Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 321 



cipitable by alcohol. The mixture of the fluids might easily occur 

 from the rupture of the membranes. I give this opinion, however, 

 without being aware how far the examination of the allantoic fluid 

 by Lassaigne, (except as to its containing the acid,) may agree with 

 that of the supposed amniotic fluid by Vauquelin and Buniva. 



Again : the agreement between the results of Dr. Front's analysis 

 of the liquor amnii of the cow, and those of Vauquelin and Buniva's 

 analysis of the corresponding fluid of the human subject (respect- 

 ing the origin of which, of course, no mistake could have occurred), 

 may be adduced in support of Lassaigne's opinion. According to 

 these analyses, the two fluids agree in the following circumstances 

 (in which, at the same time, they both differ from the alleged am- 

 niotic fluid of the cow examined by Vauquelin and Buniva) : In 

 colour, smell, and taste, they evidently belong to the same class of 

 fluids ; their differences, in those respects, being no greater than 

 always exist between the corresponding products of animals ge- 

 nerically different; while they agree in containing minute float- 

 ing particles apparently caseous, in foaming when shaken, in 

 partial coagulation by heat, in the action of acids, and in containing 

 albumen and salts of soda : Dr. Prout, likewise, found sugar of 

 milk in the fluid of the cow; while Vauquelin and Buniva observed 

 that alcohol threw down from that of the human subject a light 

 precipitate, which, when dry, became brittle and transparent like 

 glue, — characters which would be assumed by slightly impure sugar 

 of milk, in this mode of operating. 



Another corroboration of Lassaigne's results may be deduced from 

 the situation and functions, respectively, of the amnios and theallan- 

 tois. The latter, receiving the urine of the foetus, would more proba- 

 bly contain a fluid of an acid nature than the former; indeed, it 

 would seem that the contents of the allantois could not but be acid ; 

 while there is no apparent reason why (in animals provided with the 

 latter membrane) the fluid of the amnios should have any considerable 

 degree of acidity. 



The analogies (which are considerable) connecting the allantoic with 

 the uric acid,seem further to corroborate the same view of the subject : 

 the urine of the cow, like that of other herbivorous Mammalia., does 

 not contain uric, but benzoic acid ; but the urine of the foetal calf, 

 however, we might reasonably expect, since the nourishment it re- 

 ceives is altogether animalized, (though produced from the vegetable 

 food of the cow,) would contain some principle analogous to uric acid. 

 If this notion be correct, we should expect to find allantoic acid iti 

 the urine of the calf while it receives nourishment by sucking, and 

 perhaps that the benzoic acid (since the milk is devoid of that princi- 

 ple) would not appear until it begins to graze. 



It may be requisite here to anticipate an objection which might arise, 

 on the ground that the urine of the Mammalia taking animal food ex- 

 clusively, does not contain uric acid. That fact might be supposed to 

 invalidate the inference, tiiat the urine of the foetal and of the sucking 

 calf (since the animal, in those states, receives animalized nutriment 

 alone,) ought to contain some principle analogous to uric acid. But 

 among the Mammalia, those species only appear to secrete uric acid 

 Third Series, Vol. 1. No. 4-. Oct. 1832. 2 T 



