FOSSILS. 223 



and retained the original form of the immersed frag- 

 ment. It was fibrous, soft, highly flexible, and 

 elastic, and weighed eighteen grains. The pieces 

 selected for experiment, weighed each a half-drachm. 

 By adding sulphuric acid to the liquor, after remov- 

 ing the masses of animal matter from both vessels, 

 I obtained precipitates of sulphate of hme. These 

 I weighed and found that they very nearly corres- 

 ponded. The difference therefore in composition, 

 between these two fragments, depends on one having 

 a larger share of animal matter than the other : per- 

 haps, also, an infiltration of carbonate of lime, derived 

 from the stalagmite, had to a certain extent taken 

 place, which, added to the diminished proportion of 

 animal substance in the fossil piece, would account 

 for the more abundant, more rapid, and readier 

 escape of gas. I am ready to confess, that this 

 process which has been repeated, was performed 

 with no great nicety, no elaborate investigations, 

 and no great chemical knowledge and skill, but 

 still the general results are such as to prove the truth 

 of the conclusions I had before arrived at : at least 

 I have stated, that the fossil bones had lost their 

 animal matter, and as I judged from their absorb- 

 ent nature, without having tried any experiments, I 

 may be forgiven for not having qualified the remark. 



Philophysicus. 

 Devonport. 



