116 Analytical Essay on Asparagus. 
the precipitate formed by the other acid in the acetate of 
lead refuses altogether to dissolve itself therein, whatever 
quantity be employed. The malic acid, besides, does not 
decoinpose earthy acetates. 
The malate of magnesia is so very deliquescent that it 
has been proposed by M. Chenevix as the means of sepa- 
rating alumen from magnesia, by treating those two earths 
with malic acid and dissolving them in alcatel: and since 
the acid of asparagus, when saturated with an alkali, preci- 
pitates dbusduntte the muriate of magnesia, if, as I have 
said, the solutions are concentrated, we may infer that this 
salt is not soluble in spirit of wine, 
It is equally impossible to confound this acid with vi- 
negar, since it decomposes almost all the earthy and me- 
tallic acetates. 
Its property of not crystallizing prevented me from com- 
paring it with other vegetable acids, and [ could not, with 
any bettcr appearance of probability, regard it as a mineral 
acid, since when submitted to the action of heat it became 
charred. I was therefore naturally led to believe it a new 
acid: but having communicated my experiments to M. Vau- 
quelin, he advised me to examine carefully its combinations 
with earthy bases, and from this examination resulted, as 
we shall see, the discovery of its nature. 
I precipitated it by lime water, and after filtering and 
washing it well, I calcined it in a sitver crucible. On the 
first action of the heat this salt blackened, and gave out at 
the sanie tie a Slight ammoniacal odour. 1 continued this 
process until there no longer remained a trace of carbona- 
cvous matter: the residue was insipid, and insoluble in water. 
J boiled it with distilled vinegar. I filtered and saturated it 
‘with ammonia; an abundant white flaky precipitate was 
formed, presenting the characters of phosphate of lime. To 
assure myself that the acid of asparagus was phosphoric acid, 
i treated with the blowpipe some grains of its combination 
with lead. It-presented at first the same phenomena as the 
ealcareous salt; it passed immediately to yellow, entered 
dnto fusion, and the button, on cooling, assumed: the forra 
of an irregular polyhedron, a property exclusively belonging 
to 
