The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-17
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A TALE OF MANY TADPOLES.
HaIved and spliced, They Grow To-
Gether and Live.
From the New York Tribune.

From the New York Tribune.
To illustrate the wonderful healing prop
critics of a salve ne was vending, a coun-
ty fair fakir once remarked: Gentlemen.
here's what we did. We cut off the tain
of dog, rubbed some of this salve on
the stump, and inside of three weeks he
had a brand-new tail. But that isn't the
most wonderful part of it, We put a lit
tie of the stuff on the old tail, and, by
gracious! before the end of two months n
rev dog had growed on to it?' The re-
markable experiments which a German
scientist, DR.. Born has been conducting
during the last few years had a some
what different object in view, but are al
most equally startling. And, what is more,
the story is not Munchausenism, but
well-authenticated narrative
In fact, it might be called a tale of a
tail; for what DR.. Born really did, In
many cases, was to splice the rear end
of one frog Cwhile yet in a larval state)
on TO the front end of another, thus get
ting only one live, business-like animal
out Of two undeveloped specimens, where
as the mendacious pedler of ointments
claimed to have secured two dogs in place
of one.
Among the achievements of modern sur
gerry are the grating of bits of skin taken
from one person upon the arm, body or
scalp of some one else In like manner.
bones and nerves have been transpanted.
Helpful as such operations are, they are
merely patchwork. They We're designed
only to repair damage, done by accident,
to some limited region or part of the body
While the aim Of DR. Born's researches
is not altogether clear, it will be seen.
nevertheless, that their scope is broader,
inasmuch as he spliced together, with sue
cess, halves of entirely different frogs
All of these experiments took lor their
starting point that very early stage in
the life history of the batrachiaus when
they were in an eggshel but nearly ready
to hatch out into tadpoles. The larvae
were gently removed from their gelatin
Gus cases, subjected to marvellous surgl-
cal treatment, reared in salt water untl
they reached the proper Matching time
and then, as full-nedged polliwogs Gf one
may imagine aquatic creatures to be f1edg-
ed at AID, they were transferred to fresh
water. When the time for a final meta
morphosis into frogs arrived, many of the
specimens died, probably through acci-
dent. But few of them survived the
crisis.
At first DR.. Born. would transfer a small
piece of larva, as a graft to another. A
tail or head would be transplanted, for
instance. 1t would take root and grow. not
perhaps in proportions to the principal
larvae, or stock" as a nurseryman would
call the latter But even If deficient in
size' the grated piece would neverthe-
less continue to develop in the organiza
ton of its structure at preci4ely the same
rate as the other larVa, if ii succeeded in
establishing connections with the food
supply 1t usually failed, however. to
unite It's nerves with those of the stock
Consequently, If the experimenter tickleo
the accessory tail It would wigsle but
the main one would not. So. too. the
extra head might be excited into swapping
or biting but not the principal head. On
the other hand, If the stimulus were an
piled to the head or tail of the stock. the
graft would not respond.
In later and more important conabina-
tons though, nerves as we'll as the ali
mentary canal and other organs formed a
perfect union. Larvae would be sliced in
two lengthwise or crosswise and then
Joined A degree of manipulation skill
that is absolutely incredible was required
In such work; that the various severed
organs could be fitted precisely to each
other is almost as wonderful a feature of
these undertakings as that they should
unite, survive the metamorphosis from
tadpole to frog and perform their func-
tons afterward. This was true even of
the spinal cord.
number of amusing as well as scien-
tific conjectures are provoked by one in
stance reported by DR.. Born. He took
the foremost two-thirds of one polliwog
and the rear two-thirds of another. and
brought them together. The weld. to Dor
row smile from the blacksmith's trade.
was a success, ard the resultant frog Ga
very long bodied one) was alive at last
accounts. Most Investigators would be so
anxious to find out how the business of
digestion was conducted by the super
abundant interior machinery that they
would sacrifice the specimen and hold a
post-mortem. But DIR. Born has been
able to curb his curiosity for the present.
The possibility of grating parts of lar
vac of one species upon parts of another.
and even of thus combining portions of
different genera, has been carefully con-
sidered by the biologist whose work is
here cited; but Il is not known that such
a thing has yet been accomplished. The
suggestion opens up a highly interesting
train of thought