Suggestions as to lines for future research : being the substance of the oration delivered at the Hunterian Society of London, February 9th, 1881 / by A.H. Smee.

  • Smee, A. Hutchison (Alfred Hutchison), 1841-1901.
Date:
1881
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Suggestions as to lines for future research : being the substance of the oration delivered at the Hunterian Society of London, February 9th, 1881 / by A.H. Smee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    and ova of species low in the scale of vitality, always providing that the unfavourable conditions stop short of chemical destruction of the germ or ovum. A method of detecting ammonia and other impurities existing in the atmosphere may be obtained by the following simple appliance. A glass funnel, drawn out to a point and closed at the end, and supported in an ordinary stand, is filled with ice; condensation of the watery vapour of the atmosphere then takes place, the dew collects in drops, which trickle down the outside of the funnel, and at last fall from the point, under which a small receiver is placed to catch them. The total quantity of liquid collected in a given time is then measured, and the quantity of ammonia determined by the Nessler test. By this method of distillation by cold it is pos- sible to distil many substances which are decom- posed at a high temperature. Thus many delicate odours of flowers can be isolated by placing the flowers under a bell glass sufficiently large to cover them along with the funnel containing the ice. The odours are found to be more rapidly and completely abstracted by placing a dish with a little ether under the bell glass at the time of distillation. The same method may be used for the collec- tion of the molecules thrown off from the body in cases of disease, and the products then submitted to microscopic and chemical analysis; but this