ON URINE AND ITS ACIDS, 69 



over, as they were without success, at least directly, I cvapo- Urtye evapora- 

 . , J . . .. , .» .. . a • V A _ A j U:<i continued 



rated almost to dryness, in a water-bath, that I might not de- an acid> 



compose the urce, about twenty quarts of fresh urine. The 



residuum powerfully reddened infusion of litmus; and I 



treated it cold, at several times, with a great deal of alcohol 



at 36° of strength. 



I thus dissolved the greater part of the acid; but T could This separate! 

 _. „ .. ••«-:, i • f i i -i i'i ureat part. 



not effect its complete solution, whatever quantity of alcohol 



I employed, and even by the assistance of a small degree of 

 heat. Having mixed all the liquors, I concentrated them by 

 evaporation at a low temperature. I then examined the mat- Examined. 

 ter, which I had afresh reduced toasirupy consistence. First 

 I diluted a portion with water, and added to it lime-water and 

 ammonia. No precipitate took place, or at least it was so 

 slight, that it did not appear till long after the mixture was 

 made. Another portion I calcined. The residuum was not 

 only not acid; but, even treated with water, the calcareous 

 salts and lime-water, added to the solution, gave no indica- 

 tion of an atom of phosphate. That which was not dissolved, 

 and which contained a great deal of coal when completely 

 incinerated, merely left a few traces of phosphate of lime. 



Hence it should seem, that urine contains, beside the uric It has at least 

 ., •■,'•, -. * • i-it, i a f) »naiv radi- 



acid, an acid with at least a binary radical. I strongly sus- ca | ' 



pected, that it was the acetous; because I had already found 

 this acid in other animal fluids, it exists in almost all vegeta- 

 bles, and it is formed in almost all the decompositions, that 

 organized bodies undergo. In consequence into the portion Barytas added, 

 I had left containing the acid T poured barytes-water. Hav- 

 ing then evaporated the mixture to dryness, still with a gentle 

 heat, I treated it afresh with alcohol, which dissolved the 

 whole, except a yellowish powder, that was true acetate of 



barytes. '11ms from this experiment we may infer, that f° riTl<: ' c ' acetate 

 . * . .,.-,,., , offaarytes. 



there is acetous acid m urine ; though it does not prove, that 



there is no phosphoric acid, since urine evaporated by a water- 

 bath, and treated with a great deal of alcohol, always leaves 

 a slightly acid residuum, and this acid, it may be said, is the 

 phosphoric. 



To demonstrate, that this acid is not really the phospho- Attempt to 

 ric, I could not have recourse to calcination ; for the resi- prove, that it 

 duutn, containing phosphate of ammonia, could not have c 



failed 



