs with success, but white mice did not take theinfection. The material used for inocula,tion was cultivated for eightto ten weeks, and then used on two horses, one two years old, theother 20 years. Both died with all the symptoms of virulentglanders in about 12 days.Pasteur and Thullier report the discovery of the microbe whichcauses swine fever, a disease by which, in the year 1882, farmers ofthe Rhone Valley lost 20,000 animals. The microbe is very minuteand liable to be overlooked even when the greatest care is used in itsobservation ; it resembles that of chicken cholera, and is of the form ofthe figure 8.Inoculation by a very small quantity communicates thedisease ; poultry are not affected, but rabbits die. The infection hasbeen cnltivat,ed and weakened, so as by its inoculation to protect swin96 ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PAPERS.from fatal effects.sustained from this cause.cning in animals, horses and swine particula,rly.it to continued feeding on bran and other fodder poor in lime.Pasteur hopes scon to prevent the heavy lossesThe remainder of the paper relates to osteoporosis, or bone weak-Piitz attributesJ. F.Cattle Plague and Protective Inoculation. By KOCH andothers (Bied. Ceiitr., 1883, 394-398) .-Koch considers that Pasteur’smode of procedure is not quite correct, but liable to yield uncertainresults. He thinks that the bacilli of the disease are propagated inde-pendently of animals ; that they exist on dead vegetable substances,and probably on low marshy soils, on the surface of t’he earth ; andhe says that animals have been known to take the disease in suchplaces where no diseased carcases had been buried.He denies theageocy of earthworms in bringing the disease germs to the surface,for the plague appears in countries where the low temperature of thesoil does not permit the existence of earthworms. He also deniesPasteur’s assertion that the eating of the prickly fodder mounds themouth and facilitates the taking of the disease.The weakening of the poison, and the protection given by inocula-tion, has been successful only with horned cattle and sheep, and Kochdoubts if the lymph is as successful, even with those animals, asPasteur believes. The most carefully conducted experiments madewith it in Germany show a loss of 10 to 15 per cent. of the inoculatedanimals, and there is danger to men by its employment. Koch doesnot undervalue the researches of Pasteur, but wishes to point outdeficiencies in this particular case, which any day may be supplied.Instances are given of the deaths of sheep from plague, which hadbeen duly inoculated. Dr. Azary gives results of niimerous inocula-tions by Pasteur’s fluid in the neighbourhood of Buda Pest, chieflywith sheep, also with horned cattle and horses; some losses tookplace, but on the whole the operations were successful. Arloing andothers have experimented on the duration of the protective influence,and faund it lasted a t least 16 months; and that calves born ofinoculated cows were not liable to disease for some time after theirbirth. J. I?