1813.] Chemical Properties of Animal Fluids. 379 



The biliary matter may be obtained pure in the following 

 way: mix fresh bile with sulphuric acid diluted with three or 

 four times its weight of water; a yellow precipitate of a peculiar 

 nature first appears, which must be allowed to subside and be 

 removed; then continue to add fresh acid as long as any preci- 

 pitate is formed ; beat the mixture gently for some hours, and 

 afterwards decant the fluid part, and thoroughly edulcorate the 

 green resin which is left. This resin reddens litmus, and is 

 partiallv and sparingly soluble in water. Ii may be deprived of 

 its acid in two ways : one of them is by digesting it with car- 

 bonate of barytes and water, whereby the carbonate is decom- 

 posed, and the water forms a green -solution possessing all the 

 peculiar characters of bile: the other way is by diss., King it in 

 alcohol, and digesting the solution, either with carbonate of 

 potash, or carbonate of lime, till it no longer reddens litmus, 

 and then evaporating it to dryness. Either of these methods 

 will give the pure biliary matter, and there are also other ways 

 of obtaining it, which 1 have described in my work on Animal 

 Chemistry, vol. ii. p. 4J. 



This peculiar biliary matter, when pure, resembles exactly 

 entire desiccated bile. Being soluble in alcohol it might be 

 supposed that it would dissolve in ether; but this is not the case; 

 for ether only changes it to a very fetid adipocirous substance, 

 exactly as it act^ upon the albuminous matter of the blood. One 

 circumstance relating to the biliary matter has much surprised 

 me, which is, that it gives no ammonia by destructive distilla- 

 tion. Therefore it contains no azote ; but what can have become 

 of the azote of the albuminous matter of the blood? for no 

 vestige of azote is found in any other of the constituent parts of 

 the bile, nor does bile contain any ammonia. 



The following is the result of my analysis of bile : — 



Water W* 



Biliary matter 80 " 



Mucus of the gall bladder, dissolved in the bile 3-0 

 Alkalies and salts [common to all secreted fluids) 9-6 



1000-0 



2. The Saliva. 



The saliv« is one of the fluid secretions which contain more 

 water than the blood. \\ hen firet discharged from the mouth it 

 holds suspended a mucus v hicb is not dissolved m the saliva, but 

 gives it its frothy quality. 'Ibis mucus gradually subsides from 

 the saliva when kept in a cylindrical weasel, and with more ease 

 when previously diluted, after which die supernatant saliva may 

 be decanted off. 



Ndiva ii composed of 



