- VERMINOUS DISEASES. £07 



dose should be suited to the age, strength, and 

 state of the stomach of the patient. 



to an insipid phlegm, having no acid property. I have stopped 

 the distillation, and filtrated the liquor from the matrass to sep- 

 arate the concrete matter. 



" The liquor was much more acid than before. I saturated 

 one portion with potass ; I evaporated it ; and poured on alko- 

 iiol, which dissolved a small part of the extractive and saccha- 

 rine matter, without touching the salt whicli had formed. The 

 salt exhibited all the characters of malate of potass. Exposed 

 to the air, it readily absorbed moisture, and equally precipitat- 

 ed the nitrate of mercury, from lead and silver. Another 

 portion of the acid liquor from the same distillation, was treat- 

 ed with alkoliol, which separated a white substance, entirely so- 

 luble in water, precipitating by the acetite, and by the nitrates 

 of lead and of mercury, making a sort of dry and brilliant var- 

 nish, when applied to the surface of bodies, acquiring by de- 

 seccation, the transparence, aspect and taste of the gums. 

 Treated with the nitric acid, this material gives nothing of ox- 

 alic acid ; it is malate of lime perfectly similar to that obtained 

 from pouring alkohol on the clarified juice of houseleek. Final- 

 ly, I have precipitated a third portion of the acid liquor by the 

 acetite of lead ; I treated the precipitate with the sulphuric 

 acid, diluted with water, and from this I obtained malic acid. 

 Alkohol poured on the filtrated solution of the concrete juice ef- 

 fects the same precipitation of malate of lime. I confess that I 

 suspected at first that the malic acid, which existed in so great 

 quantity in the milk of papaya, might arise from the beginning 

 ©f the fermentation which the juice had undergone ; but aftei fin - 

 ing in the concrete juice the same acid united to the lime, I have 

 considered it as one of the constituent principles of this vegeta- 

 ble matter. The white, concrete matter w hich gives to the 

 juice of the papaya the appearance of milk, has not, as has been 

 supposed, the characters of pure albumen, or fibrine, but thos*? 

 of curd ur cheese." 



