2S Report of the Progress of the Sciences in France. 



One thousand grains of sea-water taken at Marseilles yielded : 



Grains. 



Of Saline matter by evaporation 41- 



Carbonie acid 0* 11 



Muriate of soda , 25-10 



Muriate of magnesia 5'25 



Sulphate of magnesia 6" 25 



Carbonate of lime and magnesia 0*1 j 



Sulphate of lime 0* 1 5 



The muriate of magnesia is the only deliquescent salt in sea- 

 water ; hence arises the property which sea-salt possesses, of li- 

 quefying on exposure to air. A small quantity of the muriate 

 of soda contained in sea-water is carried up when we distil it : 

 this is tlie cause of our finding muriate of soda in vegetables at 

 a certain distance from the sea. 



In the chemical analysis of animal substances Berzelius has 

 made great improvements. He has submitted the animal fluids, 

 and particularly the blood, to new analyses. The blood, he says, 

 is composed of two parts ; a liquid, the seruiv, and one which 

 is suspended, the coagvliim. In the animal oeconomy we ought 

 to distinguish three principal substar.ces: a, fibrine ; L<, albumen; 

 c, gelatine. 



^he serum, according to Berzelius, is a solution of a great 

 quantity of albumen with a little Jibrine. Both are combined 

 with soda. It also contains some other saline substances. 



The coagulum is the colouring matter. It differs from al- 

 bumen in its insolubility in serum, and by its colour. The co- 

 louring matter amounts to about one-third of the mass : the 

 colour seems to be owing to iron, of which it contains about one- 

 third of its weight ; but this iron can be separated by combus- 

 tion only. 



This colour cannot be produced artificially by uniting al- 

 bumen with subphosphate of iron, as Fourcroy and Vauquelin 

 have asserted. Nor it is possible to produce it by uniting iron 

 with soda, as Parmentier and Deyeux have supposed. 



We may compare the colour of the blood to the other red ' 

 colouring principles formed by animals, cochineal, kermes, the 

 purple of the murex, &c. 



Four hundred grains of colouring matter, when incinerated, 

 yielded : 



Grains. 



Oxide of iron 30* 



Subphosphate of iron 7"5 



Phosphate of lime and a httle magnesia . . 6* 



Pure lime •. 20- 



Carbonic acid and loss 16"5 



The 



