1818.] the Commencement of the Year 1817. Part I. 43 



8. Urinary Calculus of a Horse. — Bucholz has lately sub- 

 jected a very remarkable calculus from a horse to a chemical 

 analysis. This calculus had a brownish green colour, was des- 

 titute of smell, but had a bitter taste. Its specific gravity was 

 1*07526. It was composed of concentric coats covering a 

 nucleus of hair.' From its chemical properties it seems very 

 similar to resin ; though it is distinguished from vegetable resin 

 by its insolubility in sulphuric ether, by the feeble .action of 

 sulphuric acid on it, and by nitric acid converting it into Welter's 

 bitter principle, and by some other characters of less importance. 

 When this calculus was burned to ashes, it left the following 

 substances : 



Silica, 



Phosphate of lime, 



Carbonate of lime, 



Alumina, 



Oxide of iron, 



Oxide of manganese, a trace, 



Sulphate of lime, a trace. 



(Schweigger's Jour. xvii. 1.) 



The preceding historical sketch, from the length of time that 

 has elapsed since the last was written, has extended to such a 

 length, that I have thought it right to leave out most of the 

 papers which have already made their appearance in the 

 Annals of Philosophy. 



(To be continued.) 



Article II. 



Biographical Sketch of Brisson. 



Brisson was born at Fontenai, on April 3, 1723, and like 

 many others of his countrymen, who afterwards became distin- 

 guished for their scientific attainments, was originally destined 

 for the ecclesiastical profession. Early in life, however, he was 

 so fortunate as to attract the notice of Reaumur, from whom 

 he acquired a taste for natural history, and under whose auspices 

 he commenced his literary career, after he had renounced his 

 original destination. He was employed by his patron in the 

 arrangement of hisa>cabinet, and was induced to form a new 

 classification of the specimens, which was principally derived 

 from their external characters and most obvious qualities. He 

 afterwards determined to make a general application of the 

 method which he had employed in Reaumur's cabinet ; and 

 beginning by the animal kingdom, he divided it into nine classes, 

 depending upon their greater or less resemblance to man. In 



