346 Dr. Ayves on an Organic Matter found 



bulav, with a very short ueck ; a mouth so narrow that the little 

 finger could not be inserted into it; with two ears through 

 which a strap or cord might be passed so as to suspend it ; and 

 of the capacity of about a pint. 



The substance shaken from this bottle had evidently formed a 

 crust on its inner sm-face, produced by evaporation of, or subsi- 

 dence from, its former contents, mixed with sand derived either 

 from the coarse internal surface or from without. As presented 

 to me, it was a mixture of sand with flattened masses of a deep 

 brownish-black colour, earthy fracture, porous structure, and a 

 saline, somewhat styptic taste. 



When heated on platinum foil over the spirit-lamp, a fragment 

 biu'ned with a clear flame, without either fusion or intumescence, 

 leaving a charred mass, from which the charcoal was burned off 

 with difficulty. 



As the substance was thus proved to be organic, I picked out 

 the masses from the sand ; but as much of organic matter still 

 remained mixed with the sand, this was employed for the quali- 

 tative, reser\ing the purer masses for the quantitative analysis. 



A. The sand mixed with the organic matter was boiled repeat- 

 edly with distilled water, yielding a deep reddish-brown solution, 

 approaching very closely to that of port wine, which after filtra- 

 tion remained perfectly transparent, but of so deep a coloui* that 

 when in bulk it was black and opake. 



The solution reddened litmus distinctly, but not strongly. 



Hydrochloric, nitric, and sulphuric acids threw doM'n a light, 

 flocculent, deep reddish-brown precipitate, leaving the superna- 

 tant liquid of a pale straw-colour. Solution of caustic potash 

 caused no precipitate or change of colour. Solution of gelatine 

 caused no change. Tincture of galls also produced no change. 

 Lime-water deepened the colour, and produced a copious light- 

 brown flocculent precipitate. Oxalate of ammonia rendered the 

 fluid turbid without deepening its colour. Diacetate of lead 

 caused so copious a brown precipitate as to render the liquid 

 gelatinous. Acetate of lead, a moderately bulky, brown, floccu- 

 lent precipitate, but not nearly so copious as that with the di- 

 acetate. Sulphate of copper, a brown precipitate. Sulphate of 

 alumina and potash also a brown precipitate. Bichloride of tin, 

 a light, flocculent, brown precipitate. A portion of the liquid 

 evaporated to dryness left a black, shining, brittle mass. 



B. The residue A, insoluble in boiling water, was treated with 

 boiling alcohol, spec. grav. 0'835. The solution was light yel- 

 low. It became turbid on the addition of water, and deposited 

 granular, semicrystalline, fatty matter by evaporation, which was 

 solid when cold, but melted on application of heat. 



C The mixture of sand and organic matter insoluble in water 



