The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-04 00:00:00

EVENING- SUN.

x4anEAacßtiado
M
InemayEothNfe jeixeSpnece.
agfuorfththeEer Paris
At a recent SM. CIENTIFIC
a ge r,d m
ie gave
ri-
Inuits which had been commenced ten years ago, and
were not even yet terminated, respecting gelatine. In
the first series it was attempted to feed dogs entirely on
gelatine without any other nutriment whatever ; it was
given either dry or in jelly. Several dogs would not
touch it at all, others ate it for a few days, and then re-
jected it ; all, however, died of starvation under the sys-
tem. The next series of experiments consisted in giving
gelatine made agreeable to the taste ; and, in particular, it
as given in the form such as it is found in the shops of
the charcutiers, a form in which it is much sought after.
The dogs to whom this substance was given as their
exclusive aliment ate it in general with much
avidity for a few days; then they refused it
altogether, and all died of starvation within three
weeks. In a third series several dogs were subjected, some
to complete abstinence, and others to pure water for
their sole nourishment. Under this system the young
dogs generally died directly, some not survivinT'forty-
eigit hours ; of the older dogs, those which had nothing
at all given them died in just the same time as those
which had been forced to live on gelatine alone ; whereas.
those which took water lived from six to ten days longer.
The fourth series consisted of alimentary substances,
such as bread, eggs, Sic., mixed with the gelatine and
given to dogs. Some of the animals who had as much
as a pound English of gelatine, thus administered daily,
lived eighty or ninety days"; but all grew thin, and ulti-
mately perished. If; while one of the animals was ill,
fresh meat was given it, an amelioration took place im-
mediately. The fifth series of experiments was that of
giving to the dogs the bouillon a la gelatine, prepared
for the patients in the Hospital St. Louis and.
the bouillon of the Cornpagnie Hollandaise. An animal
fed on the former substance exclusively was well for
fifty -six days,_ but got very thin ; at the end
of that time the latter substance was administered and
the animal got fat directly. Another animal, fed from
the first on the second substance, became very fat on it, but-
on the 56th day, the first kind of bouillon was substituted
for the second, and he became thin almost directly. In
a sixth series of experiments dogs were fed on bones,
from which the calcareous salts had been extracted by
muriatic acid. Some beef bones thus treated were to-
tally refused by the dogs ; and, in the end, they alto-
gether refused mutton bones on which they had at first
fed, and died of starvation. A seventh series consisted
of the administering beef tendons and pure water, allow-
ing the dog to eat as much as it liked. The first day the
animal ate 31bs. of tendons, but at last became affected
with diarrhoea, and it was only restored by having bones
mixed with the food. The further reading of the report
was then again adjourned. The committee on arsenical
intoxication informed the Academy that they consi-
dered their report (already given) as complete, and
the discussion closed. M. Arago read a letter from
Ile Savary, in the Indre, stating that the recent
shocks of earthquake were felt sharply there, and
that a clock, which had not gone since May, 1840,
had its pendulum set in motion by the vibra-
tions, and continued to go. At the Observatory of Paris
the pendulums were not at all affected. A communica
tion was made to the Academy from M. Janniar, an ar-
chitect, on the condition of the stability of the Column
of July, which he considered not sufficiently solid.
M. Polonoeau sent in a memoir on a new mode of paving
for Paris, consisting of artificial stones made of clay,
sand, and pulverised charcoal. The mixture stood heat
well, and became vitrified • it also dried without crack-
ing. The stones were made in a hexagonal form, and
could be put down or taken up one by one... Government
had given leave for an experiment to be made of this
system in one of the streets of the capital. A paper was
read by M. Seguier on the means of diminishing the
danger of explosion in steam-boilers. He recommended
a series of numerous small tubes, not more than six
inches diameter, instead of large boilers,---since by this
method the explosive force might be reduced to 1-17th
part of its intensity.