196 Mr. Warington oti a curious Change in the 



taric acid in excess caused the rapid and plentiful separation 

 of bitartrate of potash; and on evaporating a little of the solu- 

 tion of this substance, to which a few drops of nitric acid had 

 been added, to dryness, a small quantity of uric acid was 

 evidenced by the production of the crimson stain so peculiar 

 to that compound ; magnesia was also tested for but was not 

 detected. 



It is evident from this qualitative examination that this 

 substance was composed, for the most part, of sulphuric acid, 

 potash and ammonia, with a little uric acid. I'iie following 

 quantitative analyses were therefore undertaken : — 5*84< grs. 

 of the whitest and cleanest part were selected and heated to 

 redness in a closed platinum crucible for some time, it lost 

 1'02 gr., leaving a perfectly white and opake residue, without 

 much alteration of the original form of the fragments. During 

 this operation a slight quantity of acid vapour was given off. 

 This residue was boiled in distilled water, which dissolved 

 nearly the whole, with the exception of a few particles weigh- 

 ing 0*06 gr., having an opake white colour, similar to the 

 bulk of the residue, and which proved on examination to be 

 the bone-earth phosphate of lime; they were slowly dissolved 

 in dilute nitric acid without any appearance of effervescence, 

 and gave indications of the presence of phosphoric acid and 

 lime, the first by solution of nitrate of silver, and b}' a solu- 

 tion of the ammonio-chloride of magnesium, the latter by 

 oxalate of ammonia. We have, therefore, 



^'1Q grs. fixed residue assumed to be sulphate of potash. 

 0'06 ... bone-earth phosphate of lime. 

 1 '09 floss by heat, assumed to be sulphate of ammonia 



\ and water. 



5-84. 



14.'54 grs. of the substance were digested with boiling di- 

 stilled water, and the undissolved portion («) collected on a 

 filter; it weighed 1*44 gr., and consisted entirely of the mus- 

 cular fibres and the brown particles previously mentioned. 

 The solution was then divided accurately into two equal parts, 

 to one of which a little nitric acid was added, heated to the 

 boiling-point and precipitated by a solution of nitrate of ba- 

 rytes as long as any sulphate of barytes was thrown down ; 

 it was then collected, washed, ignited, and gave 8"8 grs. of sul- 

 phate of barytes, equal to 3'OOgrs. sulphuric acid (Z>) ; this 

 precipitate was accompanied by a very small quantity of a floc- 

 culent matter of a pale brown colour. The excess of barytes 

 was next separated by the addition of sulphuric acid, and the 

 filtrate evaporated to dryness, when the crimson stain, denoting 



