370 Miscellaneous LUelligence. 



cooling mixture is then placed round the bottles, and the boiling 

 continues for about half an hour. During this time, nothing 

 but a gas, much etherised, is disengaged at the extremity of 

 the apparatus. 



Products. — In the first bottle there was scarcely any ether ; 

 the water was green, and had a strong odour. 



In the next bottle was the nitric ether perfectly analogous to 

 that described by authors, very volatile, and not acid : eight 

 ounces of alcohol and acid give about three ounces of ether. — 

 Journal de Pharmacie, V., 433. 



5. Note on the Animal Substances 2chich generally accompany 

 Uric Acid in Calculi, by Dr. Gaspare Brugnatelli. — In ob- 

 serving calculi of a yellow colour, which, at first, are consi- 

 dered as being uric acid, it is easy to perceive, that, be- 

 sides this acid, they contain some other animal matter. This 

 has already been noticed by Fourcroy, Vauquelin, Berzelius, 

 and my father ; but, as they have only spoken of it inciden- 

 tally, there still remains some points of research for the 

 perfect knowledge of these calculi,. I have made a few 

 experiments on these points, and shall state the results in this 

 note. 



Two distinct animal substances accompany the uric acid in 

 yellow calculi. These, from the appearances they present, 

 I shall, for the present, call colorante (colouring) and Jioccosa 

 (flocculent). Having obtained the urate of potash, by heating 

 potash in solution with the powder of yellow calculi, and after- 

 wards decomposing it by muriatic acid in excess, so as to 

 separate the uric acid, the fluid part has a green colour, and a 

 disagreeable odour, and the uric acid, separated by a filter, has 

 also a green colour. If the powder of the calculi, which has 

 already been acted on, be again heated with solution of potash, 

 and the urate of potash be decomposed by acid, a much whiter 

 uric acid will be obtained, and the liquid will be less charged 

 with colour ; and the residuum which escapes the action 

 of the potash, though often containing much uric acid, is also 

 very white. There is, therefore, in the yellow calculi, a colour- 



