The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-02
a1o DEGREES BELOW ZERO.
Freezing Dog to Death-Died at 90
DeErees-A snail's Astonishing En-
From the New York Press.

DeRree5-A Snal4' ASTONISHING En-
durance.
From the New York Press.
What is the influence exerted on life, by
an extraordinarily low temperature7
This is the remarkably interesting
question that has recently been deter
mined by famous scientist ID France,
Raoul Pictet. His FIRST experiments,
which made him more or less celebrated,
were in liquifying permanent gases, such
as hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, which
he did by producing temperature from
100 to 200 below zero.
In choosing his specimens of life for
testing the effect of excessive cold the
professor chosed birds, mammals, batra-
chians, ophidians, insects, infusoria and
microbes. He studied these first in the
normal functions, their nourishment, re-
spiration and muscular action, and then
he plunged these specimens into an air
bath which was surrounded by an enve-
lope of glass with a sufficient space be-
tween 80 introduce volatile liquids, car
bolic acid, etc, that could be varied in
temperature from 10 to 200 degrees.
Through the glass; of the two receptables
containing the living creature the scient-
ist was able to study the conditions and
freqency of respiration the pulsation of
the heart, the comparative temperature
of the body and the modification Of sensi-
bility.
The most interesting of all the expert
ments was upon dog which was placed
in large glass vessel and put in the
outer envelope, which at once impaired a
temperature TO the air in which the dog
rested of II below zero. The first indica-
ton the animal gave Of any discomfort
was an increased rapidity of respiration,
and the temperature WAS gradually de-
creased for twenty-five minutes, when
the dog seemed to have become accus-
toned to the conditions and ate with avid
ity piece of bread that had been put in
with him. II was noticeable that he re-
fused to eat this same bread before being
placed in the bath. 7so
NINETY-EIGHT DEGREES BELOW
After an hour and ten minutes the cir
culation of the animals blood, and conse-
quently the pulsation of the heart, be-
came very rapid. The temperature was
now rapidly reduced without apparently
any special discomfort and without any
particular change, excepting that the legs
became frozen, but appeared to. give no
discomfort At the instant the tempera-
ture reached 98 the dog died as though he
had been shot, instantly.
The deduction from this experiment
would seem to be that animal life can
stand much more intense degree of cold
than has been generally believed hereto
fore.
FISH IN EXTREME COLD.
The experiments made with fish were
productive Of most surprising results,
both in the variation of severity In TEN.
perature which the different forms of fish
can live under, and also in the assurance
1t gives Of the possession by some fishes
of warm blood which has not been gen
orally accepted heretofore, and also the
marvellous power Of resistance possessed
by other creatures. A tench, which is a
fish OF the carp family, and has generally
been considered as being the most tena-
cious of life of any Of the finny tribe, died
in a temperature of 81 below zero Frogs
bore the temperature of 80 below with
their customary placidity, but at 851S
they all died. An ordinary snake taken
from the fields resisted death up to q41%o,
when 1t succumbed.
A centipede was active and full of fight
at 1922, but at 19i' 1t likewise
died. A snail lived until the TEN perature
reached 2l0. Birds eggs were killed at
2 below, and ants eggs were
killed ats
CAN'T FREEZE OUT MICROBES.
1t was found impossible TO kill by any
temperature that could be reached the
microbes with which Mr.. Pictet expert
mented, but on the other hand, the virus
known as ptomaines, these terrible poi
sons formed under the influence of the
nervous system, and which was first
brought 10 the attention OF the New
York public by Lawyer O'Sullivan In the
the famous Buchanan trial, are rendered