102 ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PAPERS.P h y si ol o g i c a1 Chemistry.Nutritive Value of Skim Milk. By J. Ko~ic, (Bied. Centr.,1882,693-696).--Comparing skim milk (N.R. 1 : 2) with whole milk(N.R 1 : 3*5), the author shows that skim milk is by far the cheapestand most nutritious food for adults ; also it is shown that the pricepaid €or the albuminoids in skim milk is lower than that paid for themin any of the ordinary foods which appear in the markets, exceptingstockfish; as for example 1000 nutritive units in skim milk cost41.7 pfennings, whilst in pork they cost 71.4 ; in butter, 81.7 ; and ineggs, ‘201.2. Stohmann has calculated that 1 litre skim milk corre-sponds in nutritive value to 160 grams boneless meat, the latter costing19.2 pfennings, whilst the former costs only 8.10.Skim Milk as Food.By RITTHAUSEN (Bied. Centr., 1882, 641).-Skim milk is a valuable food for man and beast, as 2.8 litres of itcontain as much nitrogenous matter as a pound of meat, and it ismuch cheaper. E. W. P.Feeding Horses with Flesh Meal. By FINDEISEN (Bied. Celztr.,1882, 651).-Old horses fed with Huch’s flesh meal increased inweight, and this food was found t o be very satisfactory in cases ofillness. E. W. P.E. W. P.Researches on the Digestibility of Purified Lupine Seedsby the Horse, and Observations on the Working Power of theHorse when Fed with Lupines and Oats. By 0. KELLXER ( B i dCentr., 1882, 588-592) .-The digestive coefficients of lupine seedswhen eaten by horses, in combination with hay, are as follows :-Dry matter.Org. matter. Albumindids. Fibre. Fat. Extractives.70.63 72-29 94.16 50.82 27.32 50.79Lupine seeds therefore approach in feeding power to peas, beans,and maize, being more easily, and oats less easily digestled. To deter-mine the comparative value of oats and lupines as food during labour,a horse was fed with 6 kilos. purified lupine seeds, corresponding to2.77 dry untreated seeds, and 8.5 kilos. hay. After the performance ofcertain labour in a wheel, the amount of labour being so regulated thatthe live weight remained the same, the lupines were replaced by 4 kilos.oats daily, and again labour was performed under the same conditions.The labour performed during the “ oat ” period was i n excess of thaPHYSIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY.103done during the “ lupine ” period by 380,300 kilogram-meters, thenutrient ratio in the oat period being 1 : 738; during the other,1 : 304. From the calculations given it would appear that 1 kilo.oats produces the same working power in a horse as 1 kilo. of air-dried and purified lupines, but as the ratio in the lupines is so narrow,it is not advisable to replace more than 2.5 kilos. oats by lupines,otherwise a, great decrease in fat is likely to take place.The Gastric Juice. By J. CHAPOTEAITT (Cowzpt. rend., 94, 1722).-On evaporating an aqueous solution of gastric juice, prepared fromthe stomach of a sheep, a pepsin is obtained capable of dissolving3000 times its weight of fibrin. Alcohol precipitates from the solu-tion a white neutral pulverulent substance, while the liquid acquiresan acid reaction: the liquid freed from alcohol is without solventpower, but the white substance when acidified possesses a considerable.power of dissolving fibrin, and indeed appears to retain the special pro-perties of pepsin.It precipitates metallic salts and solutions of limeand baryta, and froths with a solution of albumin. The acid liquid is,however, certainly one of the active elements of pepsin, for the solventpowers of the white substance are much inferior to those of theoriginal liquid. R. R.E. W. P.Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide by certain OrganisedBodies. By A. BBCHAMP (Compt. rend., 94, 1601--1604).-Thepaper discusses previously published observations by the author(Compt.rend., 59, 713) in relation to investigations by Dumas,Thhard, Bert, Regnard, and others. He will shortly show that thegranulations which decompose oxygenated water can be isolated fromblood without formation of fibrin, and that the more the serum ofblood is deprived of microzymas and globules, the less energetic is itsaction in decomposing oxygenated water.Microzymas the Cause of the Decomposition of HydrogenPeroxide by Animal Tissues. By A. BBCHAMP (Compt. rend., 94,1653-1656) .--The paper discusses some observatioiis of Thenard’son the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide by various animal tissues,and the results of the author’s experiments are given in a tabularform. The removal of the microzymas of the blood itself from theseveral tissues presented some difficulties, but the author conceivesthat he has proved by these experiments t h a t the microzymas of thedifferent tissues are not only functionally different, bnt that they act onhydrogen peroxide with different degrees of energy.R. R.R.R.Action of Hydrogen Peroxide on the Red Colouring Matterof the Blood, and on Haematosin. By A. BBCHAMP (Compt. rend.,94, 1720--1722).-The serum of ox blood freed from microzynias bypassing it through a filter covered with barium sulphate is withoutaction on hydrogen peroxide ; but the red solution obtained from theblood globules, even after passing through a similar filter, disengagesoxygen. He,moglobin is distinguished from fibrin and from tissuesthat act like it, in that it is capable, after coagulation by alcohol o104 ABSTRACTS OF CHEMICAL PAPERS.by heat, of being dried a t 120" without losing its power of decom-posing hydrogen peroxide and becoming colourless. This phenomenoncorresponds with a profound chemical reaction, and the oxygen disen-gaged is due to an action analogous to those observed by ThBnard,in which the action of hydrogen peroxide on sugar and starch gaverise to both oxygen and carbonic anhydride a t the same time.Bloodcontains two causes for this decomposition, the microzymas andlxemoglobin, and if hydrogen peroxide is ever formed in the bloodit is immediately employed in effecting transformations similar tothose described. R. R.Rattlesnake Poison. By H. H. CROFT (Chem. News, 46, 165).-A favourite antidote for rattlesnake poison, in Mexico, is a strong solu-tion of iodine in potassium iodide.The author has tested some of thepoison itself with this solution, and finds that a light brown amor-phous precipitate is formed, the insolubility of which explains thebeneficial action of the antidote. When iodine cannot be readilyobta,ined, a solution of potassium iodide, to which a few drops of ferricchloride has been added, can perhaps be used as an antidote to snakepoison ; it is a very convenient test for alkaloids. D. A. L.Physiological Action of p-Collidine. By MARCUS and 0. DECONIKCK (BUZZ. Xoc. Chim. [2], 37, 457).-&collidine exerts a strongpoisonous action, and in this respect has no analogy with the cinchoninefrom which it is derived. Subcutaneous injection of 0.05-0.15 gramproduce general and progressive weakness, with paralysis of the psycho-motor centres. Reflex motions are not affected, with the exception ofthat of the cornea, which is destroyed. The blood pressure diminishes,the cardiac muscle becomes weaker and weaker, the temperaturedecreases, and the heart stops from diastole.Weak doses produce a temporary effect characterised by the samesymptoms. The alkalo'id is eliminated by the organs of secretion,which it excites, and the organisms reassume their normal functions,The reflex action of the cornea, however, does not return.C. H. B