106 Memoir upon Animal Fut. 
I know of no experiment which supports this idea. The 
following were my own experiments on the subject : 
I triturated equal quantities of mercury and fat in a mor- 
tar, the weight of -which I had previously ascertained ex- 
actly ; when the mercury was entirely absorbed, I weighed 
the mortar with the ointment, and I found no increase: this 
made me suspect, that if the mercury was oxidated, it was 
not by the oxygen of the atmosphere, but by means of the 
fat. 
Being desirous ms ascertaining the state of the mercury, 
I Wa some newly prepared omtment into a glass cy- 
hinder hermetically sealed at one of its extremities ; I plunged ~ 
it horizontally*, for three hours, into boiling water. After 
it cooled there were two-very distinct layers formed; the 
upper one was: perfectly white like fat, and I separated the 
under layer by cutting the cylinder with a file. Then, upon 
shightly mixing the mereury with boiling water, there was 
collected three drachms and eight grains of mereury quite 
liquid. The remainder of the mercury, which obstinately 
retained, a little fat, was treated with a ley of caustic potash. 
The soap which resulted from it being collected, was redis- 
solved im rectified: alcohol; amd by this senha I ehenise) 
the whole of the mercury ebhploviade 
I also. separated fat fromm mercury by boiling the double 
‘ointment with water; the fat floated above, and it was slightly 
coloured in consequence of a little of the mercury which 
‘strongly adhered to it. I obtained at the bottom of the 
vessel metallic mercury mixed with a little fat. ‘The least 
agitation brought the globules together. L int 
I also treated the ointment directly by the muriatic acid. 
Wishing to ascertain if the muriatic. acid could take the oxy- 
gen from oxidated mercury, and if it passed to the state 
of oxymuriatic acid, I made the experiment in close’ vessels 
with the chemical pneumatic apparatus, but I had no hbe- 
ration of oxymuriatic acid gas; besides, it is difficult to be- 
lieve that the oxide of mercury at the mimum, containing 
* We suspect an error here in the French, and that we ought to PES ver- 
tically —Env1T. 
SO 
