rapidly or slowly, or float near the surface; whether, by reversing their vertical situation in the water, they sink more readily or with more difficulty; and, if any part constantly rises and is drawn under water by the rest, this part should be particularly marked.
The two lobes must be separated, and the above-mentioned experiment made with each distinctly, and any difference in the results remarked; if one lobe float, and the other sink, it should be noticed whether it is the right or left that floats. Each lobe is then to be cut into several pieces, taking care not to confuse those of the right with those of the left."
Having examined the physiological principles upon which the hydrostatic test is established, and explained the manner in which it is to be conducted, it remains for us to enumerate the several objections which have been urged against its validity.
1. A fœtus may breathe as soon as its head is without the vagina, and immediately die.—This is one of the great arguments adduced by Dr. Hunter;[1] "a child," says he, "will very commonly breathe as soon as its mouth is born, or protruded from the mother, and in that case may lose its life before its body be born; especially when there happens to be a considerable interval of time between what we may call the birth of the child's head, and the protrusion of its body. And, if this may happen when the best assistance is at hand, it is still more likely to happen where there is none; that is, where the woman is delivered by herself;" and he adds, "if a child makes but one gasp, and instantly dies, the lungs will swim in water as readily as if it had breathed longer, and had then been strangled." This opinion, however,
- ↑ On the uncertainty of the signs of murder in the case of bastard children.
