have shewn that the lungs of a fœtus, born dead, will under some circumstances, to be hereafter explained, float in water; while those of one that has lived after its birth may sink in the same fluid. Dr. Gordon Smith is inclined to attribute some of the uncertainty, by which the minds of medical men have been obscured with regard to the pulmonary tests, to confusion in the method of conducting the experiment, for there is, says he, but one order in which the steps can be taken, and if the anatomist should inadvertently resort to one stage of the process before another that should have preceded, he will baffle his own efforts. In commencing an examination of the thoracic organs, we should, previous to the disturbance of the parts, notice whether any morbid appearances present themselves, such as adhesions between the lungs and the pleura costalis, &c. We should at the same time observe whether the lungs be collapsed, or dilated, and whether they cover the lateral parts of the pericardium. We then proceed to separate the pulmonary organs from the body, in order to submit them to the hydrostatic test, to which we have adverted. For the performance of this dissection, Dr. Hutchinson has given us so many complete and satisfactory directions, that we shall here introduce them for the instruction of the forensic physician. "Ligatures must be placed on the aorta and venæ cavæ, near their attachment to the heart; the trachea is then to be removed close to the bronchiæ; the vessels cut beyond the ligatures; and the heart and lungs, attached together, removed from the cavity of the thorax. If bloody, they should be cleansed with a sponge; and then the colour of the lungs, their consistence and elasticity, and their state with regard to healthy structure, be distinctly noticed,
