i24S TRIMAf-Y ANIMAL rLtlPSi. 



—but doubt- It is, however, foraewbat difficult to determine how far this 



^"^'y* e|Te6l depends upon the albumen itfelf, as Goulard has been 



confidered to be the appropriate tefl of the uncongelable part 

 of the ferum of the blood, which, it may be fuppofed, refem- 

 Aqua Uthargyri bles the uncoagulable part of the white of the egg. The aqua 

 f"\«-^'''"^'^"l' '»^ha''gy" acetati is likewife decompofed by feveral of the 

 * faline bodies which are found to exift in almoft all the animal 

 fluids. I have fometimes found it to yield a precipitate even 

 when added to diftilled water, and in all cafes, after expofure 

 to the atmofphere for a few hours, the water to which it has 

 been added becomes turbid, and is covered with a thin film. 

 In order to try the effed of this re-agent on albumen, I added 

 one drop of it to 200 grains of water, and upon obferving 

 that the tranfparency of the fluid was not afteded, a fingle 

 drop of the folution of albumen, of the fame ftrength with 

 that mentioned above, was added. It formed a denfe preci- 

 pitate a8 it fell through the fluid, and upon agitation, the whole 

 was rendered flightly milky. In this cafe the proportion of 

 the water to the albumen was as 10.000 to 1 ; to the uncoa- 

 gulable part of the white of the egg, it would be about as 

 30,000 to 1 . 

 Nitrate of filver The next rc-agent which I employed was the nitrate of fil- 

 3}'{^ h^s ^ Yikt yer. A fingle grain of a faturated folution of this fait pro- 

 duced an evident turbidnefs in 100 grains of water, containing 

 T^o g""* of albumen, and after fome hours a fmall qqantity of 

 a curdy precipitate fell to the bottom of the velTel. It might, 

 however, be fufpeded that in this cafe, the efFe<5l produced 

 depended upon a quantity of muriate of foda contained in the 

 albumen. I found that 100 grains of water, containing only 

 ,^.^^<^^^ gr, of common fait was rendered evidently turbid by 

 one drop of the nitrate of filver; * but the precipitate which 



* I weighed very exaflly a grain of fait, and diflblved it in 200 

 grains of water. One grain of this folution was afterwards added 

 to 99 grains of water, and by repeating the operation for three fuc- 

 celfive times, I obtained 100 grains of water, containing only 

 ^_l-^^ of its weight of fait. I then took 99 grains of diftilled 

 water, and poured into it one drop of the nitrate of filver; after 

 waitirg for fome time, tmtil I Was fatisficd that no effeft would 

 take place, I added a fingle drop of the laft folution of fait, thus 

 m?.king it ^-o-b.^^ij part of the mixture j a faint but perceptible 

 ©pacjty was almoft immediately producedi 



is 



effeaj 



