( 134 ) 



was originally their length, but that they were the fragments of 

 particles which had been broken in the handling. Among them, 

 alfo, \'i'ere Ibme irregular particles, which I judged to be globules 

 of blood, mixed ^\ ith the gouty matter. 



Being defirous to purfue this fubjedl farther, and to examine whe- 

 ther, by boiling the chalky fubftance in water, I could difcover any 

 acute faline particles pafs from it into the water, I procured fome 

 newly taken out of the finger of a gouty perfon. This Calx was 

 very white, and of a tough and gummy confiftence. 



Upon fpreading this upon the furface of a new glafs, I obferv^ed 

 fome globular parts lying in a tenacious or gummy kind of fub- 

 llance ; they were of different fizes, the largest equal to grains of 

 fand, and others adjoining to them only one twenty-fifth part of that 

 lize. The vifcous matter was very tranfparent, mixed with many 

 very minute tranfparent globules and oblong faline particles, many 

 of which, viewed through a common magnifier, appeared like the 

 fragments of a man's beard of a week's growth, others ten times 

 thinner and one third the length ; in a word, of many fizes, as \\e\l 

 in length as thicknets. 



Having fcattered fome of this fubftance on a very thin piece of 

 glafs, I placed it before the microfcope, directing the limner to make 

 a drawing of it as it appeared to him, in order to give the reader 

 fome idea of the nature of this calcareous matter, and which is re- 

 prefented at Jig. 17, IKLM. The whole of the globules here 

 fhewn, and the rcfl of the fubflance, were not altogether the fize of 

 a Ihiall grain of fand. In the figure is alfo to be feen the very mi- 

 nute faline particles I have mentioned. 



I then endeavoured to diflblve tliis calcareous fubtlance in clean 

 rain water, and for that pvu-pofe put it into a new glafs, and ap- 

 plied fo flrong a fire to it that the water boiled. I then again ex- 

 amined it, and faw the globular parts, which were of different fizes, 

 and among which fome of the oblong particles before mentioned 

 could be diflinguifhed, adhere as firmly together as if the water had 



