100 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1898. 



acid, lime and oxide of iron would have been determined quantita- 

 tively, the general approximate result would not have differed much 

 from the general result obtained. However, the differences appear 

 when we recompute the oxides into salts such as they really are. 

 We obtain about : 



Calcium carbonate 54.27 per cent. 



Magnesium carbonate 43.74 per cent. 



Insoluble residue 1.79 per cent. 



99.80 



From these numerical results it is plainly seen that the material 

 is the mineral dolomite. Since bone phosphate contains generally 

 but little magnesia, it may be assumed that this latter oxide must 

 have been added when the transformation of the bone into the min- 

 eral took place. 



Whether such a metamorphoses had ever been observed before is 

 unknown to the writer at the present time. It was unknown to a 

 number of chemists consulted, and, consequently, the conclusion was 

 reached that all the possible metamorphic changes from the organic 

 to the mineral kingdom may not have been observed. 



